Batten, Smith still battling

Batten, Smith still battling

By Craig Sanders
Arizona Daily Wildcat
August 22, 1996

Fallout from Monday night's scrimmage shows that little has changed on UA's depth charts.
Quarterback Brady Batten continues to hold down the starting spot, but back-up Keith Smith will continue to push him as a backup. Smith, who has been touted as a great athlete, has been working out at several positions in practice, including tailback and wide receiver. New offensive coordinator Homer Smith says Keith Smith will likely see some action in Arizona's first game of the season against the University of Texas-El Paso on Aug. 31.
"We want his uniform dirty by halftime," Homer Smith said.
Which position he'll get dirty at is still unknown.

Arizona head coach Dick Tomey said last night that punter/kicker Matt Peyton will be handling all of the kicking duties for the upcoming season. Peyton has been a three-year starter at punter, averaging 38.8 yards per punt to lead the conference in net pu nting last season. He beat out placekicker Mark McDonald for both the kickoff and field-goal kicking duties. Peyton worked on placekicking over the summer with hopes of earning the the kickoff job.
"Peyton has proven every day in practice that he is the man for the job," Tomey said.

Wide receivers Richard Dice and Rodney Williams both returned to practice last night. They were held out of Monday night's scrimmage with minor injuries that should not affect their appearance against UTEP. Dice has been bothered by a sore hamstring and W illiams by an ankle sprain. Receiver Rodney Holmes has been bothered by cramps which began occurring at Camp Cochise. He is expected to be ready to play as well.
All three receivers were held out just as a precautionary measure. Freshman quarterback recruit Ortege Jenkins from Long Beach, Calif., worked out as wide receiver in yesterday's practice.

Senior running back Gary Taylor has also been slowed by a sore hamstring, but has continued to practice with the team. Perhaps he knows that this week's practice will go a long way in solidifying his starting spot. Homer Smith says Taylor is still the te am's No. 1 tailback because of his game experience and maturity. He also said he is pleased with junior Kevin Schmidtke's development. Homer Smith said no final decisions have been made, but freshman Dennis Northcutt is being trained to see action in game s.
"I work hard in practice because I want to play. I'm not out here to watch," Northcutt said.

Defensive lineman and Nigerian Olympic shot putter Chima Ugwu has been working hard to make this season's rotation. Ugwu returned to Arizona three days before Camp Cochise began. He says he is uncertain about his role on the team, but described some of th e differences between being in shape for the Olympics and being in shape for football.
"Shot put is an explosive sport. I trained hard to gain strength. The whole point is to have a few seconds of power. In football, I need to have three hours of power. I need to work hard on gaining endurance and technique."

Former Arizona defensive lineman and All-American Tedy Bruschi is still sticking around with coach Bill Parcells and the New England Patriots. He has been playing linebacker, defensive end and special teams. Fellow defensive lineman Chuck Osborne has surv ived the St. Louis Rams' latest cuts, after all teams had to reduce their rosters to 60 players.
Former Wildcat quarterback Dan White and defensive back Brandon Sanders were not so lucky. White, who tried out with the Oilers and the Falcons, failed to make either team. Brandon Sanders did not survive the Chiefs' cut, and Baltimore offensive lineman P ulu Poumele and Colts' offensive lineman Warner Smith were also casualties.