Arizona Wildcats Football

Arizona is coming off its best season since 1998, winning 10 games and claiming its first Pac-12 division title in 2014 by emerging from the pack in the deep and dangerous South. It did so with a relatively young team, one that was expected to be a year away from competing but instead got ahead of schedule.

But two straight losses to end the year, first to Oregon in the conference title game and then to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, put a sour end to the 2014 campaign and served as motivation to improve during the offseason.

Despite bringing back most of its skill players and the nation's most decorated defender from 2014 in linebacker Scooby Wright, the Wildcats were picked to finish fourth in the Pac-12 South and opened at No. 22 in both the Associated Press and Amway Coaches preseason polls.

Read on, as we go in-depth on what Arizona has in store for 2015.

Coaches

Name	Position	Year with Team
Rich Rodriguez	Head Coach	4th
Calvin Magee	Associate Head Coach/Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Coach	4th
Rod Smith	Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach	4th
Jeff Casteel	Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach	4th
Tony Dews	Receivers Coach	4th
Charlie Ragle	Tight Ends Coach/Special Teams Coach	4th
Jim Michalczik	Offensive Line Coach	3rd
Bill Kirelawich	Defensive Line Coach	4th
Matt Caponi	Safeties Coach	4th
David Lockwood	Cornerbacks Coach	4th
Chris Allen	Strength and Conditioning Coach	4th

Stability breeds success, and Arizona certainly has had plenty of the former. The coaching staff that Rich Rodriguez assembled when he took over the program before the 2012 season has remained almost entirely intact, with just one change after the first year and nothing else since.

Several of the coaches have worked with Rodriguez at past schools, most notably Jeff Casteel, who was Rodriguez's defensive coordinator from 2003-07 at West Virginia.

What to watch for on offense

Position	1st String	2nd String
Quarterback	Anu Solomon	Jerrard Randall
Running Back	Nick Wilson	Jared Baker
Wide Receiver	Cayleb Jones	Tony Ellison
Wide Receiver	David Richards	Trey Griffey
Slot Receiver	Samajie Grant	Johnny Jackson
Slot Receiver	Nate Phillips	Shun Brown
Tight End	Josh Kern	Matt Morin
Left Tackle	Freddie Tagaloa	Layth Friekh
Left Guard	Zach Hemmila	Kaige Lawrence
Center	Cayman Bundage	Levi Walton
Right Guard	Jacob Alsadek	TD Gross
Right Tackle	Lene Maiava	Gerhard de Beer

Arizona started freshmen at quarterback and running back last year, while its receiving corps was mostly sophomores, yet that group managed to put up big numbers, as the spread offense operated at one of the fastest paces in the country. 

Now the Wildcats will get to see how those youngsters perform with a very successful year under their belts, particularly quarterback Anu Solomon. In 2014 he threw for 3,793 yards and 28 touchdowns but completed just 58 percent of his passes and was sacked 38 times, often when trying to extend a play rather than throw the ball away.

Solomon is the first returning starter at QB that Arizona has had under Rodriguez, so this training camp was less about teaching and more about fine-tuning.

"I think the coaches are comfortable with me, checking plays myself," Solomon told Gabe Encinas of Arizona Desert Swarm. "I think that just goes on with repetition in practice, being successful and executing the play."

Nick Wilson ran for 1,375 yards and 16 TDs as a true freshman last year, despite missing time with head and leg injuries. He's not a workhorse back who can carry it 30 times a game, but he fits perfectly in the spread because of his quickness and footwork.

The wide receiver corps is one of the deepest in the country, so much so that junior DaVonte' Neal (who caught 27 passes and had two TDs a year ago) was switched to defense. Junior Cayleb Jones is the big target, both in numbers (73 receptions, 1,019 yards, nine TDs) and size (6'3", 215 pounds), and the Wildcats also have a litany of small but speedy guys to cycle through the slot receiver positions.

Arizona's only offensive question mark comes with its offensive line, which graduated three starters and has gotten thinner in depth since then.

Redshirt freshman Jordan Poland was dismissed in July after being arrested for trafficking in stolen property, while senior Carter Wood was ruled out for the year with a chronic foot injury. Wood was expected to start at center, and without him the Wildcats have had to shuffle players around—moving Cayman Bundage from guard to center—which leaves them with very few viable backup options.

