Pac-10 Position Breakdown: Defensive Line – Arizona Wildcats
Despite breaking in four new starters on the defensive line, the Arizona Wildcats defense preformed pretty admirably in 2008, finishing 33rd nationally in scoring defense, 39th in rushing defense, 23rd in passing defense, and 24th in total yardage defense (giving up 313 yards per game).
The Wildcats ended their decade-long postseason drought with a 31-21 win over BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl. Now they hope to build on last year’s success and move on to bigger and better things in 2009.
Losing Willie Tuitama is certainly a big blow to the offense, but bringing back a defensive line that gained valuable experience last season should make the defense even better this season. Despite the respectable overall defensive numbers, the Wildcats finished tied for 60th in the nation with 24 sacks and tied for 67th nationally with 69 tackles for loss.
The defensive line will have to do a better job getting to the quarterback and disrupting plays in the backfield this year if Arizona wants to crack into the Pac-10’s top tier.
Brooks Reed with a crushing tackle
Defensive End
44 Ricky Elmore, 6-5, 250, Junior
83 D’Aundre Reed, 6-4, 248, Junior
- The defensive end 1-2 punch of Ricky Elmore and D’Aundre Reed both return this season and look to build on last year’s experience. Both players were rivals.com 3-star recruits in the 2006 class, and both possess good speed on the outside.
Elmore played in all 13 games, starting the first six games and the last three. Overall, he finished the season with 25 tackles, including seven tackles for loss and four sacks. Reed also played in all 13 games and started in the four that Elmore didn’t, finishing the season with 24 tackles including 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack.
Allowing both guys to get starting and reserve experience in 2008 should pay huge dividends in 2009. Both are reliable options that should improve this season, and if D’Aundre Reed can do a better job breaking into the backfield this season, he will likely earn himself more playing time.
Ricky Elmore will probably be the primary starter this season, but Coach Mike Stoops has the option of going with the hot hand and knowing he can rely on the other for key depth all season.
Defensive Tackle
49 Earl Mitchell, 6-2, 295, Senior
92 Dominique Austin, 6-4, 292, Sophomore
- Earl Mitchell has finally found a home with the Wildcats; on the defensive line. Recruited as a running back, Mitchell spent 2006 and 2007 playing tight end, before being transferred to the defensive line in 2008 where he was thrust into the starting role immediately.
Despite just making the transition during the spring of 2008, Mitchell didn’t look out of place in his first year on the line. He finished the season with 40 tackles including 5.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks while garnering All-Pac-10 honorable mention honors.
Even though he put on the weight required to be an effective interior lineman, Mitchell still possesses much of the speed and explosiveness that made him an effective tight end. With a year’s worth of experience at the position under his belt, Mitchell should build on his ’08 campaign and finish off his career with the Wildcats with a very strong season.
Dominique Austin was a rivals.com 3-star recruit and was rated the 17th best weakside defensive end in the class of 2008. After opening camp as an end, he made the transition to the inside of the line, and ended up gaining valuable experience as a true freshman, seeing action in seven games as a reserve. Austin should once again provide depth and work on his craft in 2009.
Nose Tackle
46 Donald Horton, 6-0, 275, Senior
94 Lolomana Mikaele, 6-2, 305, Junior
- Donald Horton enters his senior season having seen action in 30 games over the course of his career. After seeing action as a primarily as a reserve in eight games as a redshirt freshman in 2006 and nine games in 2007, Horton played in all 13 games last season, including six starts.
Horton ended the ’08 season with 21 tackles, including four tackles for loss and one sack. While he is a good athlete, Horton is relatively small for an interior lineman. This works to his advantage against weaker offensive lines that he can burst through, but against the conference’s bigger and stronger O-lines, it could sometimes be a deterrent.
Should Coach Stoops and his staff opt for size, Lolomana Mikaele and Dominique Austin both provide it. Mikaele did not play in 2008 due to an administrative issue, but he did practice with the team. In 2007 he played in all 12 games (with one start), finishing with 13 tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss. It will take a little while to get back up to game speed, but Mikaele should be valuable as a reserve once again when he does.
