Arizona heads into the final third of the regular season needing to win three of the last four games to become bowl eligible, a goal that seemed to be a given back in August. Now it’s become one of the top motivators for a team that hasn’t won in more than a month.
“I’m still excited about this team, and I’m still excited to be here,” UA coach Brent Brennan said Monday. “We have four games left, and if we play well, we get to play five.”
Next up is a cross-country trip Saturday to face UCF, a team that’s also 3-5 overall and 1-4 in Big 12 play and is riding a 5-game losing streak. On Monday the Knights fired defensive coordinator Ted Roof and head coach Gus Malzahn (on his birthday!) announced he was handing over play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Tim Harris Jr.
“That’s always a tricky one,” Brennan said when asked about how that would change Arizona’s gameplan. “I do think it’s really hard to make a wholesale change in season, so I would think pieces of what they’ve done schematically are still going to be part of them. But it is a challenge because it’s something different than what you’re seeing on the film.”
Here’s what else Brennan said at his Monday presser to open UCF week:
On the offense in general and some of the bigger plays that hit: “I think there was some progress in the offense. A couple of those plays were things that we had been wanting all earlier in the season, just didn’t get to them. But I think anytime you put the ball in a special player’s hand, you have a chance for something special to happen.”
On UCF: “I think everybody in this conference is good. It looks like they have a really active run on defense. Coach Malzahn has been doing a great job coaching football teams for a really long time. We’re going to play a team on the road. It’s going to be another tough game in this conference. They have really good personnel. Both of us have struggled at times this year, and so this is going to be a hardfought battle.”
On long snapper Justin Holloway getting downfield on punt coverage: “It’s one of the reasons we went out and gotten last year, because we saw that he had the ability to cover. He’s obviously an accurate long snapper, and that’s you need that first and foremost. But when those guys can show up in the cover game, that’s an added bonus.”
On the challenges of playing across the country: “Anytime you travel, you’re going on the road, it’s something totally different. I think for our football team, the biggest thing is control what we can control. We played a lot of games across the country at my previous stop, and it’s always about how you handle the travel and not let that be an excuse.”
On the offensive line and the decision to move starters around: “I thought it was better last week than it was the previous week. Mike (Wooten) is a young player and an experienced player, but he did some really good things on Saturday. Taking Big Jonah (Savaiinaea) over there, our best offensive lineman to protect Noah’s blind side, I think makes sense to me. There was a ton of conversation with that as we went through throughout the course of the week, which is kind of where we were with the injury to Rhino and injuries some of those other guys that aren’t available. So we feel like that was the best configuration for us.”
On TV broadcasters criticizing Arizona’s route concepts: “That’s interesting. I don’t watch the TV copy, so I’d be curious to ask those guys what they’re talking about. I feel like what we’re doing schematically is sound. One of the challenges that we face has just been a lot of coverage towards T-Mac, and so trying to be creative and move him around and give them a chance to play in different spots in the formation has been a thought process for us. What TV guys say, I don’t have control over that, and I don’t hear it.”
On if there have been discussions about redshirting players or using new players: “There is, and then there’s also the urgency to win this game. And so those are ongoing conversations. I think you might see (defensive lineman) Eduwa (Okundaye) play a little bit. I think he can help us in some spots, and with the injury situation that we’re experiencing, it makes sense to try and get some of those guys going. Because I think there’s a benefit for that too, right? As hard as some of those lessons are, we’re still building a football program. We’re still developing the young players on our team, and the best way for them to do that is in the games.”
On Tetairoa McMillan: “I thought T-Mac played his tail off the other night. It was just really, really impressive. He’s been outstanding all year that way. And I think when your best players play as hard as they do and care as much as he does, I think that that’s really inspiring for your football team.”
On Montana Lemonious-Craig not getting many snaps vs. West Virginia: “I think just continuing to evaluate all parts of our football team, and we felt like Chris Hunter has been doing some good things, so he’s getting a little bit more live game reps. Montana is still an important player for us, he’s still going to play a lot, but you’re going to continue to see Chris Hunter play, too.”
On West Virginia’s long TD catch and long run play: “I think that was frustrating because those two big play kind of broke our back. They were game changing plays. Maybe a little bit a step late, a little bit out of position. And one time we jumped inside on a block where we got to set an edge there and turn it back to our help. So just like a technical detail that ended up being really, really impactful.”
On special teams: “I think we need to improve there. I think that’s obvious. Tyler (Loop) has been such a weapon. So in regards to, like, our kickoff coverage, that hasn’t been impactful, because he hammers the ball out of the end zone every time. In the games where we have had issues with that, I think there’s been a just small detail or an inexperienced player. Trying to find the best guys available to execute those things for us, considering the amount of players that are unavailable to us, and so that’s been some challenges in that space.”
On Dalton Johnson’s leadership: “Dalton’s been a leader for us even when Gunner, Stukes and Manu were on the field, he’s just a consistent football player. He’s a tough guy. The guys really respond to him, and he’s one of those guys that we need his voice right now. Without those three leaders on the field, we absolutely need Dalton to continue to step up and be a positive voice for our football team.”
On where Arizona stands in its ‘race to maturity’: “We’re still running, man, we are still running, and we’re building a football program. And every day there’s some challenges that pop up with those young players, but it’s also learning opportunities for them, and it’s also valuable experience of their game in the process. And as tough as some of those moments are, we gotta find the good as we try and correct what’s not good. And some of those young guys are playing their tails off and giving us good minutes and good reps in games, and so we got to help them fix the things that aren’t exactly right, so hopefully they can continue to develop into the players we think they can be.”
On the status of the program: “As I look at it, you’re always building the football program. You’re always developing players. And to me, that process is ongoing and never stops. You’re still coaching everything, and especially when you’re in the situation that you have, you have to get guys ready to play, and you have to find the value in that for what their experience is going to be and how that experience is going to pay off for us hopefully in these games that are coming here. Jack Luttrell is going to be better this week than he was last week because he had to play a whole game at free (safety). And so I think as those moments go, the players continue to learn. We continue to get to coach them off of their film, and they can see themselves in those spots, making those plays. So I’m still excited about this team, and I love the University of Arizona, and I know that we’re building a program. I know that there’s some tough days when you have young people in the game, or tough moments.”
