Monday, May 5, Hour 1

Say Eye on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports fourteenth fifday powered by Nova Insurance Services Insure your most prized possessions.

Hey, good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to Iron the Ball Hero Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. In with me today is Troy Hutchison from Gooizycass dot.

Com and our boy here one. Hello, everybody.

Happy Monday, Yes, said the best support for Bore m Anito in the sekis Corona.

Whatever. Celebrate lately please? You said lightly lately relative term?

Yes, welcome, everybody, Welcome. Good to be back ahead. Miss Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. I'm partly not gonna miss much week except for maybe Friday.

This week. I'll let you guess know.

Uh, good weekend kind of right, Uh busy weekend, busy sports. Yeah, busy weekend for sports. The Kentucky Derby on Saturday, Warriors yesterday, and I'm gonna take all your breaking news and then based basketball just got a new coach.

Just got a new assistant coach and Brandon Chappelle.

Yeah we'll let we'll talk about it now. But to let you hdle some of that stuff now. So yeah, a lot of things going on, and I haven't really We're gonna have Bruce Pasco at the four seventeen hour talk about what's going on with the basketball program, including that and the schedule that's gonna be.

Pretty pretty big, right, pretty pretty good.

A daunting task. And you know what if you.

If you want to be the best Troy, you better play the best, be the best.

All that's missing is that mid conference game against like a North Carolina or Kansas. What do you mean mid like remember how season season? Would have you known? February North Carolina in February it was.

The It was the game that they played. Only a issue. Yeah no, I did it for twenty three years. It was fun.

Only thing missing.

Yeah, yeah, no, it's good. That's good. That's the test, your test your guys, see how good they are and see what you need to improve on.

And hope you don't screw up in March because you can have fun in November, December, January. If you don't do well in March, did you get criticized?

You know what, they didn't do well last time? They did this last season in terms of the record in the non conference.

But yeah, it paid off. It was Yeah, you know.

I had a discussion with a friend of mine on Facebook, one of my Facebook guys. He said, oh, it's best that they paid this, and I don't disagree with that. And Lukes philosophy was that played tough schedules, see what you need to improve on eventually get you ready for March. They didn't do that previously to this date.

How can I see this? Okay? You see it? Work? Paid off? Right?

Paid off to finish in the sweet sixteen paid And what sense did the payoff?

You knew your problems going in the conference play if you played a weaker schedule. Who jumbled?

Is there more more to the paidoff? Tell me more?

It got It got made you tough. It made you in situations that you've been in before, different teams and been through that you knew what you.

Knew how you had to be tough. You knew you had to be tough. Right, Okay, that's two. I'll give you this prepared you for the conferent friend, this is my biggest thing. And I think and again, if you have a weaker non conference schedule, you're going to the conference play.

You get slaughtered, no question. You might miss the tournament, no question.

And they did do that. They did do that. Let's go back to the Pac twelve. They played mediocre well under Sean. That was always the case where they played, you know, Okay, and he had won a lot of games, and that's what the defenders teams, the defenders will He won a lot of games. Well, he didn't beat a whole lot of good teams, Sean, I mean Tommy first round, first season, him here, he got to the sweet sixteen, right, underachieved, underachieved, underachieved because they played so well.

But how was that scheduled?

Though?

I can't remember the schedule.

I think the mediocre.

Yep, what do you remember? Just there was a lot of talent, no, no.

No, no schedule schedule. They had Michigan in Vegas. I think Michigan was underwhelming, and then some other teams that just won there.

So that kind of didn't set him up for what was ahead because they got physically beat up in in the tournament. Right TCU Houston the year after they lost to Princeton.

Princeton, I think a week non conference.

A week Okay, Pack twelve didn't show you sure, and I totally I do agree with you. They want a lot right again, But you know, I think that was more of a confidence factor in the tournament because uh, they were over confident thinking that it'd be what they would be, and then last year they lost to Timpson. The schedule was what it was, right, It was not great, wasn't.

I think it was solid?

Okay?

So then so how come they ended up at the same place we succeed.

