Five Takeaways from the Arizona Football Spring game

TUCSON, AZ- Concluding the Spring practices once again, the annual Spring game hosted by the Arizona Football team gave us a little preview ahead of the season.

It was a beautiful day in Tucson on Saturday, so who wouldn’t want a little Arizona Football action?

Officially wrapping the 2019 Spring Practices, the Wildcats concluded those practices, by hosting their annual Spring Scrimmage held inside Arizona Stadium.

Arizona Wildcats

With plenty of story lines and hype heading into the game, there were plenty of things to keep an eye on for us avid fans. Now, while there were plenty of takeaways from Saturday’s scrimmage, to me, these are the five biggest!

5. Khalil Tate is the starter and will be the starter!

Heading into the Spring, there have been plenty of attention-grabbing headlines, all regarding the Senior Khalil Tate, and just how he will do with an “open quarterback competition”.

While I think competition is great, and having formidable back-ups to push him is a fantastic thing to have, I didn’t necessarily buy the story lines, that his starting job is/ was in jeopardy.

To me, I interpreted it as yes there was a “competition”, but Tate was going to be the presumptive starter, assuming he went in to each practice with a good, competitive mindset to get better and push himself as well as others.

On Saturday, the senior-to-be only played in two series, which to me signifies he’s the starter, and there’s nothing he really needed to show in the Spring game to further solidify his role. At this point, he’s started in 20+ games, enters his second year under offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone, and has the experience needed to help lead Arizona in 2019 should he remain healthy.

Last year I think was just a bad year for the Cats as the staff and team still needed time to gel. Well, it’s now year two under Kevin Sumlin, the expectations to perform are there, and the team is pissed off they didn’t play as well as they should have in 2018 (just an opinion here).

Tate started the game with a great throw to Devaughn Cooper that was nearly intercepted, but instead led to a big touchdown! That was probably Arizona’s brightest, offensive moment in Saturday’s scrimmage.

Also, it was great to see Tate moving around, being engaged in the game and helping coach up and chat with some of the youngsters.

4. Nathan Tilford looked good… I mean REALLY good!

Oh the mystery that is Nathan Tilford. A former four-star recruit in his respective class, expectations have been high for Tilford ever since stepping foot on campus in Tucson

Unable to crack the running back depth chart up to this point, it’s put up or shut up for the former Colony High School standout.

He has all the physical tools, he just needs to put it all together and perform. Well, who better to get the most out of the talented running back, than former NFL player and newly hired position coach, DeMarco Murray?

The redshirt sophomore came out ready to play on Saturday, and boy was he impressive. Tilford looked fluid, he looked confident and he looked as poised as I’ve ever seen, to earn more playing time in 2019.

I will admit I have been high on Tilford, and have had big hopes for this young man. While, the jury is still out as to whether this staff trusts him enough to get significant carries with J.J. Taylor and Gary Brightwell in the backfield, if he continues to play how he did on Saturday, I think this staff would be foolish not to do so.

He snapped off a couple nice runs, including a touchdown that was called back due to a hold.

Seems like Tilford had a nice Spring, and it’ll be interesting to see how things stand entering the fall camp! I for one, will continue to have high hopes.

3. Arizona’s Receivers were much better than anticipated

Losing Shun Brown, Shawn Poindexter and Tony Ellison is going to hurt. We’ve highlighted this before, but when you lose the sort of production that these three had, it’s never easy to replace it.

Luckily, when you have gaps like this, others have the opportunity to step up, and generally that happens with a player two that you probably didn’t anticipate.

This Spring, there have been plenty of names thrown around, all with the expectation of ‘this player will be the guy’. Well, the position is still largely unsettled, but one things for sure, there is plenty of talent to go around.

Arizona fans should expect big things from Cooper, Jalen Curry and Cedric Peterson this year, however, a few other guys that I feel are not getting enough praise to me are; Tre Adams, Brian Casteel and Drew Dixon. Together, these three looked quite solid on Saturday, and I’m hoping that carries in to the fall.

The Wildcats lose significant size in the absence of Poindexter, but luckily get some nice length in Adams and Dixon. They both come in around the 6-foot-3/ 6-foot-4 range and posses the ideal size for beefing up Arizona’s receiver position.

While there’s still a bit of development for both to go through, I thought they showed a lot of promise on Saturday.

Adams had a nice touchdown from Kevin Doyle that concluded the first half, and Dixon made a couple, nice catches to round a solid day for the Tucson native and former Sabino High School star.

Moving forward, I think this is a solid group that will perform better than people think, especially when the time comes!

2. McKenzie Barnes looked solid in the secondary and should have a solid year

I have been a big fan of McKenzie Barnes ever since he committed to Arizona nearly two years ago. A former standout at Edison High School in Fresno, CA, coming in Barnes had great skill and athleticism that I thought would greatly benefit the Wildcats.

However, what I was most impressed about was his overall size and length. Standing at 6-feet-1-inches, to me, Barnes was ideal for the cornerback position, and should be the type of player the Wildcats target at corner from here on out.

In his freshman season last year, Barnes appeared in five games, totaling eight tackles (seven solo) with five pass deflections. A year later, he’s even bigger and should get more time in the Arizona secondary.

On Saturday, Barnes looked good! To me, he looked incredibly comfortable out there and was one of the defensive players that shined the brightest.

During the scrimmage, Barnes intercepted two, errant passes, one of which he made a great read and break on the football for.

Should he stay healthy, I think he will have a solid year for the Cats, and will help provide some much-needed depth and talent in the secondary!

If Saturday’s performance is any indication, look for Barnes to have a big year!

1. Jalen Harris is the real deal!

Son of former Arizona legend, and ‘Desert Swarm’ star Sean Harris, Jalen Harris is hungry to surpass his dad’s stellar collegiate career. Coming in to Arizona, Harris stood an impressive 6-feet-4-inches and 210 pounds. However, he needed to add a bit more weight to really make an impact at the division one level.

He played in limited action in 2017, before ultimately redshirting due to injury. In 2018, he made his presence felt, appearing in 11 games for the Cats, totaling 27 tackles (21 solo) with three sacks and four tackles for a loss.

Now up to roughly 242 pounds, he looks like a completely different player, and one that should have a substantial impact in 2019.

On Saturday his hunger and athleticism was on full display, creating a lot of disruption in the Arizona backfield, showing flashes of greatness like his dad. Personally, I feel like he had the best game and was Arizona’s best defensive player on the field yesterday!

Really hope Harris sustains that success in 2019 and becomes another big piece that will continue to help solidify this defense!

These were just my biggest takeaways! I’m excited for the 2019 football season and can’t wait to see how the Wildcats perform. What were your thoughts on yesterdays scrimmage? As always, Bear Down, Arizona!