What to watch for on defense

Position	1st String	2nd String
Defensive Tackle	Luca Bruno	Anthony Fotu
Nose Guard	Sani Fuimaono	Parker Zellers
Defensive End	Reggie Gilbert	Jeff Worthy
Will Linebacker	DeAndre' Miller	Jake Matthews
Mike Linebacker	Scooby Wright	Haden Gregory
Sam Linebacker	Derrick Turituri	RJ Morgan
Spur	Will Parks	Paul Magloire
Bandit	Tellas Jones	Carter Hehr
Left Cornerback	Sammy Morrison	Cam Denson
Right Cornerback	DaVonte' Neal	Kwesi Mashack
Free Safety	Jamar Allah	Demetrius Flannagan-Fowles

Arizona's 3-3-5 alignment starts and ends with the man in the middle, junior linebacker Scooby Wright. The reigning Bednarik, Lombardi and Nagurski award winner led the nation in tackles (163), tackles for loss (29) and forced fumbles (six) in 2014 and was a part of nearly every big defensive play the Wildcats made in 2014.

But Wright can't do it all, as evidenced by Arizona's overall defensive numbers last season. It allowed 451 yards and 28.2 points per game, had only nine sacks from down linemen (compared to 14 from Wright alone) and failed to stop opponents on more than 40 percent of third-down conversions.

"Coordinator Jeff Casteel has worked wonders with Wright leading his 3-3-5 scheme, but the Wildcats still need a talent upgrade on the defensive line and lack an A-list pass-rusher, other than Wright," ESPN.com's Ted Miller wrote.

The return of Reggie Gilbert—who was given a fifth year of eligibility by the NCAA this spring—will help up front, but more help must come from the linemen in terms of pressuring quarterbacks and giving what will be a relatively inexperienced secondary some much-needed support.

Senior spur safety Will Parks will anchor the back line with his hard-hitting and great vision, but Arizona's cornerbacks have a combined 12 starts between them.

What to watch for on special teams

Position	1st String	2nd String
Kicker	Casey Skowron	Josh Pollack
Punter	Drew Riggleman	Josh Pollack
Holder	Drew Riggleman	Zach Werlinger
Long Snapper	Jose Romero	N/A
Kickoff Returner	DaVonte' Neal	Nate Phillips
Punt Returner	Nate Phillips	DaVonte' Neal
Kickoff Specialist	Casey Skowron	Josh Pollack

The Wildcats are very solid at kicker and punter, with seniors Casey Skowron and Drew Riggleman holding down those spots. Skowron missed eight field goals last season, including one in the final moments of a home loss to USC (after making one as Trojans coach Steve Sarkisian iced him with a timeout), but he also hit a game-winner to beat Washington and had at least three field goals in four different games.

Riggleman ranked fourth in FBS with a 46.07-yard average.

Arizona's return game wasn't strong in 2014, averaging just 21.5 yards on kickoffs and 10.2 yards on punts. DaVonte' Neal muffed several punts, and the protection in front of returners rarely led to big plays.

Injuries

Player	Injury	Timetable
Trevor Wood	Shoulder	Out for season
Carter Wood	Foot	Out for season
Cody Ippolito	Knee	Out for season
Tyrell Johnson	Foot	Several weeks
Trey Griffey	Foot	Several weeks

The loss of Carter Wood to a season-ending foot injury at the start of training camp was by far Arizona's most significant injury, since it caused an already thin offensive line to require shuffling. Tyrell Johnson, a track star who was expected to contribute at receiver, in the run game and on returns, has been shut down since mid-August.

RichRod thinks Tyrell Johnson's foot injury stems from running track this spring (TJ posted a 10.41-second 100 meters).

— Anthony Gimino (@AGWildcatReport) August 15, 2015

Cody Ippolito, a junior who was battling for a starting outside linebacker spot, suffered a torn ACL during training camp and is out for the year.

X-factor

If Rich Rodriguez were to be part of the NCAA rules committee for college football at some point, he might advocate to ban huddling on offense. Or at least reduce the play clock to where doing so wouldn't make sense.