I think the conference schedule was tougher, and I think that that was the difference in terms of the last few years.

At some point, at some point though, and I'm just being doubles out, not to be a pussy, but mony at some at some and I am Steve, Uh, at some point you play a tougher schedule, it benefits, right, know what you need to do before by the time March comes. But at some point you gotta eventually say we're good, and so let's be good. Whether you played

The first one talking about Duke. Now, Duke Duke, I think he played maybe the second third best game in the country.

Right, So the better team sometimes sometimes the better team wins. The Houston game that you were going to talk about. Sometimes you played the better team and Houston was a better team that day or that day, and maybe beyond they they were good.

I think they're that Houston team was physically tougher and mentally doffer mindjiy Arizona was a one seed and a one seed for a reason. They were very good, weretty good, but they hadn't been punched in the mouth all correct. Got punched in the mouth when they flopped.

Yeah, well it reminds me of the time. And you guys are played too young for this. Soliam Stottamayer was playing against Cal. I think it was Cal twenty fourteen, fifteen something like that, and uh a Pastornat who's an assistant coach at that time over there, so oh count So what they did admitted into it. They roughed him up, They gave him an elbow, took a foul. I think it was a foul, but they want to get into his head that it ain't gonna be easy for you, sline.

No, not always.

And the thing that you don't have that Loot and those teams had was Okay, you went through those hard times that season. Now you know for your next next year, and it's going to be an upper There is no more upper classes. Sophomore is an upper classman at this point.

You know, at some point they're gonna have to forget about all that stuff and just play their ass off. Also, you talk about the Florida game right coming up? Do we mentioned we haven't we haven't do so they played for the first game, they played, defending champs. It's not gonna be the same team you saw this last year. And everyone's thinking Arizona's going to be pretty good, right yep?

So what makes us not.

Think that Arizona could be a better team coming in that.

First game of the year. Yeah, well, if Carter comes back.

People thought that way coming into this past season that it was I mean, they started number twelve and gonna be better.

Than the year before and then and that's it.

Yeah what Y're four and five, four five, four and six, Yeah, something like that at the midway through almost half to know your non conference season, it's like, uh oh yeah.

Yeah, no, no, did he make changes? Did he?

Ye?

Tell me dollar.

Also, when in the starting lineup, kJ Lewis came out of the lineup, Henry Henry Vase increased his minutes given the injury to Crevas.

Right right, right, So I asked for reasons so you could go because I didn't want to go review.

So do you think those were?

Well?

Okay, was was the local starter?

No?

Was he a starter? Was he in your mind? Was he a starter?

Oh?

No?

No?

Okay?

So he did that too, might be messed with the you know, get the guys to play, however, you get energy off the bench, right right, Henry was the next factor to me. He was the guy that helped him kind of And who's the other one? Towns walker walk in town Townsend was kind of just okay, he was there. He was there, so he did a little thing to tinker to get him to play better, right, yeah, and he got him to the sweet sixteen, three sweet sweet

This next year? Is there?

I think there is? I think that I think there always is until you finally get to that level, until you finally get to the lead age.

And what's what does pressure? What does pressure mean to you?

If? How do I say this?

Tom?

He's a great coach, He's a young coach, and he's he's learning and developing.

He's a good good and it's likable very.

But is there a timeline where you run out of patients trying to get to a final four?

Yeah?

Here here, especially in today's college troops. Here here. I think he's fantastic. I like the guy as a good guy, as a person, everything. I mean, what's not to like? But I'm wondering, I'm not even wondering, what do you what do you think?

Let me think what I'm doing. I agree with Troy where there is a timeline too? How long you're you're satisfied with sixteen's that happened?

Where you're at? Remember where you're at Arizona? Yeah, where expectations are higher.

Exactly they shouldn't be, but they are.

And let's face it, this athletic director did not hire Tommy Lloyd.

Yeah, he's got four more years, four years on the new contractor he just said, yeah, five years, you know, five million? Yeah, so yeah, yeah, No, he's got he's got plenty of time to get this. But another sweet sixteen and another sweet sixteen? Mm?

