Spring football ends on good note

Still, coaches said, the best is yeat to come.

"We are just a shadow of what we are going to be," head coach Dick Tomey said.

Arizona divided the offense and defense up into two teams for the scrimmage. The team dubbed 'Offense One' prevailed 19-14.

Sophomore Keith Smith, who at one point completed nine passes in a row, threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns on 12 of 16 passing and sophomore Dennis Northcutt caught four passes for 136 yards including an opening 80 yard touchdown pass from Smith. He also had one run on a reverse for 35 yards. Junior Kelvin Eafon added 57 yards on nine rushes.

"It was good to get a lot of work and reps under my belt," Smith said. "I did get a little excited and ran more than I wanted to tonight."

The surprise of the night was that sophomore quarterback Ortege Jenkins was on the sidelines in street clothes, because of academic problems, rather than suited up and taking some reps.

This gave Smith more of an opportunity to prove his worth during spring practice and in a live game situation.

"I'm pretty pleased with my spring even though it could have been better," Smith said. "I went back to my basics. I was throwing on off days just to keep everything going."

Also taking snaps last night were freshmen redshirts Nick Fluery and Peter Hansen, who will battle for the coveted third string quarterback position.

Running back Trung Canidate, wide receiver Brad Brennan and defensive back Rafell Jones were also not in uniform for the scrimmage.

"We kept anyone out who was in question," Tomey said.

After the game the players seemed optimistic about the upcoming season and said they will be able to compete with anyone in the Pacific 10 Conference.

"Right now we are all right. In four months we can be where we want to be," Northcutt said. "The first play (80 yard touchdown) just shows what we have put into spring ball."

Arizona was also able to give some playing time to redshirts Jeremy McDaniel (WR) and Leon Callen (TB), who had two receptions for 37 yards and eight rushes for 44 yards respectively.