By
Maxx Wolfson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Defensive end named Pac-10 Defensive Player of Week
In a game in which the Arizona football team held Utah to three points and forced four defensive turnovers, two players stood out - senior defensive end Joe Tafoya and sophomore linebacker Lance Briggs.
"If anyone would have told me six months ago that we would have held Utah to three points, I would have called them crazy," Arizona head coach Dick Tomey said.
Tafoya, who returned to his natural position - defensive end - flourished after spending time as an interior tackle in 1999.
"He is the one that glues us together," sophomore defensive tackle Young Thompson said. "He has been here for five years, so there is a lot of leadership."
The senior defensive end recorded two sacks and eight tackles - four of them for a loss - and played a key role in the game's most pivotal play.
On the Wildcat two-yard line, the Utes were faced with a pivotal fourth-and-goal situation early in the final quarter.
Attempting to use trickery to score, the Utes shifted most of their offensive players to the left side of the field, leaving tailback D'Shaun Crockett in motion towards to the right.
As Utah quarterback Darnell Arceneaux tried to pass the ball to Crockett on the run, Tafoya got a hand on the ball, knocking it down and preventing the Utes from scoring.
Earlier in the game, Tafoya also forced a fumble which was recovered by senior linebacker Adrian Koch for a touchdown.
"I was out there with 10 guys who love to play football just as much as I do," Tafoya said.
Tafoya was named Pacific 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts in the Wildcat victory.
"It is an amazing honor for me, and it is the first real big accolade that I have ever had," Tafoya said. "There are a lot of great defensive players in the Pac-10, and this brings some pride back to Arizona since we are trying to reestablish ourselves everyday."
Tafoya, who led Arizona with 10 sacks in 1999, was named second-team All-Pac-10 last season.
While Tafoya took conference honors for defense, Briggs was equally impressive in the season's opening game.
In his first game playing defense, the former fullback recorded a game-high 16 tackles including one for a loss.
Briggs wasted no time making his presence known early on against Utah - recording five tackles in the Utes' first nine plays from scrimmage.
His excellent play didn't end in the first quarter - the sophomore continued to harass the Ute offense throughout the rest of the game.
"It was exciting," Briggs said. "For my first game on defense, I never thought that I would play that many snaps."
Briggs' job was made easier by his teammates.
"I thought especially up front our defensive line and our cornerbacks did really well," Briggs said. "We had a lot of guys who were out there for the first time. Everyone made it easy for me and the linebackers to shed and make tackles."
Though his performance was impressive, the coaching staff was quick to point out Briggs still has a lot to learn.
"He can really improve," Tomey said. "He can give a better overall effort, improve his discipline and fundamentals. The key now is how much he can gain from here. He needs to not listen to all the people telling him that he is the next big thing."
The need for improvement was not lost on Briggs, either.
"When you actually go out and look at the tape, it can take a couple hours just to digest how many mistakes we made and I made personally," he said. "There is a lot of things that I have to correct mechanically and look with my eyes and make good reads.
"After the first game I think there should be things that you have done wrong. Nobody can have a perfect game."
Although UA didn't play a perfect game, Briggs and Tafoya led an excellent defensive effort against Utah, a trend which Arizona hopes will continue this weekend against Ohio State.
"This is a very exciting time for us," Tafoya said. "It will give us a chance not only to prove to the Wildcat fans that we have something special, but to the rest of the country that we have something special."
