Arizona Football: Position-by-Position Preview of Wildcats' 2015 Roster

Coming off their best season in more than 15 years, the Arizona Wildcats have moved from a team that had for so long seemed to be on the cusp of success to one that's hoping to maintain it. In order for that to be the case, the Wildcats need strong efforts from all over the field, not just a select few positions.

The 2014 Wildcats won 10 games, claiming the Pac-12's South Division title and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl. It was Arizona's first 10-win season since 1998.

Arizona returns 12 starters from that team, including many of the top contributors from a year ago. Some starting jobs are still up for grabs heading into preseason training camp, with incoming freshmen in the mix to contribute in a few places, but for the most part, the Wildcats already know what they'll have to work with this fall.

Here's a position-by-position breakdown of Arizona's 2015 squad, in terms of both starters and backups who should see significant playing time.

A year ago at this time, Arizona's quarterback situation was uncertain. Five players went into the preseason with a chance at earning the job, including several transfers from other FBS programs, but in the end, it was a redshirt freshman (Anu Solomon) who won the competition.

And following an amazing first season, there's no longer any debate over whom the Wildcats want running their offense.

Solomon threw for 3,793 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2014, with just nine interceptions in 540 pass attempts. He also added 291 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

This offseason, Solomon has devoted himself to making better decisions, knowing when to tuck it and run or throw it away rather than trying to extend the play and find an open man. Solomon completed only 58 percent of his passes, throwing for 50 percent or worse four times, and he also took 38 sacks, including one on Arizona's final play of the 2014 season—when Solomon didn't run out of bounds but instead was tackled in bounds by Boise State's Kamalei Correa in the final seconds of the Fiesta Bowl loss.

The backup quarterback position looks like former LSU passer Jerrard Randall's to lose. He took most of the second-team reps in the spring, and both his mobility and his strong arm could provide a different look if Arizona opts to create a package of plays for him.

Nick Wilson handled the majority of Arizona's rushing plays as a true freshman in 2014, and the team expects the same this season. But in an effort to lighten his load and minimize the risk of injury—Wilson missed time with an ankle sprain and also suffered a concussion last year—the Wildcats are hoping to spread the ball around more.

Wilson had team highs in carries (236), yards (1,375) and touchdowns (16), despite missing one game and seeing minimal time in others because of his ailments. He had seven 100-yard performances, including his first three collegiate games, but he wore down as the season progressed and had just 112 combined yards in Arizona's final two contests.

Jared Baker, a fifth-year senior, will be Wilson's primary reliever. He has carried the ball 72 times over the past three seasons, scoring twice last year.

The rest of Arizona's rushing could come from slot receivers who line up in the backfield to maximize their talents. Juniors Samajie Grant and Nate Phillips, sophomore Tyrell Johnson and redshirt freshman Jonathan Haden should all get touches.

As it was in 2014, the receiver spot is Arizona's deepest position. And it's also still young, with only one senior (David Richards) among the top six returners.

Junior Cayleb Jones is the top target—and a big one at that. The 6'3", 215-pound transfer from Texas had a breakout season a year ago, leading the Wildcats with 73 receptions, 1,019 yards and nine touchdowns. He had four 100-yard games, including a 13-catch, 186-yard, three-touchdown effort against California that he capped with a Hail Mary reception to lead Arizona to a massive comeback victory.

Other sizable targets are 6'3" junior Trey Griffey—son of baseball great Ken Griffey Jr.—and Richards, who stands at 6'4". Griffey had 31 receptions last season, while Richards heads into his final year with 67 career catches.

The rest of the Wildcats receivers are of the small-but-speedy slot variety, which fits perfectly in Arizona's spread offense. Juniors Grant and Phillips are 5'9" and 5'7", respectively, while sophomore Johnson is also 5'7", and redshirt freshman Haden is 5'6".

Despite his size, Johnson could make for a potential breakout deep threat because of his speed. During the offseason, he ran for Arizona's indoor and outdoor track teams, posting personal bests of 6.66 seconds in the 60-meter dash and 10.41 seconds in the 100. Those were the second- and fourth-fastest times by FBS football players who ran track this year, per the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Association.

Tight end was a mostly invisible position for Arizona last season but figures to have a greater presence in 2015. Spring practice saw Josh Kern and Trevor Wood emerge as viable options in the passing game.

The big boys up front will have a different look for Arizona in 2015, as three starters have graduated, but the addition of a sizable transfer to anchor one key position will keep this from being a rebuilding year on the line.

Freddie Tagaloa, who played two seasons at California before coming to Tucson and sitting out 2014, is a 6'8", 316-pound junior who locked down the left tackle position during spring ball. He'll be tasked with protecting Solomon's blind side and keeping the quarterback from being sacked as often as he was last year.

