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UA scrimmage disappointing, Tomey says

Thursday night's UA football scrimmage was about as hard-hitting as an intramural flag-football game, and UA head coach Dick Tomey was not impressed with the team's lack of intensity.

"We needed to hit, and we did not do that," Tomey said. "We're going to redouble our efforts in practice to be ready for next weekend."

The Wildcats open up their season next weekend in State College, Penn., in a battle with No. 3 Penn State, a showdown that could make or break UA's national championship bid.

"Our preseason camp is over right now; now it's Penn State preparation time," Tomey said.

The scrimmage under the lights of Arizona Stadium was the first opportunity for the public to see the team play. About 1,000 fans attended.

The defense was lightning quick in getting to the backfield and putting pressure on the quarterback, although their tackling was at times suspect.

Senior flex linebacker DaShon Polk sat out the scrimmage with a minor injury, but he will be ready for the Penn State game.

Special teams play was poor, with both junior punter Chris Palic and freshman punter Ramey Peru having their kicks blocked.

The secondary looked solid, but they did give up one big play.

"We looked good, we only had one bust-up in the secondary," defensive backs coach Duane Akina said. "I think this scrimmage is an indication that we got a lot of work ahead of ourselves, not just on offense or defense, but as a whole football team."

Quarterbacks, junior Ortege Jenkins and senior Keith Smith, alternated snaps during the first part of the night. Jenkins completed 2 of 3 passes for 45 yards and scrambled for 36 yards on two carries, while Smith was 2 of 4 for 45 yards. Third-string freshman quarterback Jason Johnson took most of the snaps at quarterback, completing 8 of 12 passes for 53 yards.

Smith was happy with the team's progress but knows that there is a lot of work ahead of them.

"We are right where we want to be, and we need to come out and be more physical than tonight," Smith said. "We've just got to learn and get better before Penn State."

Senior tailback Trung Canidate exited the game early after running for 6 yards on two carries. Junior running back Leon Callen carried the ball four times for 28 yards.

The depth and future of the Wildcat running game was on display for the greater portion of the scrimmage with freshmen, Lance Briggs and Larry Croom both looking impressive. Croom ran for 26 yards on four carries, while Briggs showed good speed and cutback ability.

The crowd came out of its collective coma when freshman wide receiver Bobby Wade took a kickoff and exploded up the sideline for a touchdown, accounting for the lone highlight of the scrimmage.

Wade switched over to receiver to shore up depth at that position, and said he'd like to return kickoffs on a permanent basis. Senior wide receiver Dennis Northcutt, who sat out the game with a groin and knee injury, is the team's main kick returner.

The stats didn't look bad but the overall lack of tenacity concerned Tomey.

"If you showed the tape (of the scrimmage) to Coach Paterno right now, they'd probably stop practicing the rest of the week," Tomey said.