You know who was also in a similar, similar situation with many coaches. But Jay Wright, when was he going to get pass the sweet sixteen? When was he going to get past the lead eight? And they gave him this tiny won two national championships and said, Okay, I'm going to retire now and have a good one. But it's a lot show.

You guys are in your twenties, maybe you're thirty, twenty thirty in your lifetime.

Do you think that you're going to win another title?

That Arizona will. I think they'll win multiple by the time I die. By the time I die, we're talking to maybe ninety.

Writes this stuff down.

Write this stuff down when you're out you're doing your little king say dry you remember begging.

Five.

We're talking like before you got into the show.

Hopefully sixty fifty five, sixty years ago.

Was now it's on your timeline.

Yeah, talking about my time.

Fine, you live until what seventy ninety ninety hopefully Okay, I'll give you that.

You guys, sixty years to win two.

To win two? Okay, and in the years give him that any given Sunday, you never know.

To yourself, what do you think I think, given if you live to ninety, if I live to ninety, Arizona will at least win one.

Yeah, I'll give you that. Tell me because because your question was in my life lifetime the coach.

Yeah, we'll see, we'll see.

He's uh, let me tell you, it's very difficult. Obviously, it ain't easy. Everybody has a chance or not everybody, but there's a there's a little small target, right and things gotta go well and blah blah blah.

The only thing with Tommy that I questioned in terms of we'll see is not the talent of coach. He is not the type of coach he is, and not that he's not growing, but one the timeline from the fan base and the university of hey, when are we going to get there? Because colle shoops, everybody's in and out now yeah yea. And two do you grow frustrated with that and eventually say, hey, you know what, I'll coach Gonzaga. I don't want this.

They love me over there, right yeah yeah, yeah, no no, and you're gonna get paid well no, yeah.

But he's not that dude.

He's got he wants to win, and he wants to do well, and he loves his place and all that, and I think this town loves him a lot. He's won a lot. I think the world of him. I actually do. I did a story in a big story in the magazine a month ago or whatever. It's just gonna be very difficult.

We got to go. Is that a call?

Your call?

Yeah?

Okay, Hello, you're on the air and line the ball. Who's this they just coached? Hey, coach, I'll want you.

Coach.

Coach, you're We're just gonna go to break coach. Can we just uh can you call back in like four minutes?

No problem?

Call back, Thank you, Ben, Let's go to break down. Thanks a bunch of coach. Uh, let's take the break.

We were running a little and then we'll get ahold of the coach consoles.

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Steve Rivera, he's got his eye on the ball on Tucson Sports stationed Fox Sports sporteen fifty.

Hey, welcome back to my on the ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera. In with me today is Troy Huts. Just send from Goodizycats dot com. Now when the phone, we have Danni Gonzalez, the Arizona defensive cordon coach.

How you doing, I'm doing great.

How are you guys doing today?

We're doing fine.

Let me let me say that I know that Troit got you to get us on the line here with us.

Let me say this.

I was at the press converence here I two three weeks ago at the end of the spring ball and and I met you once at a preseason preseason stuff when you first got here, and I was pretty impressed with you. I'm let me sell also say this from New Mexico. Originally I've been here a while now covered basketball football.

Uh, but I was you.

You struck me as a very cool, just a guy that many guys want to play hard for. And I'm not blowing smoked. I'm the I'm the guy that doesn't blow smoke here at all. But it was very passionate. When you're on on the on the table and I think, Hmmm, this guy must be successful because they want to play hard for him. I guess that's the essence of a coach, right or you tried to be.

No, I think you you first, you have to gain their trust. You have to they have to know that you're in it for them. And I think once you get that, and once you show them who you are and they can believe in you, and no matter what they need you, you're willing to help them out and do what it takes to one develop them not only is a football player, but of the person. I think

All bought in.

You know, you guys just finish up spring football, and when we saw the Spring showcase, I know, going into this offseason, linebackers, you guys were addressing that with Max Harris and Riley Wilson and others that you added at that area defensive line, you guy has added a bunch. How important was it this offseason to add depth in key positions which you guys were able to do.

Well.

