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Monday August 28, 2000

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Wildcats believe good season in 'line' for 2000

By Ryan Finley

Arizona Daily Wildcat

Wiggins, Tafoya provide leadership

Many say that the game of football is won or lost in the "trenches", the area in which the offensive and defensive lines struggle for control. If that old adage is true, the 2000 UA football team should be in good shape.

Arizona's offensive line, led by a pair of seniors - center Bruce Wiggins and tackle Marques McFadden - is excited about having an opportunity to lead a young Wildcats team in 2000.

"We have great confidence in ourselves," McFadden said. "In the past, we haven't been as well known."

Wiggins, who enters his third season as a starter, was named to the All-Pacific 10 Conference's second team in 1999. A native of Houston, the 6-foot-3 center started all 12 games in 1999 and helped the Wildcats set a conference record with 5,663 yards of total offense.

The 6-foot-4 McFadden, a native of Meridian, Idaho, will likely start the season at right tackle after spending 1999 at right guard. Junior Steven Grace will start the season as the team's right guard, while junior Makoa Freitas will play left tackle.

Junior college transfer Kevin Barry and sophomore Aaron Higgenbotham will both vie for time at right guard.

The offensive line, which averages more than 300 pounds, may have no bigger fan than its quarterback, senior Ortege Jenkins.

"What's going to stand out is the play of the o-line," he said in an interview following spring practice, "I think that when you look at a team, you have to start with the guys up front. When you have guys that have played a lot, you know that the games are won or lost in the trenches."

Wiggins believes that a good relationship between a quarterback and the offensive line is integral to a successful team.

"We trust OJ, and he trusts us," he said. "When (Sept.) 2nd comes around, he should have great confidence in us."

Despite his past accomplishments, Wiggins is cautious about the new season. The Wildcats open the year against Utah Saturday night in Salt Lake City.

"We still haven't done anything yet," he said. "There's 11 games, and we have one on Sept. 2."

According to McFadden, the team's lack of a true superstar entering the new season will help the team come together.

"Last year, it was Trung Canidate's team or Dennis Northcutt's team," he said. "(The media) didn't look at the offense as a whole unit. This season, we need to be physical and make sure nobody gets to our quarterback."

Arizona's defensive line has shown promise after allowing 143 rushing yards per game in 1999.

Senior defensive end Joe Tafoya, perhaps the closest thing to a superstar on this season's team, has started 28 games in his career and will anchor the team's young defense.

A 6-foot-4 native of Pittsburg, Calif., Tafoya led the team with 14 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks and two forced fumbles in 1999.

Sophomore tackles Keoni Fraser and Young Thompson and senior defensive tackle Idris Haroon round out UA's defensive line.

Sophomore Aaron Huisman, junior Anthony Thomas, senior Mike Robertson and sophomore Ben Alualu should also see significant playing time as the season progresses.

Robertson, who missed time at Camp Cochise with multiple hernias, should return to play at Utah on Saturday.

Haroon, who can play both tackle and end positions, set career highs in tackles and solo tackles, and assisted tackles in 1999.

According to Tafoya, the line's lack of depth will serve as a challenge for the young Wildcats.

"The main thing is that we are short on numbers, as usual," he said. "We need to stay healthy, we need to be quick, pin the (offensive) line and let the linebackers shoot the gaps."

According to Tafoya, this season's team appears hungrier, meaner, and more physical than its 1999 counterpart. Last season's defense had just 11 turnovers all season, leading to a -12 turnover ratio for the 6-6 Wildcats.

"We're approaching this season 10-times different than last year," he said. "We've only missed one day of full contact, and that day was spent with some contact. We've got a whole lot of young guys who want to get out there and smack some people."

Arizona, predicted to finish in the bottom half of the Pac-10 by most experts, expects to play the role of spoiler in 2000.

Tafoya believes that the team's success will serve as payback to those expecting the Wildcats to fail as the season progresses.

"You've got to love the fact that we're on the bottom of the pile," Tafoya said. "That way, when we do well, we can point our fingers in people's faces and laugh."


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