Arizona Football's 1st Offense vs Def scrimmage & simulated game this Saturday

[GoCatZ]

Cats Prepare for Saturday Scrimmage

Saturday will mark two weeks until the Arizona Wildcats kick off their 2017 season at Arizona Stadium versus NAU.
 
But this Saturday, there will be some real – OK, semi-real—football in Tucson. Arizona will close out its training camp Saturday morning with its first scrimmage of the summer. Coach Rich Rodriguez and the Wildcats have had mini-scrimmages and have gone "live" with tackling, but they haven't simulated a game with the coaches on the sidelines and the players having to make decisions on their own without the coaches behind them.
 
Saturday, that will be the scenario. It will be a standard offense versus defense scrimmage, and Rodriguez said he might even have the starting units on each side face off against each other for a series or two.
 
"The intensity has been pretty good (in camp), and you'd hope it will be the same for the scrimmage," Rodriguez said Thursday. "When we are live, some guys rise up, and some guys are exposed. It will be an important deal. Some of our proven veterans will play some, but won't play a ton."
 
The Wildcats will have a light practice Friday afternoon and then head to their normal home hotel to simulate a game weekend, before heading back down to campus Saturday morning for their scrimmage. Practices normally consist of scripted plays and situational work.
 
But Saturday's scrimmage, there will be no script as Rodriguez and the coaches want to see how well their team has mastered the play calls and formations.
 
"In a lot of respects, you (learn more), because the coaches aren't telling them what to do," Rodriguez said. "It's more like it is in a game. They're out there doing their thing and hopefully paying attention. The scrimmage won't be scripted at all."
 
While Rodriguez will give some the veterans a lighter load Saturday, he's eager to give some of the younger players plenty of reps to see how they handle the game-like simulation and live tackling. The group of newcomers, especially the freshmen, have been the talk of training camp.
 
Now it's time to see how they handle one of Rodriguez's scrimmages. The head coach isn't worried about how they'll perform because they've been so advanced this camp. Nearly the entire class was here at the start of summer school, which is something Rodriguez said has greatly benefited them.
"We haven't played a game, and have a lot of work to do, but I think that freshmen class is pretty special," Rodriguez said. "I don't know if any of those freshmen could be as advanced as they are if they weren't here in the summer. So that has really helped them. They're getting well coached, they're playing year-round, they're more prepared physically. Frankly, we needed some competition, and we got it."
 
Saturday's scrimmage will also be an opportunity for three new coaches on Rodriguez's staff. In the offseason, the head man added linebackers coach Scott Boone, wide receivers coach Theron Aych and special teams coordinator and defensive ends coach Brian Knorr.
 
All three have made a positive impact this camp, and now will get a very small taste of game weekends in Tucson.
 
"They do a great job communicating," Rodriguez said. "I think it's really paid off, bringing them in."