Arizona's most experienced players, seniors Cayman Bundage and Lene Maiava, will hold down the guard spots. Between them, they have 33 career starts, with Bundage starting 25 games over the past two seasons. That experience on the interior, where the running backs often look first for holes, is key to the Wildcats' spread run game.

Jacob Alsadek, a sophomore who spent most of last season playing guard, looks to be the man to handle the right tackle position. Former walk-on Carter Wood will likely man the center position, but there's uncertainty at that position that Arizona could have addressed had it been able to land Notre Dame transfer Matt Hegarty—who ended up going to Oregon instead.

Three key recruits from Arizona's 2014 class who redshirted last season are part of the projected second unit of linemen. Layth Friekh, Jordan Poland and Levi Walton should all get into the rotation this season in order to build depth.

Arizona's weakest spot on the field is the defensive line, where it got little production last season in terms of an effective pass rush or stopping the run. It might not be much better in 2015, but it's a more experienced group, at least.

Reggie Gilbert was granted a medical redshirt this spring to recover his freshman season, in which he suffered a torn meniscus after six games and did not return to the field. That gives him essentially a second senior year with the Wildcats, and the 6'4", 262-pound defensive end was the most productive member of the line last season, with three sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss.

Much of the rest of the defensive line rotation will feature sophomores and redshirt freshmen, such as projected starters Calvin Allen and Parker Zellers and key reserve Marcus Griffin. Anthony Fotu, a 3-star prospect rated as the seventh-best junior college defensive tackle in the 2015 class, should also be able to contribute.

Scooby Wright was the nation's best (and most decorated) defensive player in 2014, leading the FBS with 163 tackles, 29 tackles for loss and six forced fumbles while adding in 14 sacks. That earned him the Bednarik, Lombardi and Nagurski awards, while somehow not making the cut as a finalist for the Butkus Award, given to the country's top linebacker.

The 6'1", 246-pound junior is by far Arizona's most versatile player, lining up as often at defensive end in passing situations as he does at his normal middle linebacker spot.

Arizona uses a 3-3-5 alignment, though it brings in additional linebackers to play close to the line on third down. This leaves plenty of reps available for a slew of potential rotation players at the other linebacker spots, where three juniors (Cody Ippolito, Jake Matthews and Derrick Turituri) and two underclassmen (sophomore DeAndre' Miller and redshirt freshman Marquis Ware) could all be interchangeable.

Nearly 20 percent of the players on Arizona's online roster are listed as cornerbacks or safeties, and that doesn't include players from the 2015 class who have just arrived on campus or will do so later this summer. With the overabundance of pass-heavy teams in the Pac-12, as well as those on Arizona's schedule that run uptempo offenses, the Wildcats have a dire need for as many fresh bodies as possible in their five-person secondary.

The area is so important to Arizona's defense that the team shifted DaVonte' Neal, a transfer from Notre Dame who played receiver for the Wildcats last season, to cornerback for 2015 to provide extra depth for a position that lacks experience.

Neal, a junior, is one of seven upperclassmen who should be part of Arizona's two-deep in the secondary. Senior Will Parks, who plays the "Spur," is somewhat of a linebacker-safety hybrid who roams between the back and the line of scrimmage. He's the team's hardest hitter, outside of linebacker Wright, and defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel tries to get him in position to make plays wherever he's most needed on each snap.

Junior college transfer Paul Magloire, who impressed during spring ball, and freshman early enrollee Devon Brewer have gotten legs up on a slew of defensive backs the Wildcats signed for 2015.

Arizona ranked 121st in the FBS in passing defense last year, allowing more than 281 yards per game and 28 touchdowns.

Arizona has one of the best kicker-punter tandems in the Pac-12 in seniors Casey Skowron and Drew Riggleman, a pair that is so well-regarded in the league that the two have both been campaigning to be the Wildcats representatives at the conference's media days in July, per Daniel Berk of the Arizona Daily Star.

Skowron was perfect on his point-after attempts in 2014 and made 20 of 28 field goals, including a game-winner to beat Washington about a month after missing three times (including in the final seconds) in a home loss to USC. He also scored a touchdown on a fake field goal against Washington.

Riggleman, entering his third year as Arizona's punter, ranked fourth in the FBS with a 46.1-yard average last season.

Neal had a punt return touchdown last season and is likely to be Arizona's main return man again this year, though Grant and Phillips could also see time at that spot. The kick return job looks to belong to Johnson, the track star who averaged 23.7 yards on 29 returns in 2014.

Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.