Arizona Desert Swarm

Arizona Football Introducing Alternate, Copper Helmet in 2012

2012-05-24T14:17:46Z

The state of Arizona was once known for the Five Cs: copper, cattle, cotton, citrus and climate. All things considered, the football program made the right choice in which to honor with its new, alternative helmet.

Ryan Finley reported on The Daily Star Wednesday night that the Wildcats would wear a copper helmet at some point next season, adding that Nike could unveil a uniform to match. Perhaps this could be UA's first foray with the ever-popular Combat Pro series.

And no, this is no hoax like the baby blue marble lid UCLA was briefly rumored to have via a tweet last fall. The UA helmet was confirmed on ArizonaWildcats.com. Included in the release is the following:

Copper is not only associated with our great state’s mining history, but it has influenced architectural design on our campus, including our athletic facilities – most notably the ring at the top of the McKale Center, and the future North End Zone Football Complex.

A part of Arizona's copper legacy includes the Copper Bowl, a postseason affair played in Arizona Stadium from 1989 to 1996, before becoming the Insight Bowl and moving to the Valley. UA's defeat of NC State in the inaugural Copper Bowl is among my earliest Wildcat football memories.

Uniforms are becoming an increasingly significant part of recruiting. As such, merely unveiling something new is not enough to stand out -- everyone has new gear. AD Greg Byrne put it best in Finley's column: "Anybody can do black.

Originality is key, and the copper helmet is certainly that. From the image shown in the stories linked, it manages to be unique yet retain subtlety. Other schools have gone the opposite direction, like Baylor and Louisville's retina-incinerating neon duds debuted for the NCAA tournament. So intent are some teams on sporting something fresh, I'm surprised we have yet to see Swarovski crystals or Pauly D #SWAGGs make their own onto uniforms.

Without seeing its uniform combination, the UA helmet is somewhat reminiscent of the hat Michigan State wore with its Combat Pro last season vs. Michigan.

Nic Wise and (Allegedly) Joakim Noah Clash on Text

2012-05-23T14:40:32Z

Nic Wise and (Allegedly) Joakim Noah Clash on Text

H/T to @mwong22 for passing this along: apparently Joakim Noah does not like other pro hoopers messaging with this girlfriend, a woman named Amanda. Nic Wise tweeted the interaction with someone claiming to be Noah. Later, he sent out:

Woke up feelin bad smh. Apologies to @joakimnoah— Nic Wise (@TheNicWise) May 22, 2012

You can understand Noah's hostility. Wise did average 1.5 steals per game in his time at Arizona, after all.

Rob Gronkowski and Spencer Larsen reunite in New England

2012-05-22T23:27:18Z

Rob Gronkowski and Spencer Larsen -- there's probably not a more different pair of football players.

Both former Arizona Wildcats have reunited with the New England Patriots. Gronkowski is of course coming off his record-breaking season at tight end, while Larsen signed as a free agent to follow former Denver Broncos' coach Josh McDaniels.

Still, it's hard to get over the fact that Larsen, in his senior year as a linebacker for Mike Stoops, was witnessing the beginning of a then-freshman in Gronk. It's hard to get over because Larsen was old for a senior after taking a Mormon mission before returning to college. He was also married, had a child and was probably a tad more mature than a freshman Gronk, who these days is still known for beer bongs and Zubaz.

Oh, how little some things change.

ESPNBoston's Field Yates caught up with Larsen this past week and it's no surprise that little has changed on the football field either.

On re-connecting with Rob Gronkowski, a former college teammate.
"I joke with him, he was a freshman when I was a senior and it was nice to beat him up in college -- if you guys believe that. It's just been good seeing him and seeing the success he's had and getting to talk with him again. "

What were you impressions of him as a freshman?
"Jst incredible. You've never seen a guy like that. Big, strong. I swear he looks like he does right now as a freshman coming out of high school. I couldn't imagine what he did in high school. He was a good player ... He's one of those guys that comes around that you just feel like man, he's going to be special. So far he's proved that."

