With its starting quarterback remaining cautious but optimistic on the sidelines, the Arizona football team has found a potential gem buried in its depth chart.

Junior Adam Austin, a former walk-on, has taken all the snaps for Arizona in the first two spring practices.

"I've got a lot more attention (this year), that's for sure," Austin said after his second day behind center.

"It feels good. I've waited my whole life for an opportunity like this," he said.

Austin is Arizona's lone quarterback for spring workouts because of Richard Kovalcheck's recent back surgery.

Kovalcheck to "go full on" in future

Kovalcheck, Arizona's starting quarterback for the final six games of the 2004 season, was on hand for yesterday's workouts.

The 6-foot-2 redshirt sophomore is recovering from surgery to remove a fragmented piece of a disc in his back.

He said he was disappointed missing spring workouts because they are "another chance to get better" but added that the surgery will add a new dimension to his game once he returns to action.

"I'll be able to go out full on ... I've always been cautious about my back before," he said.

Transfer wide-out makes good first impressions

Junior receiver B.J. Vickers, a transfer from Santa Monica Community College, has been impressive in his first workouts with the Wildcats, said Arizona head coach Mike Stoops.

"Vickers has a tremendous ability to catch the ball," he said.

Vickers said he hopes to have a major impact on the Arizona offense come fall.

"I hope to bring at least 100 (yards) a game," he said.

The 6-foot-3 receiver is part of a corps of junior college transfers that Stoops said will bring a lot to the roster.

"They're everything we thought they'd be," he said.

Adjusting to the grind

Another transfer, Brandyn McCall, a 6-foot-5 tight end from Golden West Junior College, said the differences between junior college football and the Division I game are vast.

"It's been a big adjustment," he said. "The work, it's all day, everyday."

McCall said he hopes he can bring a lot to the program through his myriad talents.

"It's a balance thing," he said. "I can run, I can block.

"I want to come in and start, but I know I have to earn it here in spring ball."

Stoops optimistic about young squad

Stoops continued to sing the praises of his team's advancement from a year ago after day two of spring practice.

"The kids have made huge strides," he said. "This is mostly for younger players, but all our players are young."

Following Monday's workout, Stoops said a football program makes its biggest strides between its first and second seasons under a coaching staff.

Yesterday, he said there is no comparison between Arizona football now and how it was last spring.

"They're so much further along," he said of his players.