Less than a week into fall football camp it is hard to tell a lot about the team, but stories and themes are starting to emerge.

So far Nick Foles has been sharp and it is obvious that Matt Scott is attempting to redshirt this season, allowing him to battle for the starting job as a fifth year starter in 2012. Bryson Beirne has been getting the bulk of the snaps with the second team, while Scott, the back-up in 2010, works with the scout team.

Keola Antolin and Daniel Jenkins are holding down the top two spots at running back and the real competition seems to be for the third running back job. Sophomore Kylan Butler has the edge early in camp, but walk-on Terris Jones and true freshman Ka’Deem Carey are getting their opportunities.

Heading into fall camp we knew the Arizona receiving corps was deep, but this appears top be the deepest the unit has ever been. Juron Criner is back with the team after attending to some personal matters over the summer. He does not appear 100% in shape, but is still making plays. Once he improves his conditioning, watch out.

Newcomer Dan Buckner, the Texas transfer, appears as good as advertised, while Tyler Slavin has made play after play.

Terrence Miller has been a go-to guy during 2:00 drills and he gives the Cats yet another big target.

All eyes are on the offensive line and so far, so good. The starting five of Mickey Baucus, Fabbians Ebelle, Chris Putton, Trace Biskin and Kyle Quinn have been solid and early on have fended off challenges from second teamers.

The biggest news among the line is the addition of Jack Baucus, who moves from tight end to tackle.

Another position of interest has been the defensive ends who have to replace three players drafted by the NFL. So far Muhammed Usman and C.J. Parish have been very good and true freshmen Reggie Gilbert and Dame Ndiaye have shown that the future at the position seems very bright.

Junior college transfer David Lopez will start alongside Paul Vassallo and Derek Earls when the Cats go with their 4-3 base defense, but all indications are that the Wildcats will spend a lot of time in their nickel and dime packages.

So far the defensive backs have also played well. Shaq Richardson and Jonathan McKnight are in a real battle to start opposite of senior Trevin Wasde and Derrick Rainey is also showing well at corner.

There is less competition at safety where Rob Golden and Marquis Flowers have their jobs all but sewn up.

Alex Zendejas and Jaime Salazar are in a duel for the place kicking job. Many assumed that after last year’s disasterous finish that Zendejas would be out of a job, but he worked hard over the summer and the job probably won’t be decided early in camp.

So far the Wildcats have remained relatively injury free, which is especially good news after all of the injuries during spring ball. Two of those injured players, linebacker Jake Fischer and safety Adam Hall, appear to be ahead of schedule and may have a tough decision to make about whether to play this year or use a redshirt.

We are about two months away from the start of fall camp and three months until the start of the season. Over the next few weeks we’ll be taking a quick look at each position group. Up today is the running backs.

The Roster:
Running Back:
Keola Antolin 5-8, 195 SR 143-695 4.7 7TD/28 rec 204 yds)
Daniel Jenkins 5-9, 190 SO* (8-26 3.2)
Kylan Butler 5-8, 180, SO*
Ka’Deem Carey 5-10, 190 FR
Jared Baker 5-9, 180 FR
Terris Jones 5-9, 180 FR*

Full Back:
Taimi Tutogi 6-1, 250 JR (1-(-1) –1.0/5 rec 63 yds)
Ross Oltorik 6-2, 225 JR*
David Hill 5-9, 230 SR

OVERALL:
This is a group that no one is giving any credit to and some of it is warranted. Gone is Nick Grigsby, and for the year Greg Nwoko, the team’s second and third leading rushers. Keola Antolin is an overlooked player who gained nearly 700 yards last year and is a threat to break off a big run at any time. Antolin had 143 carries last year, the rest of the unit had nine and six runners have never had a D-I carry.

In addition to inexperience, the group will be running behind an inexperienced line and of the six halfbacks on the roster, five of them are under 5-10.

SAY GOODBYE TO:Nic Grigsby and Greg Nwoko. Grigsby graduated and Nwoko was lost for at least half of the season when he tore his ACL during spring practice. They were the second and third leading rushers on the squad.

SAY HELLO TO: Carey and Baker. Both are well-regarded true freshmen running backs who will get a chance to see the field right away. They are very similar to each other and similar to the rest of the running backs on the roster.

BIGGEST QUESTIONS
Can they establish the run? The Wildcats have not been able to get a consistent ground game going the past few years, especially late in games when they are trying to milk a lead and keep the ball out of the other team’s hands.
Will they even try to run? In the final spring scrimmage the Wildcats hardly ran the ball and a lot of evidence points to the Wildcats running less than 15 times a game, at least until the young offensive line gets used to run blocking and the rigors of D-I football.
Can Antolin carry the load? Antolin has battled injuries every year, and that is without being the featured back for an entire season. Truth be told, no one knows if Antolin can carry the load the whole season, but it is likely that he will not be asked to.
Will Carey qualify? The signs look good. Carey graduated with no issues and is already working out with the team. Word is that he has the necessary GPA to enroll on his transcripts and the only hurdle left will be getting through the NCAA Clearinghouse.
Will Nwoko be back? Right now Nwoko is set to come back in late October or early November, but the early prognosis is that he, and the rest of the players with knee injuries, are doing great in their rehab and are a little ahead of schedule

While most of the eyes of Wildcat sports fans were on the terrific run of the Arizona basketball team, the football team quietly began spring drills.