Anyway, Larsen will be fighting for a starting fullback spot in McDaniels' offense.

Yates caught up with Stoops to talk about Larsen, who was one of the least-heralded linebackers in recent memory.

"He was very quick. He was quick to the football and quick at the line of scrimmage," said Stoops, who now serves as defensive coordinator at Oklahoma. "Certainly that's a lot what fullbacks have to do -- get on defensive linemen and linebackers very quickly at the point of attack. He's a fearless guy that played downhill as a linebacker and just kind of switched roles up between a linebacker and a fullback. They're similar in a lot of ways."

Stoops also gave Yates a lot of good stuff on the Gronkshow, including the fact that he told Bill Belichick that Gronkowski would be the guy he'd take first if he were starting a football team.

Cortez Johnson likes Mike Stoops, Stoops likes Johnson

2012-05-21T22:00:11Z

Cortez Johnson decided to leaves the Arizona Wildcats football program on March 30, and it was then that the Arizona Daily Star reported he might land close to home based on Rich Rodriguez's official release.

That didn't happen.

The timing and gut feeling then made it seem like Johnson was leaving because Rodriguez's style just wasn't a good fit for the Louisiana native. The Star reported he could potentially land at former offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes' Louisiana Tech program.

But on Monday, Scout.com reported that Johnson was heading to the Oklahoma Sooners.

"Cortez is a player that is familiar with the system run by Mike Stoops and Tim Kish from their time together at Arizona," OU head coach Bob Stoops told Scout.com. "He’s got good size for a corner and we feel that he’s the type of player that can provide strength in our defensive scheme."

So now we know. Mike Stoops really was high on Johnson, a big, athletic cornerback that saw limited time for the Wildcats last season. After sitting out a year, Stoops and former interim head coach Tim Kish will have a player ready to fit right into the system he played within at Arizona.

As a true freshman last season, Johnson struggled with injuries and couldn't nab a spot in a spotty secondary because of it.

He did play in two games, recording seven tackles in a game against the Washington Huskies.

Anu Solomon commits to Arizona as next big thing at QB

2012-05-21T20:19:40Z

The Arizona Wildcats have been on a string of luck at the quarterback position of late.

Rich Rodriguez got his first big commitment in four-star quarterback Anu Solomon out of Las Vegas' Bishop Gorman High School on Sunday, Ryan Finley of the Arizona Daily Star reports, and the get is historic on a few levels.

It's all a circle that begins and ends in Las Vegas.

Here's where it's at now.

Solomon is a big deal in the state of Nevada. Next year as a senior, he'll be entering his fourth year as a starter for the school that produced former Arizona running back Keola Antolin as well as this year's No. 1 basketball prospect, UCLA commit Shabazz Muhammad.

Solomon has thrown for 7,215 yards and 101 touchdowns in his three years thus far, and he's also accumulated 754 yards on the ground. The 6-foot-1, 205 pound field general will fit into Rich Rodriguez's system because of those numbers, but he's also a winner, amassing a 43-3 record at Bisop Gorman, Finley writes.

"Rich Rodriguez is a different guy. His competitiveness kind of shocked me, how he kept score with the offense and the defense. I liked it," Solomon told Finley. "I just thought of it like this: Where am I going to succeed in the future, and where will I be comfortable at? Arizona stood out the most out of those categories."

A quick look at his profile at the Las Vegas Sun and a 42-22 victory against Scottsdale Chaparral, one of Arizona's better programs, shows that the Wildcats might have had eyes on Solomon for a while -- Charlie Ragle, the UA assistant director of football operations was head man at Chaparral in that one -- and UA won the verbal commitment of the quarterback over UCLA, Utah, UNLV and ASU.

But the get is interesting on a bigger scale.

The Wildcats have had a string of interest from quarterbacks, something that appeared to be out of the ordinary before the huge commitment former offensive coordinator Mike Canales got from Willie Tuitama.

