By
Ryan Finley
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Tomey faces another friend in Cooper
A mild abuse of the rules may have led to UA's 17-3 victory against Utah on Saturday.
Up against one of the nation's top kick returners, UA head coach Dick Tomey instructed his players to violate the three-yard halo surrounding Utah punt returner Steve Smith if it meant stopping the Ute special teams.
Smith gained just 12 yards on four returns.
"I told them - don't be afraid," Tomey said. "It's only a five yard penalty. If we get him down, it's no problem."
Should any Arizona punt-team player had violated the halo and hit Smith maliciously, the Wildcats would have been hit with a 15-yard penalty. However, the interference penalties were all incidental contact, costing the Wildcats just five yards.
Tomey, who is a member of the NCAA rules committee, is wary that an across-the-board rules change would be implemented if the rule was abused.
"We don't want to legislate ourselves into a (universal) 15-yard penalty" Tomey said. "(But) in that game against that guy, we were not concerned about the five yards."
All in all, Tomey was pleased with the play of his coverage teams.
"If you would have told me in the middle of the summer that we would kick the ball 10 times and there would be 12 yards in returns, I'm going to think you're crazy."
A week after facing longtime friend and Utah head coach Ron McBride, Tomey will face another of his long-time associates, Ohio State head coach John Cooper.
Both were assistants at Kansas from 1967-70.
While Jayhawk assistants - Tomey coached defensive backs while Cooper was the defensive coordinator - Tomey helped Cooper in any way he could.
"John and I are really good friends," Tomey said. "I used to babysit his son Johnny when he was a little kid. He was a terror."
The Buckeyes' offense has the potential to be a terror, also, despite an subpar showing last weekend against Fresno State.
Tomey believes that Cooper held a few of his plays out in Saturday's 43-10 win against the Bulldogs.
"Their offense against Fresno didn't do a lot of things that we expect them to do against us," he said. "We've been working hard on that since spring."
Tomey knows what to expect from a Cooper-coached team.
"(OSU is) a fundamentally-sound football team," Tomey said of the Buckeyes.
Defensive tackle Young Thompson had five tackles in Saturday night's victory against the Utes.
"He certainly made some plays the other night," Tomey said.
Equally as impressive is the fact that Thompson, a native of Aloa, American Samoa, played offense exclusively in high school.
As a first-team all-island tight end in high school, the 320-pound sophomore played a bit of everything - including quarterback - at Samoana High School in Pago Pago.
"A former player of mine was his coach," Tomey said. "Playing in the defensive line full-time was not something that he's done all his life. He has a lot to learn
Thompson just wanted to play though..
"I played wherever," he said. "I can throw, too."
The first-ever player to sign with Arizona directly from the island, Thompson remembered the hoopla caused by a college coach's visit to the island, a five-hour plane trip from Hawaii.
"When coaches used to come, it was big news" he said. "I'm happy for the fact that I was the first one signed directly from the island. There's a lot of talent there."
While Arizona's offensive production was lacking - the Wildcats had just 147 yards of total offense - Tomey was encouraged by quarterback Ortege Jenkins' efforts.
Jenkins went just 4-for-20 from the field in passing despite Arizona's 17-3 victory against the Utes.
Despite his poor showing, Tomey was content with the senior's game as he failed to turn the ball over during the course of the game.
Tomey believes that Jenkins' performance was, in part, due to nerves.
"He dreamt about going into that game, being perfect and making a statement," Tomey said. "I felt he was a little uptight."
Tomey was quick to point out that the subpar offensive performance was due, in part, to the team's game plan - playing conservative offense in the game's final quarter.
"A lot of people ask me why we didn't kick a field goal," Tomey said of a fourth-quarter possession in which the Wildcats turned the ball over on downs. "(I feel) that's the only way we can lose. Our best chance, given the way we were playing, was to run the ball a few times, pass the ball deep and then punt."
The Utes turned the ball over four times despite throwing for 310 yards.
"We wouldn't trade performances with (Utah's) quarterbacks," Tomey said. "(Jenkins) doesn't have to be perfect. He doesn't have to carry this team."
