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By Craig Sanders
Arizona Daily Wildcat
August 30, 1996
The Arizona offense is in the midst of reinventing itself. The Wildcats have finally set their sights on an offensive game with the hiring of offensive coordinator Homer Smith. The spot was vacated by Duane Akina, who returns to coaching the secondary, wh ich he coached in the early 1990s.
- Offensive Line: Left Tackle: Willie Walker (6-foot-3, 290-pounds, senior), Right Tackle: Jose Portilla (6-6, 319, junior-JC transfer), Left Guard: Frank Middleton (6-3, 311, senior), Right Guard: David W atson (6-5, 303, senior) Center: Wayne Wyatt (6-3, 292, senior). This is the core of the Wildcat offense and could be its strongest link. Last season the line came in inexperienced and was injury-plagued throughout. This season they are solid, with four m embers returning (Portilla is the new member). They have looked strong in practice and may be one of the best in the Pacific 10 Conference. Each member is very versatile and can play several positions. If they stay healthy, Arizona should prosper.
- Wide Receivers: Richard Dice (6-2, 216, senior) and Rodney Williams (6-1, 180, junior). Dice is the go-to man this season, a role he is familiar with. He may miss quarterback Dan White throwing him the ball. He has great hands and is Arizona's big- play receiver. Dice will need to stay healthy in order for the "spread" offense to be successful. Last season he missed six games but was still an honorable mention Pac-10 selection. In his three years with Arizona, he has caught 101 balls for 1,712 yards . Williams led the team with 48 receptions and 587 yards. With Dice healthy and double teamed, Williams may see more and more balls coming his way. He may have a breakout year for Arizona. Ron Holmes (5-10, 192, sophomore) is the Wildcats' third receiver. He stepped in when Dice was injured last season.
Quarterbacks: Brady Batten (6-2, 210, senior). The quarterback battle between Brady Batten and Keith Smith will be one of the most interesting on the team this season. Batten has been a steady backup for years, primarily playing behind Dan White. He has good field vision and has shown the ability to go over the middle. He started one game (against Washington) last season. One concer n about Batten is his tendency to tuck the ball and run.
Smith (5-10, 185 redshirt freshman) is from Newbury Park, Calif., and redshirted last season after a year in professional baseball. He is an exceptional athlete with good speed and a strong arm. Smith should be used in goal-line situations and may run som e option offense. Smith's height and maturity are his only question marks.
- Tailbacks: Gary Taylor (5-11, 194, senior) and Kevin Schmidtke (5-9, 198, junior). Taylor is the returning back and should be the main ball carrier this season. He has good size and hands and has shown that he can be a productive runner. He may have been hurt by last season's patchwork offensive line. In his three years with Arizona he has run for 1,418 yards. Last season he started all 11 games and rushed for a team h igh 714 yards on 177 carries. He was also the second leading receiver on the team with 33 receptions.
Schmidtke is still rated second on the depth chart, but must learn to hit the holes quicker. He ran for 203 yards last season on 77 carries. He has the skills to be a good back. A hometown product, Schmidtke was southern Arizona's all-time leading rusher with 5,211 yards at Tucson's Mountain View High School.
- Fullbacks: Charles Myles (5-11, 233, junior). A tough blocking fullback, he carried the ball 49 times for 187 yards last season. He could see more passes in a new offensive scheme. Myles needs to become more active running the ball. Backups Scooter Sprotte and Sadiki Johnson will probably see plenty of action as blockers.
- Tight End: Mike Lucky (6-6, 251, sophomore) and Mike Metzler (6-4, 215, senior). Both are good run bloc kers who have shown the ability to catch the ball. They may be looked to more and more as receivers over the middle. Lucky and Metzler are both big tight ends. It will be interesting to see what duties they take on in the new offense.
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