Of course, Tuitama eventually led Mike Stoops and a new spread offense of Sonny Dykes to a Las Vegas Bowl victory to break a 10-year bowl drought.

Since Tuitama broke a streak of sub-par quarterbacks with program-breaking numbers, there was suddenly an influx of interest in running the Wildcats' offense, something that couldn't be said during the Dick Tomey era for sure.

Senior quarterback Matt Scott was a big signing, and Rich Rodriguez will get one year for that decision to come full circle -- many of us think it just might.

Obviously, the Nick Foles transfer from Michigan State turned out pretty well for both parties too.

And even a player like Tom Savage, who came to Arizona after a pretty solid freshman campaign at Rutgers, could have turned out better if he hadn't left for personal reasons and perhaps an ill-fitting style in Rodriguez's system.

Point is, the Wildcats have changed their reputation.

A tweetcap of Andre Iguodala's destruction of the Boston Celtics

2012-05-19T03:11:33Z

(GIF courtesy Mike Prada)

Simultaneously with the softball team run-ruling North Dakota State 11-0 in its first postseason game and the baseball team in a tight battle with the USC Trojans, former Arizona hoopster Andre Iguodala scored eight points in the final 3:11 of his Philadelphia 76ers' game against the Boston Celtics to win 92-83 on Friday night.

Iggy finished with 16 points, seven boards and four assists, and had a pretty bad game going before drilling two threes and a fadeaway 17-footer that put the Sixers ahead for good. Now, the series is tied 2-2.

From a behind-the-back pass that came at a really bad time to his clutch heroics, I give you a recap of the event via Twitter.

That was an excellent pass by Iguodala...the rim just wasn't ready for it. You have to get your hands up, rim.
— John Gonzalez (@gonzoCSN) May 14, 2012

To his defense, it's an efficient pass for him. RT @HPbasketball: Iguodala keeps wanting behind the back. He's tried like 80 in this series.
— Liberty Ballers (@Philly76ersBlog) May 19, 2012

Tonight Andre Iguodala is not overpaid.
— Rafael Uehara (@rafael_uehara) May 19, 2012

Boston forgot about Dre.
— Rey-Rey (@TheNoLookPass) May 19, 2012

For some reason I expected Iguodala to do the big balls dance after that shot.
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) May 19, 2012

/Iguodala looks under couch cushion "Oh, hey, my jumper!"
— Eye on Basketball (@EyeOnBasketball) May 19, 2012

Iguodala's reputation was a guy who contributed the whole game but couldn't hit a shot late. BIZARRO PLAYOFFS ARE BIZARRE.
— Eye on Basketball (@EyeOnBasketball) May 19, 2012

Iguodala is an incredible Italian iguana inserting interesting ideological iodine into itself, an ice-cold icon idealized as Icarus!
— Not Bill Walton (@NotBillWalton) May 19, 2012

Andre Iguodala making everyone from U of A proud. #clutch
— Nate Jewett (@natejdogg35) May 19, 2012

LIKE AZ Desert Swarm on Facebook

2012-05-18T22:31:22Z

What's up guys and gals,

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We'd dig it if you guys LIKE us over on the social networks. Click the above link and always feel free to give us your thoughts over there. Thanks!

Duel in the Desert, Year One: Rodriguez and Graham Face Similar Challenges

2012-05-18T16:30:01Z

A new season, a couple new head coaches. Arizonans know this dance well.

For all their differences, rivals Arizona and Arizona State have had an oddly intertwining existence as it pertains to head coaches. The programs have never made a coaching hire any more than five years apart since joining the Pacific Conference as a package deal in 1978.

