The concourse next to the Arizona Wildcats’ practice field is under construction, as crews break apart the old Kindall/Sancet Stadium to build a new academic center.
There’s construction occurring on the practice field, too.
Nobody knows quite yet what scheme the UA defense will employ with coordinator Marcel Yates on staff.
Yates and an entirely new defensive coaching staff are finding out what they have to work with.
Yates watched film of five Arizona games before he arrived on campus from Boise State. Since then, he’s watched every game — including the Wildcats’ New Mexico Bowl win over New Mexico — at least two times.
“It’s important to know what you have,” he said.
The game film only shows so much, however.
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“Sometimes it’s hard, because there’s seniors and you don’t know who exactly is coming back,” Yates said. “You can look on the Internet and see stuff, but you don’t always know who’s here.”
The coaching changes could be a blessing in disguise for those who were, for one reason or another, displaced by the old staff. Arizona’s roster is again littered with unheralded players discovered by the previous staff. Defensive linemen Parker Zellers and Jack Banda, for instance, fall into that camp.
Others, like linebacker Marquis Ware and defensive lineman Marcus Griffin, came in as highly regarded recruits, only to toil away on the bench. Linebacker Cody Ippolito and cornerback Devin Holiday are two of a handful of players who have shown promise but battled injuries.
Camp is extra important to those three groups.
They all have a chance to kind of prove themselves to the new coaches,” Yates said, “to start from scratch.”
The Wildcats hold their only open spring practice Friday at 6 p.m. Here’s a look at who could benefit most from the new staff:
The overachievers
Zellers was working out at his apartment complex’s weight room when Arizona announced it was parting ways with defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel, defensive lineman coach Bill Kirelawich and other members of Arizona’s coaching staff.
Zellers instantly picked up the pace.
“I said, ‘OK,’ then I started working out harder for the next 30 minutes,” he said. “I wasn’t scared or anything, it was just like, ‘OK, here we go again.’”
Again and again, Zellers has had to prove himself. The former walk-on stands just 6-foot-1 and weighs 247 pounds. He’s practically tiny for a defensive lineman.
Jack Banda falls into the same camp — the 6-3, 240-pound defensive end was nearly cut from the roster before last season.
He made the team at the last second, and by the end of the year was getting significant playing time on the defensive line. Kirelawich nicknamed him “Sackmaster” after he had two quarterback takedowns against Colorado.
But Banda and Zellers don’t exactly pass the so-called “eye test.” They must prove to an entirely new staff that there’s more to them than meets the eye.
“It is a competition, and all spots are wide-open,” Zellers said. “Everyone’s got to come out here, and if you want a spot, you got to compete.”
Second-chance guys
Ware and high school teammate Jamardre Cobb arrived at Arizona with much fanfare. The linebackers were a package deal from Bishop Mora Salesian in Los Angeles, four-star recruits with offers from enough top-level programs that they could pretty much play wherever they wanted.
Griffin was a member of the same recruiting class, a four-star defensive lineman with offers from Washington, Mississippi State and others.
Two years later, Ware and Cobb have combined for one career tackle. Griffin has two.
Last year, Cobb switched to fullback and had a receiving touchdown.
Ware barely even saw the field, only experiencing action in two games after redshirting in 2014.
“He’s gotta get ready to play,” UA coach Rich Rodriguez said of Ware. “Right now, he’s just been taking from the program and hasn’t been giving. He’s been on free lunch, and now he’s gotta pay for his meals, so to speak.”
Cobb is back practicing with the defense, and Rodriguez said both Cobb and Ware have seen time in practice at the middle linebacker slot vacated by Scooby Wright.
There’s playing time to be had.
“The last few years have been tough, man. It’s been the worst,” Ware said. “I stayed strong through it all, and now I’m here with a new coaching staff and I’m feeling good about myself.”
The 6-3, 300-pound Griffin is likewise embracing his second chance.
“It’s a fresh start for everyone,” Griffin said. “They’re giving everyone a chance. If you can play in this system, then you will be on the field. There’s no favorites.”
The bouncebacks
Ippolito was a pleasant surprise in 2014, when he registered 52 tackles at outside linebacker. Then a knee injury cost Ippolito the whole 2015 season.
Ippolito is back to square one heading into his redshirt-senior season.
The same goes for Holiday. The cornerback played as a true freshman in 2013, but has been plagued by injuries and inconsistency since.
Holiday knows competition is wide-open, thanks in part to the coaching changes. He isn’t alone.
“I felt like it was a clean slate for me,” Holiday said. “(It’s a) new chance to prove myself to the new coaches, and that’s all I’m trying to do.”