Obviously, depth was a big hindrance last year when we started getting guys hit, hurt and picked off. We weren't deep enough to stay competitive in the Big twelve. And I think the Big twelve from top to bottom is very comparatively if there's nobody in this league that has more than every more than anybody when it comes to resources, So evaluating and is going to be an important piece.

Now.

We needed to get bigger, which was one of the things that we addressed because when we played games in late October November last year, the teams on the other side of the country were significantly bigger than us. So I think we've addressed that. I think we've got eighteen on defense that we think can play. We need to develop a couple more for that added depth that we need, But I think we have the right pieces to be a very competitive football team come this fall.

So back in the day and I'm gonna throw late in the old name to Pat Hill, like kry Pet Hill that told me back in the day, and you know I would run into Pat Hill maybe at a restaurant or whatever. He'd have, you know, his little napkins drying up schemes. Are you one of those guys? Do you kind of think out of the box and kind of do things when you're not even working, but really working with those type of things writing stuff down?

I think I'm always trying to figure out what gives our kids the best chance to be successful. And you could definitely ask my wife. I mean there's something. There's something being scribbled all the time somewhere, whether it be on my phone, iPad, a notebook, I mean.

Name it.

We're always trying to find a way to give our kids an advantage.

Yeah, always thinking, always thinking.

You know you talk about the size and all that that you guys were able to add. But a key part of everything this Houseason was seeing guys that entered the portal come back with Genesis, Smith, Dalton, Johnson, Trad and Stukes. Just having that foundation to work with. As you entered your first season as DC at Arizona, how important was that for you to get those leaders back in the locker room.

Well, I think in January that thing was the utmost importance. I mean, we had a pretty good run there, and then all of a sudden, one jumped in the portal, and then two, and then it became eight of the guys that we really wanted to stick around.

We had conversations with probably twenty five.

Others where we told them, you know, if you want to play football, it's probably not going to be here. But those eight the genesis is the Stukes, the Dalton Johnson's of the world. We did everything we could to keep them, and we did, and we battled back and they got out of the portal and remained, and then we were able to survive this portal here in April where the guys that we plan on being a big part of the picture next fall, they all stayed and they didn't even we didn't have to talk them out

To the fall.

So, can you describe what defense you're gonna not defense you're gonna run, but aggressive being who you are kind of what's the plan?

Well, the plan is to make it as hard as possible on the offenses. And I think we have some depth of the D line, but I also think we developed some depth at linebacker. We have the ability to have four down linemen on there. We have the ability to have three down line and three linebackers on there. So we're gonna be able to create some problems for offenses by the pictures that we give them. We're never gonna we won't be static. I can promise you that

We can we can we can create some problems for people and have.

An opportunity to get some turnovers with those guys that we have covering in the back end.

You guys were able to add coach Joe Salavea to the coaching staff and that seems to have helped out in terms of recruiting, transporport and whatnot and bringing in a guy like Tsava. Just the impact that you noticed from coach Salavea this spring practice and what are you excited most about having him on your staff along with others? Say you guys had it as well.

Well. The most exciting thing about coach Salavea is I've had to compete against him for a long time, whether it be in recruiting or on the field, and I really effect and admire the work that he's done from Afar and having the opportunity to be up close and to be on the same side of the street is outstanding. I mean, coach Olive has won an outstanding person where it starts the multi He's very strong in his faith, He's a great mentor to the men in the d

That said, how is it coaching under Brent.

Coach Brennan is by far within the FBS football is he is the best players coach there is. And the way he treats his staff, we're allowed to be fathers and husbands, which is which is not always that common in this profession. He has a very strict I mean it's outstanding by our players because they understand what they're allowed to do, what they're not and nobody told that line and Coach Brennan has been I mean, we kind of did a reset on the program in January and

During your post practice interview at the Showcase, you got to sit there with coach Dagan talk about the offensive mind that you see in him and the battles that you guys have had this spring practice. You know, can you just share with our listeners here a little bit of your thoughts on the job coach day he's done in the short time here in Tucson.

Well, I think the.

Biggest thing that he's done in the short time.

