Behind Enemy Lines: Arizona Q&A with GOAZCATS

To learn more about Oregon State's opponent this weekend, BeaversEdge.com chatted with GOAZCATS Senior Editor Matt Moreno, who covers the Arizona Wildcats.

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Matt Moreno: "Schematically I wouldn’t expect too much to look different. Kevin Sumlin said this week that things would stay pretty similar in that sense and players said interim defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil said the same thing. So, I would expect things to look similar in terms of which players are on the field and what the scheme looks like. However, I think where the change will come is in the intensity level. Cecil and Marcel Yates are two different personality types. There’s a reason when you Google search Cecil’s name the first picture that comes up is a photo of him smiling with his face bloodied up during his days with the Green Bay Packers. That is the type of player he was and that is the type of personality he still has to this day.

Although his previous role with the team was more in the background he certainly still found ways to get the players fired up and this move by Sumlin was to try and find that fire within his players. To me, if there is going to be a change with the defense under Cecil it will be that part of it, the emotional part, more than anything you see with the scheme although it will be interesting to see if the team dials up more pressure. Not being able to get to the quarterback was one of the fan base’s biggest gripes with the defense under Yates."

MM: "I’m not surprised since it seems to make the most sense for what the quarterback position has turned into for Arizona this season. The team is not getting everything it wants from Tate so it just makes sense to play Gunnell more since the plan to redshirt him this year is off the table. Knowing that is the case it makes little sense to have someone as talented as he is on the sideline wasting the year away. He has also been solid when he’s been on the field this year and guided the team to a win in his only start this year. When you combine all that it isn’t too big of a shock to see the Wildcats go in this direction and this is something that Sumlin has done at other stops so that also makes it less of a surprise.

Going into the season I didn’t expect it would turn into a two-quarterback type of year, but Tate’s inability to remain consistent has led to the current situation. You just don’t know what you are going to get from him from game to game and even series to series. I knew that Arizona would work to get Gunnell on the field at some point, but I was not sold that he would play more than four games, but with his success in the small amount of time he was able to get on the field early in the year it just made the most sense to continue giving him opportunities. I still think you will see a lot more of Tate than Gunnell as the season moves along as I don’t anticipate a true 50/50 split but Gunnell is certainly going to see the field quite a bit barring Tate being completely lights out the rest of the way. As much as there is the sense when a team has two quarterbacks that it really has none, Sumlin simply doesn’t see it that way. To him, the difference in styles between Tate and Gunnell gives Arizona an advantage on Saturday but also during the week as teams have to spend practice time preparing for two different styles. So that is part of the thinking by Sumlin in addition to Tate and Gunnell have the type of skill sets that complement one another. What Tate does well Gunnell doesn’t do as well and vice versa."