Arizona Wildcats Football
Give the Wildcats a grade of 'incomplete' in their second spring under coach Mike Stoops.
With 133 days before Arizona travels to Utah for the 2005 season opener, the Cats remain giant steps away from finishing the portrait of fall's team.
"We'll look a lot different come fall," Stoops said after Saturday's spring game, played before a record crowd of 11,800 fans that withstood brief rain showers.
With as many as six starters out, the Cats played a mixture of junior college transfers and other inexperienced players who were trying to feel their way along.
The offense ended up outscoring the defense 46-27 in the 86-play scrimmage. The units got varying points for first downs, defensive stops and turnovers.
Among the regulars sitting out as a result of off-season surgery were quarterback Richard Kovalcheck (back), free safety Darrell Brooks (shoulder), defensive tackle Paul Philipp (shoulder), linebackers Spencer Larsen (knee) and Sean Jones (knee), and receiver/cornerback B.J. Dennard (elbow).
"The great thing is whenever we start our out-of-season conditioning, the only player we'll be without, that we're counting on, is Spencer Larsen," Stoops added.
Other than a scare with Mike Bell's knee, the spring game went off without any serious injuries.
Bell hyper-extended a knee slightly on a 50-yard jaunt in the second half. He spent the rest of the contest on the sidelines after posting a game-high 106 yards on nine carries.
The senior halfback said the team still has a lot more progress in front of it.
"As a team, we can get much stronger," Bell said. "We worked hard last summer, but we have to work even harder this summer. We need to step up and have 100 percent attendance."
The Wildcats do look bigger and stronger – even quicker – especially on defense. The sounds of pads popping reverberated around Arizona Stadium during the scrimmage.
That soundtrack included a crushing block by receiver Anthony Johnson that left safety Marcus Hollingsworth dazed, and opened a lane for Chris Henry's 4-yard touchdown scamper around left end.
It was part of a three-touchdown day for the offense, led by quarterback Adam Austin. Taking every snap, an exhausted Austin went 27 of 50 for 370 yards. He had a pair of TDs and four interceptions. "That was our statement all spring," said Austin, filling in for Kovalcheck. "We had to get tougher and more physical."
The defensive statements were emphatic as safeties Dominic Patrick and Lamon Means, cornerback Antoine Cason and linebacker Randy Sims picked off Austin. Patrick, filling in for Brooks, dropped a sure 90-plus yard interception return for a TD early in the game, but showed promise with four tackles.
"We got our hands on some balls today and had some interceptions," defensive coordinator Mark Stoops said. "I thought we made some good breaks on the ball." Even one of the offensive touchdowns - a 40-yard completion - glanced off two defenders' hands before settling into the arms of Gerold Rodriguez.
In all, the Cats broke up six other passes and got to Austin twice. Linebacker John McKinney and end Jason Parker recorded one sack apiece. "We still need to be more physical at the point of attack in a lot of areas," Mike Stoops added. "That's what we'll concentrate on this summer."