Arizona runs at one of the fastest paces in the country. Last year the Wildcats ran an FBS-leading 1,139 offensive plays and used just over 27 minutes of possession time each game, which was 119th out of 128 teams. That comes out to 20.08 seconds per snap.

By being able to operate at such a swift tempo, the Wildcats keep opposing defenses on their toes and prevent them from being able to sub as easily or catch their breaths. But there's a major downside to this approach: If that offense is struggling, it provides Arizona's defense with very little time to recuperate between drives, which can wear it down.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Location
Sept. 3	UTSA	Tucson, Arizona
Sept. 12	Nevada	Reno, Nevada
Sept. 19	Northern Arizona	Tucson
Sept. 26	UCLA	Tucson
Oct. 3	Stanford	Palo Alto, California
Oct. 10	Oregon State	Tucson
Oct. 17	Colorado	Boulder, Colorado
Oct. 24	Washington State	Tucson
Oct. 31	Washington	Seattle
Nov. 7	USC	Los Angeles
Nov. 14	Utah	Tucson
Nov. 21	Arizona State	Tempe, Arizona

Arizona drew the short end of the stick in the Pac-12 as one of two teams in the conference without a bye during the season. The other is Colorado, which because of a game played in Hawaii elected to add a 13th contest instead of take a week off.

The Wildcats technically have a bye, but it comes during the final week of the regular season, after 12 consecutive games have been played. Because of this, they could find themselves in a position where an attempt to avoid fatigue will result in sitting some players or reducing their snaps against easier opponents as the year goes on.

That could come during a three-game stretch—two home, one away—against teams that failed to make bowl games in 2014. Between Oct. 10-24 Arizona hosts Oregon State, visits Colorado and then is home for Washington State, but right before that is a tough start to the conference schedule by hosting UCLA and then playing at Stanford.

The end is even more difficult, as Arizona plays three of four on the road, including at USC and rival Arizona State.

Prediction

Despite its overall success in 2014, Arizona had a very up-and-down season that saw it win some big games but also look very shaky in other contests. "The Wildcats were great, lucky, mediocre and just about everything else in 2014," SB Nation's Bill Connelly wrote.

With more experience to tap into on offense, it would stand to reason that the Wildcats will be even better this time around, but only with a defense that can provide support on occasion. Scooby Wright is great, but if he's somehow taken out of a play, others have to step up.

Arizona has a big opportunity to make a splash at the outset of the Pac-12 schedule by hosting UCLA, but a loss there could also set it down a path of trying to play catch-up in the South Division. Road trips to Stanford, USC and Arizona State will all be played on grass, and since 2012 the Wildcats are 1-7 when playing on natural turf.

Overall record: 9-3

Conference record: 6-3

All stats provided by CFBStats.com. All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.

Arizona Wildcats head coach Rich Rodriguez has already pieced together a strong recruiting class ahead of the 2016 season. Now, the group has a bona fide headliner after the commitment of Michael Eletise.

The 4-star offensive guard announced his decision Monday back home in Hawaii:

THRILLED to share that I have verbally committed to the University of Arizona! #Beardown pic.twitter.com/aytQh6Z2Yx

— Michael Eletise (@MichaelEletise) July 28, 2015

According to 247Sports' composite rankings, Eletise is the ninth-best guard in the country and No. 192 overall. The Arizona Wildcats climbed three spots to No. 5 in the Pac-12 in 247Sports' team rankings after he committed.

GOAZCATS.com's Matt Moreno praised the work of the Wildcats coaches responsible for doing the legwork on the recruiting trail to snag the Honolulu native:

Charlie Ragle and Matt Dudek were both big parts of this recruitment and getting Michael Eletise to Arizona

— Matt Moreno (@MattRMoreno) July 28, 2015

Size certainly won't be a concern for Eletise; he's listed at 6'4" and 313 pounds. Even if he slims down a bit, he projects as a guard or right tackle if absolutely necessary. Guard would be the better of the two options given his impressive strength and somewhat average agility.

