Arizona Football: Projecting Wildcats' Post-Spring 2-Deep Depth Chart
Arizona wrapped up its fourth edition of spring practice under Rich Rodriguez on April 10, logging 100 plays in its spring game that was high on speed and offense with a handful of big defensive plays.
In other words, a lot like the Wildcats' 2014 season, when they won the Pac-12 South title and played in the Fiesta Bowl, reaching 10 wins for the first time since 1998.
Arizona returns a dozen starters from that team, and nearly all of them figure to slide right back into those starting spots this fall. The open jobs had plenty of competition this spring, and a handful of incoming freshmen who arrive this summer could contend for a gig.
Based on how the spring went, here's our best guess at Arizona's two-deep depth chart for 2015.
Quarterback
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Anu Solomon (Sophomore)/Jerrard Randall (Senior)
Last year, Arizona had a five-man battle during spring ball for its starting quarterback job that raged on into the fall. Anu Solomon won the job during the final week of training camp and ended up starting all 14 games as well as having one of the best seasons in school history.
As a result, this spring was more about improving than competing for Solomon, who threw for 3,793 yards, 28 touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 58.1 percent completion rate as a redshirt freshman.
"He's gotten better, and with a great summer, I think he will be even better this fall," Rodriguez said after the spring game, during which Solomon threw for 175 yards and two TDs on 19-of-25 passing.
The backup job was a crowded mess last season, but thanks to graduation and transfers, it's much clearer now.
Jerrard Randall, a former LSU signee who joined the Wildcats in 2014, has asserted himself as the clear No. 2 and could see some regular time when Arizona wants to go with more of a dual-threat approach at quarterback.
Running Back
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Nick Wilson (Sophomore)/Jared Baker (Senior)
There was no way that any one player was going to be able to make up the production lost by Ka'Deem Carey's departure after the 2013 season, but Nick Wilson did his best to carry as much of the load as possible. As a true freshman, he ran 236 times for 1,375 yards and 16 touchdowns.
The 5'10", 199-pound Wilson took a lot of hits last year, missing a game because of injury, and in an effort to keep him fresh, he was mostly held out of spring ball.
That moved the focus to who would serve as Arizona's second rusher. Jared Baker looks to have a strong grasp on that slot after a good spring that included two rushing TDs in the spring game.
Arizona rarely goes with more than one running back in its formation, but Rodriguez has said he hopes to get some of his slot receivers—such as junior Samajie Grant, sophomore Tyrell Johnson and redshirt freshman Jonathan Haden—into the mix as ball-carriers.
Receivers
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WR 1: Cayleb Jones (Junior)/Trey Griffey (Junior)
WR 2: David Richards (Senior)/Tony Ellison (Redshirt Freshman)
Slot 1: Samajie Grant (Junior)/Tyrell Johnson (Sophomore)
Slot 2: Nate Phillips (Junior)/Jonathan Haden (Redshirt Freshman)
TE: Josh Kern (Junior)/Trevor Wood (Sophomore)
For the second year in a row, Arizona's strongest position group will be the receiving corps, as six of the top seven pass-catchers return.
Additional depth from redshirted players prompted the Wildcats to move DaVonte' Neal, who had 27 receptions and two touchdowns in 2014, to cornerback.
Arizona will regularly go at least three-wide at receiver, and the ball figures to get spread around equally. Only Cayleb Jones had more than 50 catches last year, but seven players hauled in at least 23 passes.
An added element to this year's passing game could be the inclusion of the tight end, a rarity under Rodriguez, as that position hasn't caught a ball since 2012. At 6'5" and 229 pounds, Josh Kern looks more like a big receiver than an edge-blocker, while 6'5", 251-pound Trevor Wood has soft hands and runs like a bulldozer.
"By bringing in a tight end, we can bring in multiple packages," Solomon said following the spring game, during which Kern had a game-high five receptions and Wood caught a TD pass.
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Offensive Line
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LT: Freddie Tagaloa (Junior)/Layth Friekh (Redshirt Freshman)
LG: Cayman Bundage (Senior)/Kaige Lawrence (Senior)
C: Carter Wood (Senior)/Zach Hemmila (Junior)
RG: Lene Maiava (Senior)/Levi Walton (Redshirt Freshman)
RT: Jacob Alsadek (Sophomore)/T.D. Gross (Junior)
Arizona returns 51 career starts among its offensive linemen, but not all with the Wildcats.
Freddie Tagaloa, who played two seasons at California, made seven starts for the Golden Bears before transferring and sitting out the 2014 season. Now eligible, he will lock down Solomon's blind side as the successor to versatile lineman Mickey Baucus.
Cayman Bundage is the Wildcats' most experienced starter, with 12 starts in 2014 and 26 for his career, while Jacob Alsadek started most of last season at right guard but can handle tackle as well.
