Arizona Football: Wildcats' 2015 Offseason Checklist

Arizona's 2015 season officially begins on Sept. 3 when the Wildcats host UTSA, though preseason training camp will begin about a month before that. Until then, there's not much left to do.

Or is there?

There's really no true down time in college football, as much of the long offseason is spent preparing for the year ahead while also keeping an eye toward future seasons by ensuring there's enough talent on board to continue winning. Arizona is in the midst of its best three-year stretch since the mid-1970s, and the key to maintaining that is to never stop working.

With that in mind, here's a look at some things the Wildcats can work on before getting into 2015 season-preparation mode in August.

As big of a year as Anu Solomon had in 2014, it could have been much better if not for some poor decision-making during critical moments by the redshirt freshman quarterback. Nothing resonates more than the final play of Arizona's season, when his (unwise) choice not to go out of bounds and get another snap resulted in his being sacked by Boise State's Kamalei Correa at the end of the 38-30 Fiesta Bowl loss.

Solomon threw for 3,793 yards and 28 touchdowns, but he completed only 58 percent of his passes and was sacked 38 times, many of which could have been avoided had he thrown the ball away or tried to scramble.

The 6'2", 205-pound Solomon looked much better with his game management during the Wildcats' spring game, but he told Bleacher Report in April that "it's something that I'm struggling with."

Solomon will continue to work on his timing and decision-making through offseason drills in hopes that when his sophomore year gets underway there will be less hesitancy.

With a player as talented and accomplished as Scooby Wright patrolling the middle of its defense, Arizona doesn't need to get too much production from the rest of that unit. But it would like to get some big plays from others, or at least have them not offset what Wright is able to accomplish.

In 2014, Wright led the nation in tackles, tackles for loss and forced fumbles, and his 14 sacks were more than any other three Wildcats. The linebacker won the Bednarik, Lombardi and Nagurski awards to become the most decorated defensive player in school history.

Yet Arizona ranked 105th in total defense, allowing 451 yards per game, and because its offense was one of the most uptempo in the country, that defense was on the field a lot. As a result, the Wildcats yielded 221 plays of at least 10 yards, tied for sixth-worst in the country.

The key to overall improvement is creating depth so fresh bodies can be cycled onto the field regularly to offset the tempo and the long drives. Getting off the field quicker can also help, but that would require Arizona to become more adept at rushing the quarterback.

"Arizona had 38 sacks last season, but 14 came from Wright, who often lined up at defensive end on third downs because of the UA's lack of a pass rush," Daniel Berk of the Arizona Daily Star wrote. "But this year, [coach Rich] Rodriguez and [defensive coordinator Jeff] Casteel would like to use Wright more in coverage on third downs and be able to rely on other players to get in the backfield."

When former Iowa fullback/linebacker John Kenny announced on Twitter on May 28 that he was transferring to Arizona, it was a nice surprise for a team that had come up short on two potential transfers who would have been able to make an immediate impact this season.

The Wildcats were unsuccessful in their recruitment of former Notre Dame center Matt Hegarty and ex-Michigan cornerback Blake Countess, a pair of graduate students who ended up choosing Oregon and Auburn, respectively. Each would have been eligible immediately because they finished their undergraduate degrees and still have remaining eligibility.

The 6'2", 234-pound Kenny must sit out a season before becoming eligible to play in 2016.

Arizona has had varying success on the transfer front during coach Rich Rodriguez's tenure, with the most notable acquisition being wide receiver Cayleb Jones. Jones transferred from Texas, and after sitting out the 2013 season, he led the Wildcats with 73 receptions, 1,019 yards and nine touchdowns.

At this time last year, Arizona had commitments from four players for its 2015 class, and it would also end up signing a pair of players from 2014 who ended up attending a prep school. The Wildcats ended up with a strong 23-person class, nearly all of which was locked up before the season began.

That's likely Arizona's goal again this summer, which means the next three months should be jam-packed with legwork, frequent flyer miles and camp observations. At this point, it has five commitments, including two quarterbacks, and ranks 47th in the country, according to 247Sports.

The 247Sports database lists 104 players in the 2016 recruiting class who have received scholarship offers from Arizona, while the Wildcats made several offers to 2017 prospects last week.

The key areas for Arizona to focus on for 2016 include the offensive line, linebacker and the secondary, positions they have yet to receive a commitment for.

If Arizona is unable to match last year's 10-win mark, it won't be because of its nonconference schedule. For the third year in a row, the Wildcats will not face an opponent from any of the other power leagues (or top independents BYU and Notre Dame), and they are one of 11 such Power Five schools that avoids a major nonconference foe this year, per Amy Daughters of FBSchedules.com.

This year's non-con slate includes games against teams from Conference USA (UTSA) and the Mountain West (Nevada) and against FCS in-state opponent Northern Arizona. Only the Nevada game is at home.

Arizona's last power foe outside of Pac-12 play or bowl games was Oklahoma State in 2012. That game was the tail end of a home-and-home series scheduled under the previous coaching regime.

The Wildcats are set to face BYU three times between 2016 and 2020, starting with a game next season in Glendale, Arizona. Other than that, the next power opponent isn't on the schedule until 2019, when they face Texas Tech.

In light of Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw saying he's working to improve the Bears' much-ridiculed nonconference slate, Arizona might want to try to do something similar if it expects to be taken seriously as a major contender.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.