You can see Eletise (No. 72) lined up against defensive tackle Rashan Gary in the Vine below, courtesy of ESPN.com's Erik McKinney:

Rep 1 DT Raekwon Davis vs Drake Jackson Rep 2 Rashan Gary vs Michael Eletise https://t.co/0RVkyg0sZ6

— Erik McKinney (@ErikTMcKinney) July 9, 2015

Bleacher Report's Tyler Donohue provided another Vine of Eletise battling Gary, the No. 1 defensive tackle in 247Sports' composite rankings:

Rashan Gary doesn't get bested on many snaps but 4-star Hawaii OL Michael Eletise looked strong here. https://t.co/kmEy69dqwP

— Tyler Donohue (@TDsTake) July 9, 2015

Offensive guards don't often grab a ton of headlines, but the work they do inside the trenches is invaluable to both the running game and the passing game, especially with defensive tackles becoming more versatile in the case of the latter.

Eletise showed he can hang with the best in his class when matched up with Gary. There's no reason he can't become a fixture on Arizona's O-line in the future.

All recruiting rankings and information courtesy of 247Sports.

Arizona's strong three-year run under Rich Rodriguez has been fueled by moderate success on the recruiting trail, leaning more toward discovering hidden gems and developing strong mid-range prospects than landing high-profile targets.

The Wildcats have also concentrated most of their efforts on filling up a class early and then keeping it intact rather than chasing after big names right up until signing day.

The 2016 recruiting performance had been lagging in that respect until the calendar turned to July, when suddenly Arizona went from one of the least active teams in terms of commitments to maybe the hottest.

Nine of its 15 commitments have come this month, including seven since a recruiting event the school held on July 18.

Year	Rank	5-Star Players	4-Star Players	3-Star Players
2016 (through July 23)	33rd	0	1	13
2015	43rd	0	1	24
2014	30th	0	4	24
2013	44th	0	1	24
2012	41st	0	3	21

The 2016 "OKG Day" saw Arizona host dozens of potential targets, the school's first big push this year after a relatively quiet spring and early summer. Five players committed during the event, including 4-star junior college defensive end Josh Allen, and others pledged on Monday and Tuesday.

The commitment binge shot the Wildcats far up 247Sports' composite rankings, going from 57th to 33rd in the nation as of Thursday.

Allen and JUCO safety London Iakopo are probably the most noteworthy prospects to come on board, both because of their rankings and likelihood to make an immediate impact in 2016.

The Long Beach City College teammates are considered the 10th- and 58th-best JUCO recruits in their class, respectively, with the 6'4", 260-pound Allen ranked as the nation's second-best JUCO strong-side defensive end and the best non-high school prospect in California.

Each plays a position where Arizona will need to fill a significant hole next year. Allen could be tasked with replacing both senior end Reggie Gilbert and junior linebacker Scooby Wright, who is very likely to turn pro after the 2015 season, while Iakopo could be the successor to senior Will Parks.

"I know I have a good chance to play as soon as I come in," Allen, who also had offers from Arizona State, Boise State and Louisville, told Zack Rosenblatt of the Arizona Daily Star.

Most of the rest of Arizona's recent pickups fit the mold of the kind of offensive players that Rodriguez has preferred throughout his career, first at West Virginia and Michigan, and now with the Wildcats.

Referred to by the coaching staff as "Our Kinda Guys," which is what OKG stands for, those would be speedy, versatile prospects who could be used in a variety of ways in order to keep Arizona's uptempo attack moving as quickly as possible.

Similar players are among the top targets that Arizona remains in the hunt for, such as 4-star Phoenix-area athlete Chase Lucas. The 5'11", 166-pound running back/receiver/cornerback from Chandler High School is ranked 186th overall and has the Wildcats among his final seven choices along with ASU, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Texas and UCLA.

The rankings themselves don't matter much to the Wildcats, especially considering Wright—who led the FBS in tackles, tackles for loss and forced fumbles in 2014 en route to winning three national awards—was a 2-star prospect whom 247Sports rated as the No. 2,078 player in the 2013 class.

One place you won't see Arizona's name mentioned this recruiting season is among the contenders for uncommitted 5-star players.

The Wildcats have never signed a 5-star prospect, and the last two they had commitments from (safety Jalen Tabor for 2014 and quarterback Shea Patterson for 2016) ended up flipping shortly thereafter to Florida and Ole Miss, respectively.

Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports, unless otherwise noted.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.

With less than two months until it opens defense of its Pac-12 South title, Arizona heads into a season where it hopes to continue doing what it does best while finding ways to improve in other areas. Along the way, the Wildcats would also like to stand out from the crowd through continued innovation from their schemes and formations.

Will this translate into another big year? That still remains to be seen, but what we know at this point are the things Arizona has going for it as well as where it's lacking. There could be some surprises in store too, depending on how head coach Rich Rodriguez and his staff utilize their personnel.

Here's a quick look at the Wildcats' strengths, weaknesses and potential secret weapons for 2015:

Strengths

First and foremost, Arizona's speed and depth at the receiver position are its greatest positives. This was a key to 2014, when seven players caught at least 23 passes. And with all but one of them returning, it was possible to shift one wideout (DaVonte' Neal) to cornerback to help that unit.

The receivers come in all shapes and sizes, from big and strong guys such as 6'3", 215-pound junior Cayleb Jones and 6'4", 215-pound senior David Richards to small but speedy slot targets such as juniors Samajie Grant, Trey Griffey and Nate Phillips. They'll all be catching passes from Anu Solomon, who was stellar as a redshirt freshman and with continued work this offseason on his decision-making should be even better.

"It's going to be hard to work all of the receivers in, but it's a good problem to have for Rich Rodriguez," Gabe Encinas of SB Nation wrote. "There are so many different combinations to be used to throw a wrinkle at opposing defenses."

Arizona also has two capable running backs to turn to, led by sophomore Nick Wilson, who ran for 1,375 yards and 16 touchdowns last season, as well as senior Jared Baker.

Additional strengths can be found on special teams, as punter Drew Riggleman ranked fourth in yardage in 2014, and kicker Casey Skowron has proved to be a reliable weapon when Arizona comes up short in the red zone.

And then there's Arizona's single most important player, junior Scooby Wright. The reigning Bednarik, Lombardi and Nagurski award winner and national leader in tackles, tackles for loss and forced fumbles will again be the focal point of the defense, and not surprisingly he begins the year on every preseason All-American team and major award watch list.

Weaknesses

As great as Wright is for Arizona's defense, he can't do it all himself. That was evident last season, as his great numbers still weren't enough to keep the Wildcats from giving up far too many big plays and get off the field quickly. The problems started up front, where the lack of a pass rush and very little production from the defensive line enabled opposing quarterbacks to wait for openings in the secondary.

Wright had 14 of the team's 38 sacks, and only nine came from the defensive line. That group wasn't particularly strong against the run either, yielding 200-plus yards in five games.

Arizona's best defensive unit was its secondary, but that group could only do so much given the lack of support up front.

Regularly using five defensive backs—and upping that to six or seven on passing downs—it wore down as the season went along and now has to replace both starting corners and bandit safety Jared Tevis. The Wildcats addressed this deficiency in the 2015 recruiting class and the move of Neal over from the offense, but it's still an area of major concern.

The most significant offensive weakness involved red-zone efficiency. Arizona's 80 percent success rate was below-average, and its rate of only scoring touchdowns on 33 of 60 trips ranked 86th nationally. The Wildcats are hoping to fix this by mixing things up more with the use of their skill players, including more attention toward the tight end spot that in the past three years had been almost nonexistent.

Secret Weapons

Look for Arizona to shift its personnel all over, mixing and matching with receivers getting the ball in the backfield and tight ends lining up out wide, all in an effort to keep the field as spread out as possible and ramp up the tempo even more.

That means increased involvement from the likes of sophomore receiver Tyrell Johnson, who recorded the third-fastest 100-meter time (10.41 seconds) of any FBS football player this spring, per the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Association. Johnson was used mostly as a kick returner last season, but this year he'll be used as a ball-carrier and to catch passes from the slot.

Arizona is at its best when it's not taking a breath, having led the nation with 1,139 offensive snaps in 2014. Those 81.4 plays per game came in just over 27 minutes per game, meaning the Wildcats hiked it roughly every 20 seconds on offense. If it's possible to reduce that interval, they'll try.

