The Arizona Wildcats know their presence is going to have to be felt in the Phoenix-area if they hope to be successful moving forward. Not only is that where they will do their primary recruiting to build the program, but they also have a very large following of alumni living 90 minutes north of Tucson. With a new head coach in place, it only made sense for the UA to travel north this spring.
On Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., Rodriguez and the Wildcats will have their first scrimmage of the year up at Glendale Community College. Admission is free to the public. As for what the fans may see this afternoon?
From what coach Rodriguez told the TucsonCitizen.com, Arizona will run somewhere around 100 plays.
"I would like to think the execution is going to be pretty good, but typically the first springs and the first scrimmages, the execution is not very good," Rodriguez said earlier this week.
"My expectations are not really high. But I would be disappointed if I at least don't see some guys playing hard and flying around and moving a little bit. You certainly are not going to see us in game-type of shape. We have a long way to go to be ready to play football at a high level from a conditioning standpoint."
RichRod has continually preached this spring that the team is nowhere near where it needs to be in order to compete at the highest levels. The scrimmage on Saturday may get sloppy at times, but there is plenty to watch for.
The most obvious change will be in the offensive and defensive schemes. Gone is the air-raid offense and in is the read-option attack. Senior quarterback Matt Scott appears to be a perfect fit for this style of play, and we should get a pretty strong indication of just how much he has picked up this afternoon. As for the defense, it will be our first look at new defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel and his 3-3-5 scheme.
If you're in the Phoenix area, head on out to Glendale CC this afternoon. It should be a beautiful day and will give you a chance to check out your 2012 Wildcats.