Arizona Football: Biggest Takeaways from Wildcats' 2015 Spring Game

Fresh off its best season in 16 years, Arizona continues to keep its foot on the gas in the quest to become a regular member of college football's elite. Friday night's spring game was just one step in that direction.

The Wildcats ran 100 plays in a glorified scrimmage, with the offensive squad earning a 96-68 win using a modified scoring system that gave points for scores, big plays and defensive stops.

"I saw some good, I saw some ugly, I saw some bad," Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said afterward. "We know what we have, and we also know what we don't have."

Last year produced the program's first Pac-12 title of any sort, winning the South Division, then making its first major bowl appearance since 1994. One year does not make for prolonged success, as Arizona has never had back-to-back seasons with 10 or more victories, but the 26 wins the past three years is the most since 1973-75.

"This was definitely a smooth spring for us," senior safety Will Parks said.

Here's a look at what stood out most during Friday's outing, as well as the spring in general:

Solomon's improved decision-making

One of the biggest knocks against quarterback Anu Solomon during his freshman year was in the decision-making department, as he'd often hold the ball too long and take a sack—such as on Arizona's final play in the Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State—or try to force in a throw instead of throwing it away. Other times, Solomon would get too excited and overthrow an open receiver, resulting in a 58 percent completion rate.

The redshirt sophomore looked far more confident on Friday, getting rid of the ball quickly and showing little hesitation when deciding to run or throw. He finished with 175 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-25 passing, adding 20 yards on three carries including a 16-yard run on the scrimmage's first snap.

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"He was pretty sharp," Rodriguez said of Solomon, who last season tied the school record with 28 TD passes and had the second-most yards (3,793). "There were a couple of times he probably could've been a little more decisive in his throws, but Anu is a smart guy. He's gotten better and, with a great summer, I think he will be even better this fall."

Solomon admits he still has to work on game management and making correct choices—"it's something that I'm struggling with," he said—but through film study and repetition he expects to continue making progress.

"I think it's been night and day for him," senior receiver David Richards said of Solomon. "He's become a leader out there. He's still learning, but I think he knows it really well."

Offensive wrinkles

Arizona ranked 26th in total offense last season, averaging 463.6 yards per game, but it was 85th in red-zone efficiency and only scored touchdowns on 33-of-60 possessions. A lack of diversity in the play-calling near the goal line contributed to this, as the Wildcats' short-yardage offense frequently fell short.

There are no shortage of skill-position players at Arizona's disposal this season, and in the spring game it broke out some looks that hadn't been seen in Arizona Stadium in quite some time. Namely, the use of tight ends.

"We had more catches by a tight end than in the history of Arizona football," Rodriguez joked. "More than even when Gronk (former Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski) was here."

Junior Josh Kern was the main recipient of this emphasis on tight end passing, with five receptions for 31 yards, while sophomore Trevor Wood had a touchdown catch.

Arizona also used receivers Samajie Grant and Tyrell Johnson in the backfield on sweeps and pitches, partly because the Wildcats held top running back Nick Wilson from competition after an injury-plagued freshman year.

"We'll use them a both positions," Rodriguez said.

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Defense will continue to bend, but break less

Arizona's defense didn't get much praise last year, despite having a player (linebacker Scooby Wright) who won the Bednarik, Lombardi and Nagurski awards last year, because it was 105th in yards allowed and gave up more than 28 points per game. The Wildcats aren't trying to develop a top-10 defense, just one that can make a few plays here and there.

That was the case on Friday, as a rotation made mostly of reserves spent most of its time trying to prevent big gains rather than reverse the field. The lone exception was when redshirt freshman defensive tackle stripped quarterback Brandon Dawkins near midfield, nearly scoring a big-guy touchdown before Dawkins chased him down and popped the ball loose near the 10-yard-line.

The Wildcats return most of its front seven, but a newcomer who figures to have an instant impact is junior college transfer Paul Magloire. Magloire had a game-high nine tackles and should contend for a starting stop on the defensive line.

"I think overall we found some guys that we need to get in the rotation," Rodriguez said. "Hopefully they will work hard this summer and be ready in August."

Turn off the play clock

Rodriguez had hoped to run 90 to 100 plays Friday, and they hit the century mark in just over 70 minutes of real time before heading into the stands and turning the play-calling over to the fans. It was about the only time Arizona took its time on offense, averaging between 10 and 12 seconds between snaps.

Last season Arizona ran an FBS-best 1,139 plays, averaging 81.3 per game despite being 119th in time of possession.

"I think we can play faster than we have before," Rodriguez said.

All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.