"I think we can play faster than we have before," Rodriguez told Bleacher Report in April following Arizona's spring game.

All quotes obtained firsthand and stats courtesy of cfbstats.com unless otherwise noted. 

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.

For a program that prides itself on being built on speed and aggressiveness, Arizona isn't moving that swiftly on the 2016 recruiting trail.

Though national signing day is still more than eight months away, the Wildcats are far behind the national curve when it comes to commitments. As of Thursday, they have secured pledges from just five players for the 2016 class, according to 247Sports, a far cry from the double-digit commits several other FBS schools already have lined up.

Arizona had six commitments by the end of May last year, then went on a binge during the summer with a dozen more in the three months prior to the 2014 season. It ended up signing 23 players and had the nation's No. 42-ranked class.

It's far too soon to pass judgement on Arizona's overall class, but not too early to give it some interim grades. Here's how the Wildcats rate to this point.

Offense

Name	Position	Hometown (School)	Rating
Russell Halimon	RB	Acworth, Georgia (Allatona)	3-star
Devon Modster	QB	Rancho Santa Margarita, California (Tesoro)	4-star
Sean Riley	APB	Harbor City, Calif. (Narbonne)	3-star
Khalil Tate	ATH (QB)	Gardena, Calif. (Junipero Serra)	3-star

The most notable part of Arizona's four-person offensive group set to join the 2016 team is the presence of two quarterback prospects. The Wildcats didn't sign a passer in 2015, and after Connor Brewer transferred to Northern Arizona this spring, that leaves them with just three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster.

Backup Jerrard Randall is a senior, and while Anu Solomon should be entrenched in the starting spot through at least the 2016 season, the added depth will bode well for that year and beyond.

Devon Modster is the jewel of the group, the No. 10 pro-style passer in his class who picked Arizona over Boise State and UCLA. He threw for more than 2,600 yards and 24 touchdowns and added another 680 rushing yards and 12 scores in 2014, and his blend of arm strength and mobility should be a perfect fit in head coach Rich Rodriguez's spread offense.

Modster came on board four weeks after Arizona landed Khalil Tate, another California product who ran for 1,287 yards while throwing for just under 1,400 yards with 34 total touchdowns (17 rushing, 17 passing) last year. There was speculation that Tate might reopen his recruitment after Modster committed, but he took to Twitter the same day to quell that rumor.

According to Brad Allis of 247Sports, the Wildcats were "pretty open with their recruits" that they would be looking to sign two quarterbacks for 2016.

The desire to have multiple options for the run portion of the spread is evident as well, as Arizona has already secured two rushing prospects who could also work as slot receivers. Russell Halimon was the most recent addition, in mid-April, and that would have given Arizona three running backs in the class, but a few days later 3-star Texas prospect Trevor Speights decommitted.

While the skill acquisitions to this point look promising, they don't have the accompanying blockers up front to balance out the offense. Until Arizona secures some offensive line commitments, this unit won't earn high overall praise.

Grade: B-

Defense

pic.twitter.com/wGOzpsYxhM

— Khalil Tate (@KhalilTate323) April 15, 2015

Justin Holt is the No. 12 player in Arizona and the top-rated player from the Tucson area, so his commitment helps keep the Wildcats true to their desire to hold on to the best local prospects. But the son of former Arizona linebacker Julius Holt doesn't figure to be an instant impact player, but at this point he's the only defensive pledge on board.

Arizona's 3-3-5 alignment is such that it needs to cycle fresh bodies onto the field on a regular basis to keep up with the uptempo offenses in the Pac-12, so depth is imperative. The Wildcats' 2015 class included 11 defensive players, seven of who will contribute in the secondary.

Junior linebacker Scooby Wright III, who won three major national defensive awards in 2014, is likely to turn pro after this season, and his departure will leave a huge void. The Wildcats didn't sign a linebacker this past February, and that figures to be an area they'll push hard to get commitments for this summer.

Grade: Incomplete

Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.

As the defending division champion with plenty of key starters returning, Arizona should be considered a contender to not only claim another Pac-12 South title but to win the conference outright. To accomplish that, however, the Wildcats need to get better since the league remains as strong as ever.