Is he's laid the foundation of what their belief system is going to be on offense. And I've been this is going on my twenty eighth year of doing this. Coach Zegi's mindset and is close to a defensive mindset for any offensive coach that I've been around, which has been fun for us. I mean, his deal is if that ball stood on the ground, freaking a our offense is expected to go score and our mantra forever has been doesn't matter what it is keeping out the freaking

Some confidence in what you do. And coach Zeigi is an extremely.

Confident young ball coach and it's bled over to his players and on the offensive side, and we've had some great battles through springball. You'll see an improved tempo. You'll see it improved. I mean, offensively, we have a chance to be significantly better than we were last year. And if we pair that together with a good defense, I mean, it could be a really fun football season.

Troy brought up that conversation, so that was one of the things that struck me and maybe your tone because I loved it.

I loved it.

It was about losing and how much you hate losing. Where does that come from? And how did that manifest?

Well, I mean, I think it's it started from a young age. And my dad was very competitive when he was teaching me to play baseball, or when he was teaching me to play soccer or football, and mean those things. I mean when he teaching me to play baseball, he put me in front of our metal shed and he threw the ball at me as far as he could and he's like, son, do you not allow that to hit to the building. If that is the building, we're

And that's just kind of the nature that I'm going into.

I mean, I'm I'm competitive in anything I do. Yeah, I mean, I just want to win. I mean it's to the point that I hate losing more than I enjoy winning, which is really sad, but it's just it. It just gets so deep in me when I lose or I don't create success with whatever it is I'm doing, Yeah, that becomes a problem for everybody around me.

So just just win so we.

Don't have to deal with all that nonsense.

Yeah, I think what you just said is I think for coaches who just have that passion for it, it hurts more to lose and than it feels good to win. I think that's the that's kind of like the signage that every good coach has.

Well, it's it's one of those things. I mean you win and everything you put into you should enjoy it a whole lot, because it's really hard to win football games. But when you win, you kind of move on to the next one because you know it's coming, and when you lose, it's hard to get over it. So, I mean, it's just it's just the nature.

Of what comes when you're that competitive.

So we were told that tomorrow May sixth, you guys are opening up a camp called Extraordinating Extraordinary Cats, a camp for kids with disabilities. Can you share that and the community outreach stuff you are doing with camps just like that here in Tucson.

Well, last last Tuesday, we had the kids to steal for individuals like to make a wish condition, whether they whether they're fine, a debilitating disease, or they've overcome cancer, I mean those things, and it was really fun to have those children out there last week with our football players and our team. The camp that we have tomorrow called Extraordinary Cats. My wife and I our youngest daughter Abby.

To it and looked into it and she's like, you know, we should do this, And I told her, if.

I ever become had a football coach, we will start a camp and represent anybody that has any individual with a disability, and we think of it as different abilities. And because everybody's good as something and people with disabilities oftentimes are more like than different, will learn as much from them as they do from us. And so when I became head coach of the University of Mexico, we started a camp called Extraordinary Lobos and it was for

If you have an If you do have.

A disability or somebody with a divisibility that you want to bring, you can bring them and compete with them. And we're gonna do different drills with our football players. They're gonna be able to tour the locker room, try them some pads. It'll be a great event for the city of Tucson, a great event for the University of Arizona and Arizona Football. Something very passionate about. And like I said, we're in We're intoing inclusion. Our daughter is

I did see on Twitter that you guys had a QR code for people to sign up and get active with that. But how long does the camp run? Is it just tomorrow or is it a select number of days for people that are interested.

Nope, it is.

It is just tomorrow. Registratings at four thirty. The camp goes from five to ish. It's just a one day camp. We'll continue to do this annually, but it'll be really excite.

So they can sign up.

They can go to Brent Brandant football camps, you can go to Arizona Football Camp or Arizona Football website or the QR code, or you can just show up tomorrow at four thirty and register at the stadium.

Either way you can do it.

However you want. But we're looking for individuals with disabilities to have a whole bunch of fun with our football.