Defensive End
42 Brooks Reed, 6-3, 255, Junior
58 Apaiata Tuihalamaka, 6-3, 245, Sophomore
Like Earl Mitchell, Brooks Reed is another former offensive player that flourished on the line last season.
Originally recruited as a fullback, Reed was transitioned to defensive end duties in 2007, where he saw limited action as a reserve in the final nine games of the season and tallied seven tackles including half of a sack.
The experience proved to be valuable as Reed was thrust into the starting role in 2008. After getting some early season jitters out of his system, Reed went on to rack up 37 tackles, including 9.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, and three forced fumbles.
Bringing the speed and physicality of a fullback with him, Reed’s work ethic and tenacity put him over the top. He refuses to be denied and never gives up on the play, making him extremely dangerous to opposing offenses and a great role model for the rest of the guys on the line.
After receiving All-Pac-10 honorable mention honors last season, Brooks Reed should be even better with the experience he gained in 2008 under his belt.
Apaiata Tuihalamaka, one of the three Tuihalamaka brothers on the Wildcats, will look to build on his redshirt freshman season. Originally recruited as a rivals.com 4-star linebacker, Tuihalamaka transitioned to the defensive end position during his redshirt year.
As a redshirt freshman he saw limited action in 12 games and made four tackles and added a fumble recovery. He should once again see time as a reserve in 2009 while continuing to get adapted to the position.
My Take
If you told me the best players on my defensive line were an ex-tight end and an ex-fullback, I’d probably cringe. That is, of course, until you told me it was Brooks Reed and Earl Mitchell, and then I’d feel pretty damn good about it.
In what could have been a disastrous rebuilding season for the line last year, two stars were born. I also love the depth of this line, including the interchangeable Ricky Elmore and D’Aundre Reed.
The only concern heading into the season in my opinion is the nose tackle spot. If Donald Horton continues to get pushed around by bigger O-lines, will Lolomana Mikaele or Dominique Austin be able to step into the spot and shore it up? Neither has starting experience, and with a fairly small group of linebackers as the next line of defense, slowing down rushers up the middle will be essential to the Wildcats’ success this season.
In the end, I think Mike Stoops and his brother Mark will figure it out, and this will be a productive unit in 2009.
Arizona Wildcats
| 
Apaiata Tuihalamaka, Brooks Reed, D'Aundre Reed, Defensive Line, Dominique Austin, Donald Horton, Earl Mitchell, Football, Lolomana Mikaele, Ricky Elmore
Do you think that is going to work?
Hypotheek informatie, hypotheek aanvragen of afsluiten? Hypotheekrentes bekijken. Hypotheek aanbieders vergelijken, hypotheek vormen, bijkomende kosten,
Lenen zonder BKR toetsing gaat vandaag heel gemakkelijk. Binnen een paar uur geld lenen zonder BKR toetsing doet u hier, lees snel verder
Hoewel migraine op elke leeftijd voor het eerst kan optreden, begint dit type hoofdpijn meestal tussen de tien en veertig jaar. Bij de meeste mensen treedt
Migraine is een bonzende hoofdpijn die meestal voorkomt aan één kant van de schedel. De pijn is heftig en houdt 4 tot 72 uur aan.
Hello Webmaster. My partner and i really like your post along with your website all in all! The article is extremely plainly created as well as easily understandable. Your current Blog design is amazing as well! Would definitely be fantastic to learn exactly where I are able acquire this. Be sure to maintain up the great work. All of us need far more these website owners like you on the web and also much fewer spammers. Wonderful mate!
Hello friend. I actually just like the post along with the site all in all! The write-up is incredibly clearly created and also without difficulty understandable. The WP design is awesome as well! Would definitely be awesome to know where My partner and i can obtain this. Please continue to keep up the very good job. We all need much more these types of webmasters like you on the internet and also much less spammers. Fantastic friend!
I’m sure you must get better a lttle bit the look and usability of your blog.
