By
Maxx Wolfson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
John Mackovic has a job other than coaching the UA football team - acting as its spokesman.
With Arizona's annual Spring Game just two days away, Mackovic will be on the UA Mall today at noon promoting the event.
According to Mackovic, his hour-long visit to campus will allow him to get in touch with some of the most die-hard Arizona fans - the students.
"It will give me a chance to get out and meet some of the students and talk to them about their lives," Mackovic said.
The Spring Game, officially the last football practice of the spring, will give fans an opportunity to see the wide-open competition at the quarterback position.
Despite the recent emergence of junior Jason Johnson, five other candidates still have a viable shot to start in the fall, including incoming freshman Nic Costa, who will be moving to Tucson from his home in Oregon this summer.
The offense, which has struggled in previous practices, will get its final opportunity to gain some respect from the defense.
"There's so much that we're trying to learn on offense as a team," Mackovic said. "It's kind of like one step forward, one step back. But we made a couple of steps forward (Tuesday) in practice."
The Spring Game will start at 1 p.m. at Arizona Stadium.
While Virginia Tech sophomore quarterback Michael Vick is the consensus choice for the No. 1 pick in this weekend's National Football League draft, the rest of the picks are up in the air.
That's good news for some Wildcat football players.
Pro Football Weekly magazine predicts seven Wildcats to be picked in the draft.
The player with the best chance, according to the report, is defensive end Joe Tafoya.
Pro Football said Tafoya has a good chance to make a roster because of his heart, toughness and work ethic.
Despite his size - he is 6-foot-4, 250 pounds which is considered small by NFL standards - Tafoya led the Wildcats' defensive line against often larger opponents.
Pro Football said that center Bruce Wiggins, linebacker Antonio Pierce, defensive end Idris Haroon, tight end Brandon Manumaleuna, quarterback Ortege Jenkins and offensive lineman Marques McFadden all have a chance of being taken, mostly likely in the later rounds of the seven-round draft.
Last year, tailback Trung Canidate was the last selection of the first round, taken by the St. Louis Rams with the 30th pick. Coincidentally, teammate receiver/return man Dennis Northcut was selected with the next pick by the Cleveland Browns.
Linebacker Marcus Bell was drafted in the fourth round by the Seattle Seahawks, while offensive lineman Manuia Savea and linebacker DaShon Polk were selected in the seventh round by the Browns and Buffalo Bills, respectively.
UA junior linebacker Lance Briggs' name has been added to the "Watch List" for the annual Lombardi Trophy, awarded to the top linebacker/defensive lineman in the country.
Briggs - a halfback during his freshman campaign - made a quick transition last year to linebacker, leading the Pacific 10 Conference in tackles.
"He ought to be nominated," Mackovic said. "There aren't that many people named to the list, so when you're named to it, it's special. It's great for the UA to have a player that's in that group and it's terrific for Lance - it speaks to what he's done over his career here."
Mackovic said the Sacramento native has maintained his intensity during spring practice despite the accolade.
"(Briggs) has stood out the most," Mackovic said. "But there's lots of other players who have been having a great spring practice as well."
ASUA Sen. Seth Frantzman will meet with UA assistant athletic director Scott Shake today in one of the final steps toward reinstating general-admission seating at UA football games.
Frantzman said he approached Shake after meeting with other members of ASUA, who unanimously supported a student section based on a first-come, first-serve basis.
"This is how the students feel," Frantzman said. "In theory, we are supposed to represent the students."
Frantzman said that after talking with Shake earlier, he is confident that student tickets will return to a general admission basis, allowing UA officials to cut down on security, which served primarily to move students from unassigned seats during the past two seasons.
"It was always a pain, especially if you got there early and got great seats," Frantzman said. "After a while, someone would come and say, 'That's my seat.'"
UA officials will reportedly keep a small section of seats available to those who prefer reserved seating within the student section.
"We think they'll keep a little bit of reserved seating," Frantzman said.
Tickets had gone from a general admission to a reserved basis following the 1998 season, when students and their family members packed into the section for then-undefeated UA's game against UCLA. Security was forced to remove those students and family members sitting in the isles, causing logistical problems throughout the east-side section.
