It was a tough loss for the Arizona Wildcats football team. USC ran it down their throats and controlled the time of possession in their 24-21 win. Arizona players spoke with the media after the game.

Paul Vassallo, David Douglas and Vassallo again:

CB Robert Golden on the loss to USC:

Courtesy Rick Faust/WildcatSportsReport.com

Last Saturday’s scrimmage was not a good one for the defense, but was a great one for the offense. Matt Scott had a great performance, but to me all he did was solidify that Nick Foles is the guy.

Scott threw for 196 yards and two scores, completing 16 of 21 passes (76.1%). Great numbers, but it was the play of another player who makes Scott’s accomplishments seem a little less impressive. Third string quarterback Bryson Beirne had nearly identical numbers. Beirne was 13-18 for 171 yards and two scores. He completed 72.2% of his passes

While I think Beirne is a solid player and could lead the Cats if needed, he is the third stringer for a reason. Had Scott played that well and Beirne struggled, then I’d be very impressed and wonder if Scott needed a longer look. As it stands, it looks like the Cats have three solid quarterbacks but a defense that may be worthy of some concern.

The fact that Foles was very good in the first scrimmage, outplaying Scott (who was good himself), leads me to believe that there is no doubt he’s the guy. In that first scrimmage Foles completed over 66% of his passes and tossed three touchdowns.

The bigger issue is that the defense has now given up seven touchdowns in two scrimmages. While the Wildcat offense projects to be one of the more potent units in the Pac-10, but the defense is clearly behind where they should be.

Right now the coaches are still trying a variety of players and schemes. New co-coordinators Tim Kish and Greg Brown are big on using more man-to-man coverages, while Mike Stoops has always been more of a zone coverage proponent.

It looks as if Robert Golden has been shifted back to cornerback, the position he was originally recruited as, meaning seniors Joseph Perkins and Anthony Wilcox will get the nod at the two safety spots, with Adam Hall becoming the team’s top nickel back. Of course, I would be willing to bet that sooner rather than later freshman Marquis Flowers winds up earning a starting spot.

Gino Crump (photo by Brad Allis/WildcatSportsReport.com)

I am a big fan of using non-sports metaphors to describe sports. One of my favorites is using the stock market as an analogy for sports, so I am going to do that for my post-spring evaluations.

BLUE CHIPPERS – In the stock market these are the always steady, can’t miss buys and the same goes for Blue Chippers on the gridiron.

Juron Criner – Criner had a great end to the season and followed that up with a terrific spring practice. Criner is the Cats’ go-to, big play receiver and showed that in the spring game and all month long.

Colin Baxter – Baxter is the consummate pro. He is the perfect role model for other offensive linemen. He works hard, works smart and plays hurt. He’s also a great talent. He has started 37 games in his career and should hit the magic 50 mark if the Cats make it to a bowl game.

RISING – These players had a great spring and are seeing their stock/opportunites rise.

Gino Crump – Before spring ball most did not know if a Gino Crump was a kind of frozen pizza or a character from the Nutty Professor. After fall camp Wildcat fans should have high hopes from the receiver transfer from West Virginia. Crump gives the Wildcats another big, tall receiver on the outside.

Sione Tuihalamaka – Not a lot has been written about the redshirt freshman, but he had a great spring and will enter fall camp as the starter at defensive tackle. Tuihalamaka has put on a ton of muscle since arriving in Tucson and at the very least will be in the mix for reps on the interior defensive line.

FALLING – It is tough to say these guys’ stock is falling, but they did not have as good a camp as they could have.

Nic Grigsby – When Grigsby played, he was fine. His issue is the injury bug. He missed significant time with a hamstring injury and this was after a junior season that saw him hampered with a severe shoulder injury. In fact Grigsby has battled injuries his whole career and you can tell the Wildcat coaches are getting a bit frustrated by not having Grigsby consistently at their disposal.

Robert Golden – Golden did not have a bad spring, but you’d hope he’d have a great spring. The coaches experimented with Golden at a variety of positions, something you probably do not do if a player has mastered the spot he is at. He still seems destined for strong safety, but corner and maybe nickel could still be a possibility.

BUY LOW- You always want to buy stock before anyone else knows about it. The same is true for talking about young players.

Eric Bender Ramsay – He was a walk-on with great size a year ago, but is now in the two-deep depth chart. Ramsay redshirted a year ago, and has gotten in better shape. At 6-6, 324 he has legit size and could see time at left tackle behind Adam Grant.

Adam Hall – Hall did not have a great camp, but wasn’t awful either. He is probably still a year away, but his size and athleticism have the coaches very intrigued by what he can do. He’ll still have the fall to try and unseat Joe Perkins, but even if he is not a starter he should be getting snaps at free safety.

WildcatSportsReport.com has VIDEO from All-Four Co-Coordinators.

Devin Ross

Over the weekend Arizona received a commitment at the Army All-American game in San Antonio from Goodyear, Arizona’s Marquis Flowers. Flowers became the seventh Army All-American to commit to the Cats, but only the second who did it during the televised broadcast. While it is great to get a player who is so well regarded, being an Army All-American is not a guarantee of success in a Wildcat uniform.

Brandon Tatum – The ultra-athletic defensive back never ascended higher than second on the depth chart. Although he was a solid special team’s performer, he wasn’t a big enough hitter to really make an impact at safety. Tatum left the team early this season as a fifth year senior.

Daniel Borg – Borg played in the 2005 game with Tatum. The offensive lineman had a decent career, starting a handful of games early on but he left the team following the 2007 season to focus on a difficult academic major. 

Devon Ross – The most successful to date of all the players. Ross had a solid career, but stardom seemed to elude him. He played as a true freshman but was not a full-time starter until his junior season. Ross was solid at corner, but was probably overshadowed a bit by the less recruited Trevin Wade. Good enough to get an invite to the NFL Combine, Ross appears to have a future at the next level. He will probably be best remembered for two plays during the 2008 season, one good, one bad. He had a key interception for a score against Cal, but also blew the coverage on the long completion in the final minutes that led to Oregon State’s game winning score.

Rob Golden – Another player who saw the field as a true freshman. Golden could not beat out Wade at corner and saw some time at nickel back in 2008 before being converted to strong safety in the spring of 2009. Started all 13 games as strong safety last season and while he was not a star, he did play well. Will start somewhere in the defensive backfield in 2010.

Solomon Koehler – Koehler came in with a lot of hype, but has not done much in his Wildcat career. Began as a defensive tackle but was moved to offense midway through his freshman season and has not cracked the starting line-up or even the solid playing rotation yet. Only a redshirt sophomore-to-be Koehler has plenty of time to make an impact.

 Adam Hall – Hall played as a true freshman this past season, though most of his snaps came on special teams. After Tatum left the program, Hall decided to come out of his potential redshirt and was the No. 2 free safety for much of the year. Hall will be in the mix to replace Cam Nelson this upcoming season.