Arizona returns breakout stars at quarterback (Anu Solomon) and running back (Nick Wilson) and one of the deepest receiving corps in the nation, while reigning Bednarik, Lombardi and Nagurski award-winning linebacker Scooby Wright highlights a handful of veteran defenders. They provide the core of a team that is capable of winning the Pac-12 championship, but it will take more than just talent to get the job done.

Here's a look at what the Wildcats must do and the path they need to take to claim the conference title.

Come through in the red zone

Arizona averaged more than 34 points per game last season, keeping opponents on their toes with a fast-paced offense that ran more plays (1,139) than any other team in the country. The Wildcats never had to keep an eye on the play clock, though coach Rich Rodriguez could regularly be seen urging his charges to get to the line even quicker.

"I think we can play faster than we have before," Rodriguez told Bleacher Report after the April 10 spring game. "We have a really good grasp of what we can do."

But as is the case with uptempo teams, it becomes harder to move the ball when the field shrinks. Arizona was not immune to this problem in 2014, ranking 85th nationally in red-zone efficiency and managing only 33 touchdowns on 60 trips inside the 20-yard line.

In an effort to be more diverse and less predictable in the red zone, Arizona has been experimenting with using slot receivers in the backfield and spreading ball-carriers out wide. This led to smaller skill players like junior Samajie Grant, sophomore Tyrell Johnson and redshirt freshman Jonathan Haden lining up in multiple places depending on the play call.

Since Arizona does not use much time when it has the ball—at less than 27 minutes, 14 seconds per game it ranked 119th in time of possession last season—it cannot afford to waste possessions, especially when in the red zone. In two of the Wildcats' four losses last year, they had a combined four red-zone drives that ended without points and only four of 10 scoring drives resulted in touchdowns.

Arizona lost those two games, against USC and UCLA, by a combined 10 points.

Be more than a one-man defense

Last year it was Wright and everyone else. And those other Wildcat defenders didn't do much, at least not in comparison to Wright, and the most productive players of the bunch have now graduated.

Wright, the then-sophomore linebacker, led the FBS in tackles (163), tackles for loss (29) and forced fumbles (six), and also ranked third in sacks (14). Will Parks, who will be a senior, had 81 tackles and 13 tackles for loss to rank as the top returner not named Wright in those categories, while no three players had as many sacks as Wright.

Arizona's offense is one of the fastest in the country, but as a result its defense is also on the field more than most other defenses. Last year the Wildcats played 1,115 snaps on defense, third most in FBS, and that led to quite a few breakdowns.

Rodriguez wants to get to where he can cycle in fresh bodies as often as possible, and Arizona's depth is slowly getting to that level of two or three capable players at each position. To develop that depth, Parks said Rodriguez overworked the defense with a litany of looks and alignments this spring to get it prepared for constant change during the season.

"They threw everything at us," said Parks, who will play the hybrid linebacker-safety "Spur" position in Arizona's 4-2-5 defense. "This was definitely a smooth spring. We have a lot of versatility."

Maintain offensive balance

Rodriguez prefers to run a version of the spread that is close to 50-50 run/pass but leans more toward the run. In his three seasons with the Wildcats, his offenses have averaged 258.5 passing yards and 223.8 rushing yards per game, but last year Arizona ran for 100 fewer yards per game than it gained through the air. 

The combination of Solomon, the record-setting then-freshman quarterback, and a deep receiving corps—seven players caught at least 23 passes last year—contributed to this skew, but so did a lack of experience at running back. Wilson, a true freshman, emerged as the go-to rusher and finished with 1,375 yards and 16 touchdowns, but Solomon didn't prove to be as mobile as expected and was sacked 40 times.

With nearly every significant skill-position player back, this could be Arizona's best offense yet. In order for it to be most effective, though, the balance has to be there in the play-calling. Wilson got banged up as the workhorse in 2014, and unless Solomon can improve as a scrambler, another runner will need to emerge to take on some of the carries.

Arizona showed in 2013 that it can play fast and still eat up clock, thanks to the running of Ka'Deem Carey. If the Wildcats can replicate that approach with a better set of parts, they should be in the running for another division title and a shot at their first-ever trip to the Rose Bowl.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.