Players a specific agents, no any any individual. There's no age limit, okay, no cool. More importantly, now, do you miss home? Like I said, I grow up in Santa Fe. I missed the food, I missed my friends.

How about you?

You know what.

Home is wherever you put your feet, and right now, Dusan, Arizona is our home. We love it here. I think I'm a firm believer of wherever you are, you have to be all in now. Our family, the majority of our family, my wife's family is in Albuquerque still, so we'll go back there and visit and do all those things. But we are situated in Catalina Foothills right now. We love our community, we love our where we're at. And so the new Mexican food, we haven't found anything quite

Here, spoken like a true coach, diplomatic and didn't want to piss anybody off, you know, Like, have you eaten at Pokemon Moms?

We have not, so that that's a new one. That's what we need to try.

That's the one because let me tell you, I missed food like that. All the Albuquerque stuff santathe specifically, but that's the closest you'll get that's good.

Where is it at.

It's on the east side, It's near Udall Park. Just Poco and Pokemon Moms. You'll find it.

Go.

Yeah, fantastic stuff. Coach, thanks for joining us. Enjoy we'll talk again soon.

Awesome. I appreciate you guys having me on. Thank you all you do for our community and person on football.

Thanks coach talking guys, be well man, Thank you.

Uh And Albuquerque is like just to soon with snow and I'm going to offend a lot of people.

I've heard that a lot from people that you know have lived in bost cities too.

Sound with snow mine it's the breaking bed stuff. Yeah, let's go take a break.

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Streaming live on the iHeartRadio app, This is I on the Ball with Steve Rivera on Fox Sports fourteen fifty eight.

Hey, welcome back to I the ball here on Fox Sports fourteen fifty. I'm Steve Rivera, you're Troy. Let's just Sen from gooizycats dot com. And you want sir cool cool.

That's good. He was good. I like, he's just like a. I don't want to see a powerful voice, but a convincing voice.

To me, an old school coach. Yeah, with that old school yeah, you know somebody that you're get inspired by.

Just yeah, yeah, yeah, that that's Adam. Did you were there? Weren't you? With the post?

Yeah, And the relationship that he had or the the goal back and forth that hum and dag he had was like.

Intriguing to me.

You don't see a lot of oftense coordinators or evense coordinators. I don't want to say romantic, but like about the other dude in terms of what they can do.

Right right, and and that said day was very How can I say this? And I'm sure it's simple because I don't hang around the football program as much as the bestball program about his and then Noah right and every coach waxed his poetic on their players, but not to the extent that Dagie did the most. And I can't remember mispraise or misquote him, and how passionate he was about Noah, how smart he is, how how thoughtful he was he is, and and everything I know about Noah is exactly true.

Right He's He's that dude, and he was very passionate about him that night.

It was like, I mean, if if you want somebody to talk highly about you in any situation, that's.

What you want to hear.

And you notice not only as the day it's Brendan, it was Jadfish, it was even it was even the name's escaping me right now. The former offense coordinated is escaping me right now. For here they just they I just left us think babers. But everybody has talked that way about Noah, and so if everybody does that right, if everybody does it right, there was something about that.

Yeah, No, no, obviously, because he's kind of held this team together last year. He brought a lot of the guys back, or at least they came back. And it doesn't surprise me now and I said this, you probably don't remember this when he replaced uh, the Lord Jayden.

I'm thinking there's.

Something about this game, the Stanford game, right that they played harder for him, and they pulled that game out and Jay would look at me like that, and I asked him, I don't want.

To say his name.

I said that that seemed to be the case for me, and it happens all the time. The players play harder for people that they like and are are impressed by or respect. And they said, no, that's not there's no question that was the case. And some of the people said, yes, very much so. And you saw it from that point

Yeah.

Yeah, it's like you find it.

Very noticeable one and then you can see what you can see why now.

Yeah, yeah, well and you saw why after the season when Jed left, when everybody left, and all of a sudden, what's going to happen? And know on TMAC stay and they're able to get the majority of the Yes, they lost some pieces, but the majority of the roster back. That doesn't happen, especially nowadays.

You're exactly right, even just to test it, because some of them stayed a year and then obviously left right.

