What Are the Biggest Questions Facing Arizona as It Begins Spring Practice?

It was only a month ago that the college football season officially came to a close but luckily for all the football junkies out there, the offseason isn’t too long when you factor in spring football starting around the FBS.

While half of the country may still be under a few inches of snow on February 12, the Arizona Wildcats will happily head outside into the warm desert air and be among the first schools in all of FBS to begin spring practice. It may seem like it was just yesterday that the team was taking the field to capture a wild New Mexico Bowl win, but head coach Rich Rodriguez’s group is right back at it over the next several weeks and looking to sort out a host of issues before a long offseason hits in late March.

Here are a few questions surrounding the Wildcats as spring practice gets underway.

What will the defense look like?

Spring football is not about game plans or opponents but yourself. As a result, many coaches refer to the 15 practices they have at the beginning of each year as an opportunity to teach. That will certainly be the case this year as the Wildcats go through some major changes defensively.

That starts with the coaching staff, which is almost all new on that side of the ball following the departure of Jeff Casteel and the recent hire of new coordinator Marcel Yates from Boise State. With that change comes a big shift in philosophy from the 3-3-5 alignment Arizona had been running for the past several years, to Yates’ version of what amounts to a 4-2-5. Not only does that mean new schemes to learn this spring, but new positions for many players as well.

It will also be interesting to see how well the new coaching staff jells without much time to together. Defensive line coach Vincent Amey was only officially hired this week, even though he was an internal promotion. Jahmile Addae also hasn’t been in his role for long and cornerbacks coach Donte Williams is a fresh face from San Jose State. They didn’t have much time to all get on the same page before heading out onto the field to teach their players.

Speaking of personnel, replacing Scooby Wright III will undoubtedly be the biggest test the team faces, but luckily it had some experience in that department when the defensive star was out with an injury last season. Still, the team leader is busy training for the NFL draft now and from a leadership and on-field standpoint, he’ll undoubtedly be missed in 2016. Cal transfer Michael Barton will likely be counted on to pick up some of the slack as somebody with plenty of experience around the Pac-12.

How much can quarterback Anu Solomon improve?

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Anu Solomon burst onto the scene as a freshman for Arizona and promptly led the team to an unexpected Pac-12 South title back in 2014. The following season, when many expected him to build off the momentum of his first year as a starter, things didn’t quite go as expected. While part of last season’s struggles were due to injury, there was no doubt some sophomore slump issues involved as well.

Still, as one could see in the team’s bowl game, a top-notch and healthy Solomon can be a dangerous signal-caller against any defense. Given his ability to damage teams with his legs and his improving arm, he should enter 2016 as one of the better quarterbacks in the Pac-12 and has the potential to put up his best numbers yet this season. Another year in Rodriguez’s system will be big for the quarterback, and Solomon could use this spring to further refine his passing to become even more dangerous. Just how much he can improve will be an interesting storyline to follow in Tucson.

What makes things interesting is that while Solomon will start practice as the entrenched starter at the position, there is little doubt that he’ll get pushed for the job this spring. Backup Brandon Dawkins showed flashes during limited playing time last season and could wind up seeing time with the first team. Highly touted true freshman Khalil Tate will also be somebody to keep an eye on as the coaches love his potential, and getting an early start on learning the offense is never a bad thing.

Who steps up at receiver?

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Quarterback isn’t a huge concern on Rodriguez’s radar, but sorting out his receiving corps is much more pressing for the veteran head coach. Gone are playmaker Cayleb Jones and solid contributor David Richards, both tall outside receivers who the team will be hard pressed to replace.

Now a senior, Trey Griffey returns as the top option on the outside and figures to be option No. 1 for Solomon in the passing game after coming up with some big catches each year he’s been on campus. Nate Phillips and Samajie Grant are solid out of the slot, and ex-defensive back Cam Denson is using the spring to make the switch to become a receiver instead of covering one.

In past years with Jones, Richards and Griffey, the Wildcats were able trot out a tall lineup of receivers (all over 6'3") that few teams could match up with. They won’t have that advantage in 2016, but they could sort out new ways of attacking opposing secondaries this spring with the host of options they have among pass-catchers.

What early enrollees will make an impact?

Spring practice also presents a new crop of early enrollees their first chance to get a taste of playing college football, and the Wildcats are likely hoping one or two of them can wind up making an impact as freshmen during the fall.

Arizona will have seven newcomers take the field this spring, including four grayshirts and a trio of high school early enrollees. Quarterback Khalil Tate was the highest rated among the group, and as referenced earlier, he could look to make some waves early on as a backup quarterback. He was listed as an athlete coming out of high school, though, so it’s possible he shows the coaching staff enough to get a look at another position the team might be thin at while still taking reps behind center.

Defensive back Isaiah Hayes and linebacker Kahi Neves are both a pair of 3-star recruits who will also suit up this month and next for practice, and each has a chance to contribute early on as well given there are spots up for grabs at the positions they play.

Are these changes enough to get Arizona back on top in the Pac-12 South?

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Two seasons ago, Arizona was the surprise team in the Pac-12 South who combined a little luck with great play on both sides of the ball to capture the division title. That high-water mark, which included a New Year’s Six bowl game, was an impressive accomplishment for the program but also part of the reason why 2015 felt like such a disappointment.

Injuries no doubt played a major part in the reason why the team just barely reached the .500 mark, but there were still plenty of Arizona fans who went home disappointed for a myriad of reasons after a tough loss.

Will this spring be a chance to get back on track to the ways of 2014, or is it simply going to be used to sort out the issues brought up in 2015? We won’t get a good answer on that until later this fall, but the changes Rodriguez is implementing are encouraging.

After struggling defensively last year, he made the bold move of dismissing his defensive staff filled with longtime friends in order to bring in Yates’ more aggressive style of defense. The moves were also done to boost the team’s standing on the recruiting trail, but it’s reasonable to expect a nice improvement on that side of the ball going forward.

Offensively, there’s plenty to like about the Wildcats with Solomon behind center, Griffey catching passes and a hopefully healthy Nick Wilson running the ball. Offense hasn’t been all that much of an issue under Rodriguez, and one wouldn’t expect it to be in 2016 given the chance the players will get use this spring to learn even more of the uptempo spread system their head coach is known for running.

Yes, the talent level in Tucson isn’t quite as good as some of their peers in the division, but there are plenty of reasons why a good spring and summer could translate on the field in Tucson later this year. The Pac-12 South is as wide-open as it has been with no clear favorite this upcoming season, and the changes being implemented by the coaching staff could certainly pay dividends quickly.

Is that enough to go from fifth to first in the league? Maybe not, but the team is used to surprising people when they least expect it, and that could be the case once again if it’s a productive two months in the desert for Arizona.

Bryan Fischer is a national college football columnist at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter at @BryanDFischer. Unless noted otherwise, all recruiting information is from 247Sports.