TUCSON, Ariz. -- Fall camp rolled on for the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday night with another productive practice.
Following the evening practice session, defensive coordinator
Marcel Yates joined the assembled media inside the Cole and Jeannie Davis Sports Center and spoke about the leaders on his defense, the evolution of junior linebacker
Colin Schooler, and the importance of consistency and accountability when building a program.
He was
joined by Schooler, who debuted a brand-new mustache to the world that was inspired by his roommates. Schooler described this year's defense as "aggressive," and noted the depth that has built up along the Cats defensive line.
Highlights from day two can be found below.
Quote of the Night
Defensive coordinator
Marcel Yates on who he sees as leaders on the defense: "The leaders are
Jace Whittaker,
Colin Schooler, Tony Fields, Scottie Young,
Lorenzo Burns, all those guys that have played. They've each played a lot of snaps, they've been here, they've gone through ups and downs. So those are the guys that are our main leaders."
Photo of the Night
Â
Number of the Night — 77
Standing at 6-foot-5 — or 77 inches — tall, freshman quarterback
Grant Gunnell (pictured above) can't help but stand out on the Cats practice fields as he participates in his first fall camp with Arizona.Â
Featured Returner — Junior Colin Schooler
Schooler, who enters the year just 5.5 tackles-for-loss shy of breaking into the Arizona career top 10 list, has racked up numerous preseason accolades from across the nation. He has been included on watch lists for the
Bednarik Award and he
Butkus Award while also being tabbed to the
Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference first-team. Schooler, a junior linebacker, has played in all 25 games since he's been on campus with 21 starts. His 21.5 tackles for loss during the 2018 campaign were the most by a Wildcat in school history, while his 9.92 tackles per game ranked fifth in the conference. Following practice, Schooler spoke to the media and attributed his slimmer frame — he's currently around 230 pounds — to a new routine.
"I started taking care of my body a lot better than I was," Schooler said. "I matured up a lot, living on my own outside of the dorms in an actual house where I get to cook my own food now ... Just really taking care of my body and treating it the way it should be. I like pasta, easy to make, not a lot of time [to make] especially with camp going on. I'll go grill steaks with broccoli, baked potatoes, it's some good stuff."
Featured Newcomer — Freshman Derrion Clark
Clark, who hails from Dallas, Texas, earned three varsity letters at South Oak Cliff High School before joining the Wildcats. During his prep career, the 6-foot-1 linebacker tallied 320 total tackles, 71 tackles for loss, and 39 sacks in 35 games. His outstanding performances earned him AP Class 5A All-State honors twice. Clark led his team to an 11-1 record as a senior while averaging 1.04 tackles per game. The versatile athlete also played baseball early in his career. Clark was singled out by Schooler after practice Saturday as a newcomer who has already imporessed.Â
Tweet of the Night
Season tickets, flex packs, and more are available now for the 2019 football season. For more information or to purchase visitÂ
ArizonaWildcats.com/FBÂ or call 621-CATS today.