Yeah.

We talked about this a year ago when I was first starting with you, that there's there's almost an aura about Noah Flafida that almost everyone's drawn.

To at the perfect position, too, right, because you need that quarterback, that guy to be the quarterback.

And then it's not only the person he is. You don't see many five ft ten quarterbacks. I was going to say that they get that respect. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And I think what's different about this spring that we didn't see in the previous springs or pre last spring when no Fafida was going to be the guy as they said, you know what, Yes he's a great leader. Yes he's a great person. We need him to be more vocal, right, and we're going to challenge him. Yeah this spring, that's the first time you've ever heard somebody say we're going to challenge know what to be more of a leader than what he is.

The funny thing about it, I can say, I'm just trying to go back with some of the players that I covered. The last guy, maybe not the last gay, but a guy like that was TJ McCoo, just the dude who, okay, guard non descript but led those teams to how good they were. And it was funny because the year before I ran into lout a couple of times in twenty thirteen whatever it was. He says, how they look, and he says that they're gonna be good, but the best player is not even playing. I'm thinking,

And went about his wisess, not caring about how many shots got up in there.

And that you remember the story that I saw from Paul Carrol, not Paul carl I'm sorry, the athletic guy.

Oh my names are just getting too old. He wrote the story when when when TJ.

I guess got his thing, talked about Stanley Johnson and he was a freshman and TJ was a senior, I guess by this time, and Stanley was being Stanley, kind of being the cocky freshman kid and he don't screw up my senior year. And you're not gonna do this to us. You're gonna play we want you to play, don't mess around.

And you know what Stanley needed that you, no question, he needed a lot more, no question, probably throughout his career. But that makes him who they are, that makes TJJ yeah, and that's who makes what makes yeah. Yeah for sure. And you know you kind of saw it last year when they're going through the lows and the highs. No matter how many times he got hit, no matter how

Not only that him staying in the game. He's not plenty fingers and then he's pointing them at himself. Right, I need to play I need to play better, YadA YadA. It's easy for us, for guys like us to be, oh, well, the left guard missed missed this block. Sure No, Noah was going to say, I didn't get the ball out in time, right.

Well, and you know what is critical on himself and rightfully so he saw throughout the season. You missed the tight end wide over, wide open, over the middle of the field. You missed this receiver over the middle of the field. You threw this pick here because you got tunnel vision with t mac and every press conference it wasn't oh, this guy's well that. No, you're right, I miss that. That's my bad. I got to get better on that.

So how do you think he's gonna do it? I maybe already asked you this question, but how do you think he's gonna do without his safety inknit?

I think he's gonna do better because he knows, he knows somewhere else there isn't that that blanket right there, and that thought in your head, Well, I'm just gonna throw it up to Teta Row and see if he can come down with it. And I think there's a lot more talent in the receiving room now. You don't

Do you I couldn't be critical with Gonzalez because we just got him on the phone right now.

And how last year felt?

Uh?

Do you think they're gonna be They're gonna be better, right, You're gonna be better?

How much better defensively or as a team both, So defensively, I think they're gonna be tremendously better. And I think they would have been good last year because they're gonna be healthier, okay until they're not healthy, until they're not at least to start, And I think there's more depth. And I think unlike coach Akina, who I think they did a terrific job considering all the injuries that he dealt with, I think, unlike him, you're gonna see Gonzalez

Any want to give help, give me his game plan. I just think they're going to be more aggressive.

And then as a team overall, I think they're gonna be much better. Does that mean you know, more way nine wins? No, I don't think so. But somewhere between that five to seven mark I think is the golden point. And right now, if I had to pick right now without training camp, which is huge, you got to see how they are in training camp, I would say it was gonna go six and six and get sobal game. We'll see what. I love the schedule, I like what they have, I love the coaching changes they've made, but

I'm kind of in that same mindset six and six, six and six, maybe not even not even just looking at wins or losses. I just think they're going to be a lot more competitive. Do we know what the schedule is?

Yeah?

So the schedule I just pulled it up. That's why go ahead and give me a game. We'll go game by game, even though it's it's May fifth.