Lene Maiava brings in starting experience at both guard spots.
Carter Wood, a former walk-on, has the inside track on replacing durable Steven Gurrola at center, but because Gurrola hardly came off the field last season, this will be Arizona's most vulnerable spot on the line.
A wild card when training camp resumes is true freshman Keenan Walker, Arizona's top signee from 2014. The 4-star tackle suffered a knee injury during practice leading up to the Under Armour All-America Game and might not be able to contribute this season.
Defensive Line
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End: Reggie Gilbert (Senior)/Jeff Worthy (Senior)
Nose: Parker Zellers (Sophomore)/Sani Fuimaono (Junior)
Tackle: Calvin Allen (Sophomore)/Marcus Griffin (Redshirt Freshman)
Arizona's 3-3-5 defensive alignment calls for smaller, quicker guys on the defensive line, going even smaller on obvious passing downs when additional linebackers come in and reduce the front to as few as two players.
But one guy who's not likely to leave the field much, if at all, is Reggie Gilbert.
The fifth-year senior was granted a medical redshirt for a 2011 season that was snuffed out after six games because of a knee injury, and his return brings back 34 career starts, 10.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss.
Daniel Berk of the Arizona Daily Star reports that Parker Zellers, who had 20 tackles last season as a backup, was recently awarded a scholarship after playing as a walk-on for his first two years with the program.
Meanwhile, Calvin Allen is getting prepped to start after limited action in 2014 but could face a serious challenge from rising redshirt freshman Marcus Griffin.
Linebackers
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SLB: Marquis Ware (Redshirt Freshman)/Derrick Turituri (Junior)
MLB: Scooby Wright (Junior)/Cody Ippolito (Junior)
WLB: DeAndre' Miller (Sophomore)/Jake Matthews (Junior)
The nation's most decorated defensive player anchors the middle of Arizona's bend-but-don't-break defense, with Scooby Wright back for his third season as starter.
In 2014, Wright led the FBS in tackles, tackles for loss and forced fumbles en route to being named the winner of the Bednarik and Lombardi Awards as well as the Nagurski Trophy.
The other two linebacker spots are pretty much wide open, with five players (including Cody Ippolito, Wright's backup in the middle) fighting for playing time. That group—minus Marquis Ware, who was redshirted—combined for 133 tackles compared to the 163 that Wright had himself.
Expect all six guys to play a lot, though, both because of Arizona's linebacker-heavy formation on third down and defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel's desire to be at least two-deep at every spot in order to cycle in fresh bodies on a consistent basis.
Secondary
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Bandit: Tellas Jones (Junior)/Paul Magloire (Junior)
Spur: William Parks (Senior)/Anthony Lopez (Senior)
CB 1: Jarvis McCall (Sophomore)/Devin Holiday (Junior)
CB 2: Cam Denson (Sophomore)/DaVonte' Neal (Junior)
FS: Jamar Allah (Senior)/Devon Brewer (Freshman)
With nine of the top 43 passing offenses in the country (including Arizona) in the Pac-12, there's a premium on having a strong secondary.
The Wildcats have a good one, but how good it will be depends on whether it can generate strong performances from three new starters.
Only Jarvis McCall and William Parks were full-time starters in 2014, and both were solid. Parks figures to become the leader of this group, taking over the role that Jared Tevis had a year ago, as the hard hitter was second on the team with 13 tackles for loss.
DaVonte' Neal, a converted receiver, looked good in the spring and will be in the mix for meaningful snaps all season. However, he will have to beat out Cam Denson for the starting corner spot opposite McCall. Denson, a Tucson product, came on strong toward the end of his true freshman season.
Special Teams
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K: Casey Skowron (Senior)/Josh Pollack (Redshirt Freshman)
P: Drew Riggleman (Senior)/Jake Glatting (Redshirt Freshman)
KR: Tyrell Johnson (Sophomore)/Kaelin DeBoskie (Redshirt Freshman)
PR: DaVonte' Neal (Junior)/Samajie Grant (Junior)
Casey Skowron got to experience being both a hero and a goat in 2014, kicking a game-winning field to beat Washington a few weeks after shanking a potential game-winner against USC.
All told, Skowron made 20 of 28 field goals and was perfect on all 57 extra points, also adding a touchdown on a fake field goal.
Drew Riggleman ranked fourth in the FBS last season in punting average at 46.07 yards per kick, with 30 of his 76 kicks going for more than 50 yards and 23 landing inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
DaVonte' Neal had some muff issues on punts last year but is still the best option there. On kickoff,s Arizona hopes to unleash the track-star speed of Tyrell Johnson, whose 10.43-second time in the 100 meters is the fastest of any FBS football player in the country this year.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
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