I found your blog on Yahoo and I just wanted to say that I think your writing is simply stunning!
Not too long ago, I did not give lots of consideration to giving feedback on site page articles and have positioned responses even less. Reading through through your enjoyable posting, will assist me to do so sometimes.
Between me and my husband we’ve owned more MP3 players over the years than I can count, including Sansas, iRivers, iPods (classic & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few years I’ve settled down to one line of players. Why? Because I was happy to discover how well-designed and fun to use the underappreciated (and widely mocked) Zunes are.
Great post! I’m just starting out in community management/marketing media and trying to discover how to do it nicely – resources like this post are incredibly helpful. As our company is dependent in the US, it?s all a little bit new to us. The example above is something that I worry about as well, how to show your own genuine enthusiasm and share the fact that your item is helpful in that case.
Hi all, i´m from germany so my english knowledge is not that superb. Please dont blame me. I try to read online journals to improve my english and i have to say that your blog was perfect readable for me, because the english is really great and all the posts are perfect readable. I will come back, to improve my english even more. Thanks a lot :)
Your current Blog design is amazing as well! Would definitely be fantastic to learn exactly where I are able acquire this. Be sure to maintain up the great work.
i thought this was a really great post to read. i’ll check back for new posts by you!
Lately, I didn’t give a lot of thought to leaving comments on blog page posts and have positioned feedback even less. Reading through by means of your nice article, will aid me to do so sometimes.
bunvrhojheudahgpcbu, delo zaposlitev, zWVXcvQu.
great post! i’m bookmarking this!
kuchhzzdubdaudxvpsu, delo zaposlitev, pPZrRapV.
I think that is an interesting point, it made me think a bit. Thanks for sparking my thinking cap. Sometimes I get so much in a rut that I just feel like a record.
Hey very nice blog!! Man .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…I am happy to find so many useful information here in the post, we need develop more strategies in this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .
Resources like the one you mentioned here will be very useful to me! I will post a link to this page on my blog. I am sure my visitors will find that very useful.
When I came over to this post I can only see another half of it, is this my on-line browser or the website? Should I restart?
Looking forward to another great article. Good luck to the author! all the best!
Simple to understand and helpful. We will look forward for your future updates.Thanks!
nice post. I would love to follow you on facebook.
The informal article helped me very much! Saved your website, very excellent topics everywhere that I read here! I really appreciate the information, thanks.
Yo, just FYI but I’m just acquiring the adhering to mistake: Warning: Did not open up strm: No these types of document or listing in /home/profpros/public_html/wp-settings.php on series 473
great post! i’m bookmarking this!
Thank you for the useful information.
Hi, i was just doing some browsing at work. Your Posts are Really Awesome! Where is Subscribe Button in this blog?
Hello can I reference some of the insight here in this post if I provide a link back to your site?
Zune and iPod: Most people compare the Zune to the Touch, but after seeing how slim and surprisingly small and light it is, I consider it to be a rather unique hybrid that combines qualities of both the Touch and the Nano. It’s very colorful and lovely OLED screen is slightly smaller than the touch screen, but the player itself feels quite a bit smaller and lighter. It weighs about 2/3 as much, and is noticeably smaller in width and height, while being just a hair thicker.
Howdy, an astonishing info buddy. Great Share But I’m experiencing problem with the RSS . Fail to subscribe to it. So anybody else facing similar RSS feed trouble
Sorry for the huge review, but I’m really loving the new Zune, and hope this, as well as the excellent reviews some other people have written, will help you decide if it’s the right choice for you.
Only half the post is displaying, weird, is this my internet browser or the internet website?
yep, honestly. just say a random comment that’s going hrough your head at the moment. it can be funny, serious, silly, risque, or anything you want. and you can post as many times as you want.
I’ll gear this review to 2 types of people: current Zune owners who are considering an upgrade, and people trying to decide between a Zune and an iPod. (There are other players worth considering out there, like the Sony Walkman X, but I hope this gives you enough info to make an informed decision of the Zune vs players other than the iPod line as well.)