Senior defensive tackle Dereck Boles will have worked with coach Kevin Sumlin’s staff for one year, but he’ll leave with years of wisdom. “I’m just trying to get everything and learn all I can learn from them,” he says.
Earlier this season, Arizona Wildcats defensive tackle Dereck Boles endured what he described as a “cramp crisis.” It got so bad that he exited the Sept. 8 game at Houston in the second quarter and didn’t return.
“I was cramping left and right,” Boles said this week. “We were all just trying to figure out what’s going on. I felt like I was doing everything right. I guess I wasn’t.”
Boles worked with trainers and coaches to resolve the issue. He also reviewed his own habits and training regimen.
Since then, he’s been drinking more fluids, eating better and getting more sleep. Boles also is playing the best ball of his college career. Over his past five games, Boles has 19 tackles, including three for losses, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and a sack.
“As the year’s gone on,” Boles said, “I’m just handling all that stuff off the field to be successful on the field.”
Boles embodies what UA coach Kevin Sumlin has been preaching for weeks: It isn’t just about what happens on Saturday. The real work takes place Monday through Friday — or, as is the case this week, Monday through Thursday with Colorado in town for a Friday-night affair at Arizona Stadium.
“He had struggled previously,” Sumlin said. “His understanding of the game, he’s always had that. But also understanding what he needs to do to be consistent at this level. That’s part of maturity.
“To play at this level, it takes more than just playing hard. It takes being able to understand … what you need to do during the week to prepare your body to be able to play at that level for longer periods of time. He’s done that.”
The “cramp crisis” taught Boles a valuable lesson, one he can take with him should he play pro ball. Aside from defensive coordinator Marcel Yates, whom Boles has known since their Boise State days, the senior will have worked with the current coaching staff for only one season. He’ll leave with years’ worth of wisdom.
“I’m just trying to get everything and learn all I can learn from them,” Boles said. “There’s a lot that goes into this that I didn’t necessarily think of or put emphasis on.”
Known for his quickness coming off the ball, the 6-2, 306-pound Boles said the game has slowed down “dramatically” for him in recent weeks. Like most of the rest of the defense, Boles seemed to be one step ahead against Oregon last week. On two separate occasions he recognized and blew up screen passes. On the second one, Boles dropped CJ Verdell for a 3-yard loss.
Boles’ progress was evident the previous week, when he completed a second-effort sack of UCLA’s Wilton Speight. Speight initially eluded Boles, but Boles kept working, stripped the ball and recovered the fumble. The week before, at Utah, Boles had Utes quarterback Tyler Huntley in his sights but missed him.
“I feel like I’m in a better place, getting more comfortable out there on the field,” Boles said. “Calming down more. Not trying to be out there all over the place like, ‘Man, I’m on TV, everybody’s watching, blah, blah, blah.'"