Juron Criner (Brad Allis/WildcatSportsReport.com)

The football team may be coming off their third straight bowl game, but many fans are more fixated on their five game losing streak, including a lopsided loss to Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl.

While the Wildcats return a ton of talent, they also lost some key players at some key positions.

One place the Wildcats are not hurting in talent is at quarterback. The Wildcats return three seniors, including Nick Foles, who could go down as the school’s most prolific passer.

“I think we have a great quarterback, he’s smart,” Mike Stoops said.

The biggest story may be the intention of Matt Scott to redshirt. Scott, who is 4-1 as a starter, could sit out this season and then battle for the starting job in 2012. If that happens little used Bryson Beirne would be the team’s back-up.

The other story from the spring is the early enrollment of freshman Daxx Garman and the transfer of redshirt freshman Cam Allerheilligen to a junior college so he could pursue baseball. Garman is a member of the 2011 signing class but graduated high school early to get a jump-start on his college career.

The other loaded position on the offense is wide receiver. The Wildcats lose just two players from last year’s squad, but will mix in four players who redshirted a year ago.

The Cats lose speedster Travis Cobb to graduation, while Bug Wright was dismissed from the team for disciplinary reasons.

The best news at the wideout position is that Juron Criner returns for his senior season. Criner was the best receiver in the Pac-10 a year ago and he should remain Folk’s favorite target. The unit will be bolstered by Texas transfer Dan Buckner who gives the team another tall, physical receiver to put on the opposite side of Criner.

The Wildcats also return seniors David Douglas and David Roberts, plus promising younger players Terrence Miller and Richard Morrison and the three redshirt freshmen, Tyler Slavin, Garic Wharton and Austin Hill.

Miller can also play tight end but sophomore Jack Baucus and newcomer Drew Robinson will get the bulk of the work due to their blocking ability.

The Wildcats lose Nic Grigsby but return the rest of their running backs. Keola Antolin assumed the starting spot in the middle of last year, but has yet to get through an entire season unscathed. Greg Nwoko is a bruising runner, but has yet to prove he is an every down back.

Sophomores Kylan Butler and Daniel Jenkins will get a shot at getting into the running back rotation.

The biggest question mark on the offense, and likely the whole team, is the offensive line. The Wildcats lost their top six linemen from a year ago and return just one player who has started a game and that is Kyle Quinn who only started the Alamo Bowl. Not only is the group inexperienced, but they have a new position coach. Robert Anae was hired in the offseason to replace Bill Bedenbaugh who left for West Virginia.

“Coach Bill used to work with Coach Anae at Texas Tech, so it isn’t that different,” said Fabbians Ebbele.

Ebbele is one of four redshirt freshmen competing for a starting job. Ebbele, Mickey Baucus and Trent Spurgeon will be joined by senior Shane Zink.

At center Quinn will be pushed by junior college transfer Addison Bachman. The one who does not win the job will probably move to guard where he can compete with Trace Biskin, Chris Putton, Carter Lees, Eric Bender-Ramsey and Jake Baratz. Baratz and Bender-Ramsey are also getting reps at tackle and Anae seems to like cross-training his linemen.

Nic Grigsby (Rick Faust/WildcatSportsReport.com)

Arizona has not finished the 2010 season but it is not too early to look ahead to 2011. A lot is still to be determined thanks to position battles, possible departures and recruiting, but we can get a basic idea of how things will look next season. In our second look we focus on the running backs.

OVERVIEW: The Wildcats struggled to run the ball at times this season, but did have some great flashes. Keola Antolin was a bright spot as he stayed relatively healthy and did some good things. Greg Nwoko also had some real good minutes, while Kylan Butler and Daniel Jenkins await their chance.

SAY GOODBYE TO: Nic Grigsby. Grigsby will be in all the Wildcat record books, but he’ll be largely forgotten. His final year has been forgettable, and barring a great bowl game, he’ll ride off in the sunset with a whimper, much like Clarence Farmer eight years before.

SAY HELLO TO: Jared Baker and Ka’Deem Carey. The Cats have verbal commitments from two talented running backs. Baker is from Los Angeles. Carey, from Canyon del Oro High School, is still taking visits.

GET TO KNOW: Jenkins. He showed some really good things in the preseason, but only had eight carries for 26 yards and did not get a carry after the second game.

QUESTIONS: Can Antolin become an every-down back? Will Nwoko be the bruising runner that can get a tough yard when the Cats need it? Will Carey stay committed?

Previously: First look: Quarterbacks

Matt Scott got off to a fast start in his first start of the season. Scott led the Arizona offense to 356 yards and 30 points in the first 30 minutes of play.

Scott did not look nervous at all. He moved the ball 41 yards on the first drive, breakind off a 21-yard run and completing his first pass. He hit Taimi Tutogi on a 14-yard crossing pattern, but the drive ended when the fullback fumbled the ball.

Scott was hardly done. On the next drive he mixed run and pass, capping the drive with a 17-yard pass to Dave Roberts that saw Scott throw a nice roll-out pass to the possession receiver.

All told Scott was 14-16 for 186 yards and the score.

He was not perfect, he did make an ill-advised throw into double coverage and did hang onto the ball for a long time on several plays, but got some great blocking.

His presence also seemed to spark the running game. The Cats rushed for 170 yards, thanks in large part to a 78-yard run by Keola Antolin. The threat of Scott running, especially out of the read option, seemed to open things up for all the running backs.  Antolin rushed for 82 yards, while Scott ran for 51.