College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Arizona football season with what you need to know.
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Arizona Football Schedule Analysis
– Arizona Wildcats Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
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2020 Record: 0-5 overall, 0-5 in Pac-12
Head Coach: Jedd Fisch, 1st year (1-1 overall)
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 90
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 64
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 105
Arizona Wildcats College Football Preview 2021: Offense
– The entire team is going to be a work in progress. New head coach Jedd Fisch spent the last few years in the NFL, working with the LA Rams before coaching the quarterbacks last year at New England.
This might be his first head coaching gig – at least in a full-time role – but the guy knows how to get an O going, and offensive coordinator Brendan Carroll – son of Pete Carroll – comes in after working with the Seahawks.
Expect a whole slew of new ideas and creativity, partly because the personnel isn’t there to do anything conventional.
– The coaching staff has to figure out the quarterback situation, and that might take a while. Grant Gunnell appeared to be the guy to work around after battling through the miserable 2020 season, but he transferred to Memphis.
No. 2 man Will Plummer is back after getting in a little work – he threw three picks with no touchdown passes. 6-5, 224-pound former Washington State transfer Gunner Cruz is a wild-card with his passing upside, and on the way is Jordan McCloud from USF.
The receivers are going to need a bit, too. Jamarye Joiner might be the best of the bunch, but he’ll possibly miss part of the season after undergoing foot surgery. No. 2 target Ma’jon Wright left the team for Middle Tennessee.
Stanley Berryhill led the way with 23 catches for 227 yards, and with three of the team’s six receiving touchdowns, but he averaged under ten yards per catch.
Boobie Curry is a big target who can move, but he only caught ten passes – they didn’t go anywhere – and Tayvian Cunningham averaged 15.4 yards per grab on his nine grabs, but the real find might be Bryce Wolma, a 6-4, 239-pound tight end who can catch. The new coaching staff is almost certainly going to use the position.
– The ground game struggled, and the line had problems in pass protection. Other than that, the front five did just fine.
Three starters are expected back, but only 6-5, 322-pound Donovan Laie is a good one – he’s a versatile all-star caliber blocker who can work at guard or tackle on the left side. The hope is for Baylor transfer Davis DiVall to be a factor at one of the guard gigs.
The Cats lose leading rusher Gary Brightwell, and returning back Michael Wiley only ran for 222 yards – but he led the team with over seven yards per carry and three scores. On the way to provide an instant boost is Drake Anderson from Northwestern – he ran for close to 1,000 yards with five scores with the Big Ten Wildcats.
– What You Need To Know: Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Arizona Football Schedule Analysis