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Arizona Football: The Five Positions to Watch out for this Saturday

By Eric Townsend

TUCSON, AZ - NOVEMBER 11: Offensive lineman Gerhard de Beer #67 of the Arizona Wildcats runs out onto the field before the college football game against the Oregon State Beavers at Arizona Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ - NOVEMBER 11: Offensive lineman Gerhard de Beer #67 of the Arizona Wildcats runs out onto the field before the college football game against the Oregon State Beavers at Arizona Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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BERKELEY, CA – OCTOBER 21: J.J. Taylor #21 of the Arizona Wildcats scores on a 30-yard touchdown run against the California Golden Bears during their NCAA football game at California Memorial Stadium on October 21, 2017 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
BERKELEY, CA – OCTOBER 21: J.J. Taylor #21 of the Arizona Wildcats scores on a 30-yard touchdown run against the California Golden Bears during their NCAA football game at California Memorial Stadium on October 21, 2017 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

No. 5 – Running Back

Seems interesting to have this on the list with J.J. Taylor in the backfield, right? It does, but I think this is a logical and reasonable choice.

There’s no doubt Taylor has been a spark plug and an electrifying talent for the Wildcats these past couple seasons. However, outside of him, the Arizona backfield is largely untested heading into 2018.

In addition to the junior Taylor, the Wildcats have Gary Brightwell (a true sophomore), Nathan Tilford (another true sophomore), Branden Leon and recently converted running back, Anthony Mariscal (who looked quite good this spring).

There’s talent, just not a lot of proven production especially outside of Taylor. That’s why I feel it’ll be interesting to see how they perform on Saturday! If the offensive line is able to open some nice running lanes, I could see the Wildcats performing quite well here.

BYU’s defensive front is big and active, which could be a match-up to keep an eye on, either way, Arizona’s strength this season will likely be in running the football, so their first real test of 2018 will be this Saturday!

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