Departed Arizona Wildcats specialists Casey Skowron and Drew Riggleman left some big cleats to fill. For better or worse, redshirt sophomore Josh Pollack might be the best candidate to fill all of them.
Pollack, the only scholarship specialist on the roster, has emerged as the early front-runner to succeed Skowron as Arizona’s placekicker. Pollack might be the Wildcats’ best punter, too, and that could create a dilemma for the coaching staff.
Special-teams coach Charlie Ragle said before the start of spring practice that he wanted two players to handle those two roles. (It’s actually three jobs, if you include kickoffs.) He reiterated that stance Monday.
“I just think it’s a lot,” Ragle said. “That’s a lot of load on a guy’s leg. They’re no different than pitchers. People don’t think about that. You go out and throw a gazillion balls — that’s a lot of wear and tear.”
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Pollack said he primarily has been focusing on placement kicks, but would do “what’s best for the team.” If that means kicking and punting, so be it.
“If it came to it and I needed to do it, I could do it,” Pollack said. “But it’s hard to do both. There’s very few people who can.”
Pollack’s competitors for the punting job are Matt Aragon, Jake Glatting and Ollie Graybar, who’s also in the mix at placekicker. All three punted during Friday’s open scrimmage, with mixed results.
Asked Monday if he has found a punter yet, UA coach Rich Rodriguez said, “Not a starter. We punted today, and I couldn’t tell you who the guy is right now.”
The Wildcats haven’t done a ton of punt-team work, and when they have, Ragle typically has held Pollack out of those drills. He was in the spotlight Friday, attempting four kicks from varying distances. Pollack drilled all four, something he might not have been able to do without the guidance of his predecessors.
How much did Pollack learn from Skowron and Riggleman?
“A lot,” Pollack said, “I don’t know where to start.”
No. 1 on the list is the value of a smart routine. When he first arrived from Highland Park (Ill.) High, Pollack said he would “try to kick a hundred balls” every practice session. Now he does dry runs, works on his form, and does a lot of stretching and strength work to maximize his flexibility and power.
Pollack also paid close attention to the way Skowron dealt with adversity.
His low point came in 2014 against USC, when he missed the would-be winning field goal from 36 yards — his third miss of the night in a 28-26 loss. Skowron went on to enjoy a stellar UA career, including hitting 81.8 percent of his field-goal attempts last season.
“That was a big turning point for me,” Pollack said. “He was really mature about it.
“A miss like that, that can make or break your career. A lot of guys, it’ll kill them. But not him. He really handled it well.”
Now Pollack believes he can handle anything — maybe even multiple jobs.
Not seeing red
As was the case Friday night, starting quarterback Anu Solomon did not practice because of a minor hamstring injury.
Brandon Dawkins and Khalil Tate got the majority of the work during the scrimmage, and if you were watching, you might have noticed a difference between the two.
Dawkins wore a red jersey, meaning defensive players couldn’t tackle him. Tate, the recently arrived freshman, did not.
That’s standard operating procedure for new quarterbacks under Rodriguez, who likes to see how they handle “live” situations — in particular whether they alter their throwing mechanics while being rushed or hit.
“I think that accelerates the learning process a little bit,” Rodriguez said. “Once they prove themselves … then we put them in the red.”
Said quarterbacks coach Rod Smith, “We don’t want hands-off. We want those guys feeling the heat. They’ve got to earn that red jersey.”
Extra points
* Rodriguez said the quarterbacks who did work Monday had their best practice of the spring from a timing standpoint.
* Rodriguez said Dawkins’ confidence has grown immensely since he got extensive playing time in the Arizona State game last year.
* Cornerback Sammy Morrison missed the scrimmage because of an apparent knee injury. Rodriguez said he hoped to have Morrison and a couple of other banged-up players back after next week’s spring break. The Wildcats practice Wednesday and Thursday before taking the week off.
