(http://www.arizonawildcats.com/images/2017/8/4/080317_sliu_0143.jpg)
Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, Rich Rodriguez loved playing ball in the streets with his neighborhood buddies.
It didn't matter what the game of choice was – sometimes football, other times baseball or basketball – there was nothing like a good street game. One rule, however, remained consistent. As soon as someone heard an ice cream truck, the game was over, and it was dessert time.
Midway through Thursday night's practice, Rodriguez huddled his entire team on the Kindall/Sancet practice fields for a short talk. It's something senior defensive end Jack Banda said the head coach "never does."
Rodriguez went over a few specific points from the first half of practice, before telling his team of his younger days in the Windy City.
"I told them the story, when I was a little kid in Chicago, and you heard that music, everything stopped for the ice cream truck," Rodriguez said. "You'd get you, of course I'm dating myself here, for 25 or 50 cents, you'd get yourself an ice cream cone. And about that time, the ice cream truck came by with the music playing and the lights flashing. So we got a good hour, 15 minutes in.
"But the ice cream truck came, so we had to stop."
As soon as Rodriguez pointed to the ice cream truck, which was driving through the gates to the practice fields onto the outskirts of the grass, the majority of players started sprinting toward the truck to get their treats.
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The sixth-year coach usually surprises his team with something during camp, but normally waits until later to do it. This year, however, the coach opted to go early. The Wildcats began training camp on Monday and had three productive practices to start. The squad then lifted Thursday morning and will practice in full pads for the first time Friday evening.
So before camp ramps up even more, Rodriguez decided to give his team a little ice cream break. The Wildcats will practice Friday and Saturday, before receiving their first day off Sunday. But on Thursday, he decided to pull a fast one and only told one member of his staff, so he could organize it.
"It's always good to break camp up," Rodriguez said.
Coach's Captain Process
After Monday night's practice, Rodriguez unveiled to the team the new "Senior Wall." It's a tradition the coach does every year, having a large mural of photographs of each senior on display inside the practice fields.
If all goes according to plan, each senior on the wall will serve as a captain at some point throughout the season. Each coach has a different theory when it comes to captains, but when Rodriguez was asked about his Thursday night, he explained why he likes having every senior serve as a captain for at least one game.
"I've always done it this way; I want every senior, if they've done things the right way, to be a captain at some point during their senior year," Rodriguez said. "Before the last home game, the team will vote on the permanent captains. But that way you have more leadership. It's just different philosophies. But I want every senior to be involved in leadership, and hopefully they can all say they were a captain for Arizona Football."
"I always liked it because it got more people involved."
Defensive Line Depth
Through four practices, Rodriguez has already noticed that his team is much deeper on the defensive line this year. The Cats have added several new pieces there including tackles Dereck Boles and Kurtis Brown and defensive ends Jalen Harris, Kylan Wilburn, My-King Johnson, Jose Ramirez and others.
Combine that new group with returnees Justin Belknap, Larry Tharpe Jr., Luca Bruno, Parker Zellers, DeAndre Miller, Jack Banda and a few others, and Rodriguez feels good about where the group is headed, especially on the edge at defensive end.
"I think we are going to be more athletic there with the guys we've added," Rodriguez said. "We have some pretty good players coming back, but we are more athletic and faster and we have more depth with the guys we added."