Training camp.

First game versus Hawaii home against Hawaiian. Okay, we'll give it. Home against Weaver State. Two home against Kansas State, close loss, two to one and one. The first road trip to Iowa State lost two and two. Versus Oklahoma State at home.

I'll win. I think Oklahoma State is really after last season, and Gundy since Lake.

It's okay, let's go with you in three and two, b y U at home, three and three at Houston win, Okay, four and three at Colorado the four and four listen because it's like Colorado home against Kansas.

Kansas pretty good.

They weren't good last year.

They weren't four and five, four and five, five four.

I'm gonna say.

Five and five and four, Okay at Cincinnati five and five.

If I'm gonna you're gonna get Kansas we're gonna take away kids five and five.

Last home game against Baylor.

I think they get that win.

Okay, home game, home game, Okay, well, six and play and the the trip to tep six and six and six.

Okay, with with some wiggle room in there, because we kind of, you know, wish was six and six. Okay, maybe a bowl game.

Maybe maybe six and six that's that qualifies. But I think they're, like we talked about Cincinnati, that's a winnable game. Colorado, there's two.

There's two, and there's two or three in there that you can go either way.

Yeah, Colorado, you don't know what they're gonna be do without Shore and without Travis Hunter. And the fact of the matter is, out of those twelve games, eight are in the state of Arizona, seven are at home, eight in the state of Arizona. You'll only leave the state four times.

So if he goes six and six, what does that mean.

He goes six and six, he goes a successful year, and I think recruiting goes up and his timetable at Arizona is extended.

So I think, yeah, it's yeah, how you're going to get rid of a guy that's six and six and improving.

And improving, and you're making the right games. The recruiting class, I thought this past recruiting class, for all the trouble that they had this season, I thought they pieced together a pretty nice class at top forty, top fifty class. This recruiting class coming up, I could see being in that top twenty top thirty.

Range, given that you've been in the recruiting business for a while now and you're no cage vetteran if you want to call it yourself. Back at thirty, sure, where should Arizona be recruiting wise? You said, top thirty fifty, whatever, Where should they be?

I should compete, to compete, I think, to compete in the Big twelve, and to compete at a national level, they should consistently be in the top thirty five.

And is it possible?

I think it's possible. So you saw Jetfish have a top thirty five class and a top number nineteen class, which is highest ranking recruiting class in Arizona history, and then you saw the results some other results. They did very good. And then when Mike Stoops was here, they were consistently getting top thirty recruiting classes. And yes, you know eight and five, eight and five, and they kind of fell apart. But you had NFL dudes on those rocks.

And it's very parent Arizona just from the draft here. I mean they got they got people.

Where rich Rod his name wasn't recruiting there in that fifty to seventy range. Somebody is even ninety.

I think his ego was part of that problem where he thought he can coach them up.

I think it's ego. And I also think defensive staff saying not not caring enough about defense, bringing over that West Virginia staff that wasn't good defensively. At West Virginia. You didn't want to recruit and didn't want to recruit and were older dudes. You just didn't care defensively.

What do you have against older dudes? So you've said that a few times.

The older dudes they don't like to change.

Yeah, and in college they don't like to change more momentum a more important note.

Yeah, they don't like momentum.

We don't got it.

Momentum.

Actually, you gotta adapt with the times.

Yes, yes, you think you very much, so we gotta shave I need to.

But I agree with you. I agree with you. Thirty five, top thirty five, There was no possible.

Can they do that?

I think they can this upcoming recruit again, I think anywhere from that twenty to thirty range is a realistic actually rotation for this up and recruiting class. Okay, you're just gonna win if they have a successful because you could, you could get all these guys committed before the season starts there let's say twentieth in recruiting, right, and then all of a sudden you start losing and teams are like, you really want to go over there? Oh of course,

Yeah.

No, the ball was rolling the balls wrong, and you can imagine. But doesn't mean it's going to guarantee it, but it is what it is, I'll be ready to go. Yeah, okay, let's go and come back. And then we'll get some breaking news.

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