Arizona Continues to Search for Their Ideal Offensive Line Setup
The upcoming season continues to inch closer as there are now 24 days until the Arizona Wildcats take on New Mexico at home to get their year started.
With so many unknowns about how everything is going to look under new head coach Brent Brennan, these preseason practices continue to be important when trying to figure out how Arizona is truly going to operate when they eventually take the field.
Initial reports have indicated it's taking the offense a lot longer to produce than many might have anticipated with star quarterback Noah Fifita back, but with a new offensive coordinator, lineman missing practice, and Tetairoa McMillan still on the sidelines, some of these struggles are to be expected.
However, that's not stopping the Wildcats coaching staff from looking for their best combination across the offensive line during camp.
According to Jason Scheer of 247Sports, they are continuing to "mix and match to find the best combinations."
He reports Ryan Stewart got some time at right guard with Shancco Matautia also getting time at that position and at center. Neither of these players are expected to start for Arizona this season, something that is surprising considering Stewart transferred in from San Jose State.
The Wildcats were able to see what their reserves could do since three of their projected starters, Wendell Moe, Josh Baker, and Leif Magnuson were all held out of practice on Monday.
Based on Scheer's report, it sounds like they won't be using Matautia at center going forward since he had tons of problems when snapping the ball. Expected backup, redshirt sophomore Grayson Stovall, didn't have any issues so it's likely he holds onto his spot as the No. 2 option.
This will be something to monitor going forward.
Based on the current projected depth chart at Ourlads.com, it seems like Arizona knows who their starting unit is going to be by the time Game 1 rolls around, but that doesn't mean things will stay like that throughout the year.
Players could struggle or get hurt, so it's imperative they have backups who can fill in at multiple spots across the offensive line when called upon.
BRAD WAKAI