Here's how it breaks down:

1980: Daryl Rogers, Larry Smith

1985: John Cooper

1987: Dick Tomey

1988: Larry Marmie

1992: Bruce Snyder

2001: Dirk Koetter, John Mackovic

2004: Mike Stoops

2007: Dennis Erickson

2012: Todd Graham, Rich Rodriguez

Todd Graham is ASU's seventh head coach since joining the conference. Rich Rodriguez is UA's fifth. Each program has had to replenish its coaching ranks for a variety of reasons. Some tenures have fallen shy of expectations (Stoops, Koetter, Erickson). Some left for more prominent opportunities (Smith, Cooper). Some...well (Mackovic).

Whatever the reason, there have been revolving doors in both Tucson and Tempe. And those revolving doors are primary contributors to each program's inconsistency. Facing Greg Byrne and Lisa Love when hiring new coaches was finding someone who could win consistently and challenge for conference titles. Byrne and now Steve Patterson are tasked with convincing their new-found leaders these are programs worth the long haul should that consistency come.

But that's a bridge to be crossed later. The present is about building that bridge.

POSITIVES

Rodriguez

For all UA's fault in 2011, scoring was not among them. The Wildcats ranked No. 30.8 points per game in scoring offense, running an offense with elements similar to Rodriguez's spread option.

Further, Rodriguez has a quarterback tailored to the scheme in Matt Scott.

The running back cupboard is fully stocked. Ka'Deem Carey emerged throughout his true freshman campaign, becoming a viable No. 1 option by season's end. There are a pair of power options in Taimi Tutogi and Greg Nwoko. The former proved a valuable short yardage receiving option. The latter returns from a torn ACL that kept him out of action for all of 2011, but in 2010 Nwoko scored three touchdowns in spot duty.

Graham

Cameron Marshall is a supremely talented tailback -- among the Pac-12's best, in fact. He set a Sun Devil record for rushing scores in a single season (18), and returns to give ASU offensive stability. Graham's offense at Pitt made effective use of Ray Graham before his injury; Marshall should be have a similar impact.

Dennis Erickson recruited well in his time at ASU, so while there are holes to plug the cupboard's far from bare. The defense returns safety Alden Darby (three interceptions, 51 tackles and six pass deflections) and ever-improving tackle Will Sutton. Also back is dangerous returner Jamal Miles. ASU should be able to win some field position battles.

NEGATIVES

Rodriguez

The chief criticism of Rodriguez's final season at Michigan was that its defense ranked at the bottom of the FBS. In Arizona, he inherits a program that finished near the basement floor of FBS. Now, that can be viewed as a negative or a positive. When Jeff Casteel installs his 3-3-5 stack, there isn't room to go down so now is as good a time as any to start from scratch.

Still, with a unit lacking depth adjusting to a new scheme, the Wildcats are prone to giving up some big point totals.

Graham

Heart of the Sun Devils' No. 28 scoring offense, quarterback Brock Osweiler bolted early for the NFL, leaving a void behind center still unfilled. Mike Bercovici and Michael Eubank are jockeying in the lead, with Taylor Kelly behind per Ted Miller. Whichever of the three candidates for the starting job gets the nod will be throwing to a receiving corps much different than last season's, as well. Gone are Aaron Pflugrad and Gerell Robinson.

Graham and his staff also face the challenge of refocusing attitudes. While the most notable example of Erickson's tenure is the departed Vontaze Burfict, the Sun Devils' problems manifested with a staggering 1037 yards of penalties, most in the FBS. UA had a similar problem, racking up over 65 penalty yards a contest, but the Sun Devils were the only program in the nation to exceed 70 -- and they were a hair shy of 80 (79.8). Penalties and a perceived lax attitude dampened what should have been an outstanding season for a very talented ASU roster. The Sun Devils were outscored heavily in fourth quarters, 109-84. It was the sole period ASU did not have the edge, but the difference between a sub-.500 campaign and the South championship. Included in the late meltdowns was its Territorial Cup defeat to UA.

Underachievement is a common theme for both programs, and the most crucial, underlying issue separating them from bigger, better things. Rodriguez and Graham come in at a fortuitous time with much change underway, so establishing the tone immediately by exceeding expectations is a very real possibility.