Arizona experimenting on offensive line after injury to center Wood
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Arizona held its first two-a-day session of fall camp on Tuesday, but coach Rich Rodriguez cautioned about reading too much into that terminology.
"I don't think two-a-days is what it used to be," Rodriguez said following the Wildcats' morning session. "It used to be a grind and you wanted to see who could make it through it. Now, you have to be smarter about it, especially with our schedule with no open dates. We went shorts this morning and we'll go shorts tonight. It really turns out to be an equivalent of one long practice by the time you add all the periods together. At least it's football all day, except for our guys in summer school. That's why we are breaking the practices up so early and so late, because we have guys that are still in class."
One of the priorities for the Wildcats is replacing three starters on the offensive line, and that challenge became greater with the loss of center Carter Wood for the season to a foot injury.
Zach Hemmila is a possibility at center, but Rodriguez could also move senior Cayman Bundage, the starter at left guard the past two years, with Hemmila possibly shifting to guard.
"It's an ongoing battle, and it will probably stay that way all the way through the first game," Rodriguez said. "I think they want to play. Some guys would shy away from it, the pressure of snapping and making calls, but I think both Zach and Cayman love it."
"Hemmila said he's comfortable with either arrangement.
"I played left guard and tackle all throughout high school so it's just getting back in the rhythm of playing that guard position instead of center," he said. "I will play wherever coach feels is fit for me."
The Wildcats had their first day in full pads on Monday, and the players said they welcomed the opportunity for more hitting.
"We've been working on technique which is always good," linebacker Jake Matthews said. "It's more intense and it's a lot more fun when you can go to the ground and not have to hold up."
