Notes and takeaways from the Arizona Wildcats’ post-practice media availability Tuesday morning as Oregon week continues:
* Several players who were committed to Arizona ended up at Oregon, including quarterback Braxton Burmeister, who could start Saturday. So is this week personal for the Wildcats? “It is what it is, man,†UA receiver Shun Brown said. “You’ll see ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV offer a guy, and then out of the blue, a couple hours later, Oregon will offer them. You’ll be like, ‘What?’ You know our coach is pretty mad about that. But it is what it is. If that’s how they do things. … We recruit good, and I’m proud of our coaching staff, the way they do things.â€
* Arizona QB coach Rod Smith on the recruitment of Burmeister: “I moved past that, man. I love my guy (Khalil Tate). I got a good one. I’ll take him over any of them.â€
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* UA coach Rich Rodriguez on guard Christian Boettcher forgoing his final year of eligibility to start law school: "We wanted him to come back. More importantly, we wanted him to get ready for the next phase of his life, and that’s going to be graduating and moving on."
* The fact that Brown was available for interviews today (unlike last Tuesday) is a sign that he should be closer to 100 percent after being limited vs. Oregon State last week because of a foot injury. Brown said he’s feeling “pretty good†and is “ready to roll.â€
* Brown on the limited opportunities for Arizona’s wideouts: "They just can’t stop the run. So why switch it up? If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. I would do the same thing if I was RichRod. Keep running it."
*Ìý°ä´Ç°ù²Ô±ð°ù²ú²¹³¦°ì Jace Whittaker again had a walking boot on his left foot as he left the locker room. Whittaker sported one last week as well but didn’t appear on the injury report and played against Oregon State.
*Â Rodriguez said tackle Bryson Cain, who's out for the season (ankle), is practicing on a limited basis. Rodriguez also anticipates that safety Isaiah Hayes (shoulder) will be back for spring ball.
* Rodriguez, center Nathan Eldridge and OL coach Jim Michalczik all said the Oregon State game wasn’t the offensive line's best performance of the year, even though Arizona broke the school rushing record with 534 yards.
* Senior tailback Zach Green quietly has nine touchdowns, second most behind Tate. "He’s a big, powerful guy,†Rodriguez said. “He runs with low pads. And he’s hard to wrap around. If you look at him, he’s so thick. He gets downhill in a hurry."
*Â Rodriguez gave a shoutout to the entire QB room for its collective attitude and approach and singled out Brandon Dawkins for how he has supported Tate (who took Dawkins' job).
*Â Rodriguez again went out of his way to praise Arizona's scout teams. Players from the robust 2017 freshman class who aren't playing, plus some key transfers, are filling many of those spots.
* Rodriguez on having a deeper, healthier roster: "The whole key, anybody will tell you, is having competition – having quality competition at every position. We have more of that now than we’ve had in the last couple years."
* With Arizona's overall roster in better shape, walk-on spots are harder to come by. “Four or five years ago, it was a little easier to be a walk-on here,†Rodriguez said. “Now it’s really competitive to get one of those 120 spots, and it’s made us a better football team."
* Arizona did wet-ball drills today and will continue to do them through the week. The current Saturday forecast for Eugene calls for a high of 51, a low of 42, with mostly cloudy skies and a 10 percent chance of rain (although it’s at least 40 percent every other day this week).
