Wildcats counting on Tuitama Arizona QB looks for repeat performance against New Mexico

Early in Saturday’s 45-24 win over Northern Arizona, the light bulb flickered over the head of Wildcats’ quarterback Willie Tuitama.

After struggling mightily in Week 1 against BYU, the strong-armed Tuitama quit relying exclusively on underneath routes and began winging the football down the field.

Once his 20-yard strike to speedy wide receiver Mike Thomas resulted in a touchdown on Arizona’s first drive, Tuitama fully embraced the possibilites of the spread offense.

“Willie has an exceptional arm and great accuracy,” said Arizona head coach Mike Stoops. “He can make all the throws at this level of competition.”

Tuitama’s five-touchdown performance against the Lumberjacks helped silence the critics who said this quarterback wouldn’t be able to thrive in Sonny Dykes’ quick-hit offense.

Instead of locking onto a small number of receivers like he did against BYU, Tuitama completed 23 passes to 11 different receivers.

The Wildcats’ offensive line gave Tuitama plenty of time to survey the field and make his reads, which allowed Arizona’s talented group of receivers to find soft spots in the Lumberjacks’ defense.

“He’s still improving his ability to read the field, but he’s just scratching the surface of what he can do in this offense,” Stoops said. “If we protect him, he’s really accurate.”

On the season, Tuitama has completed 49 of 80 passes (61.3 percent) for 499 yards and six touchdowns.

He's on pace to throw more than double the passing yards he accumulated during an injury-plagued sophomore season, and his 135.9 quarterback rating is just a shade lower than the the 136.9 he posted during his breakout freshman season in 2005.

"If Willie continues to grow into this spread offense, he has the opportunity to have an excellent career at the University of Arizona," Stoops said.

Freshmen stars

Tuitama was given a boost by the big-play ability of a pair of freshmen—tight end Rob Gronkowski and tailback Nicholas Grigsby.

Gronkowski caught a pair of passes for 65 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown reception to cap Arizona’s explosive 24-point third quarter.

Grigsby carried the ball nine times for 56 yards, teaming with Xavier Smith (17 carries, 77 yards) to inject some life into the Wildcats’ lethargic running game.

Chris Jennings, who started Arizona’s season opener, was held to one carry and four yards.

All three running backs expect to see action during the course of the season.

Instead of relying on traditional between-the-tackles power running, Smith and Grigsby did the majority of their damage on the edges, while Thomas took four reverses for 80 yards.

Tuitama wasn’t the only playmaker in Arizona’s home-opening win.

Senior cornerback and All-American hopeful Antoine Cason stepped in as a punt returner and broke a 70-yard return for a touchdown early in the second quarter.

Even though Cason is an indispensible part of Arizona’s defense, Stoops wanted to showcase his special talents.

“Antoine wanted more involvement in the game, so we gave him a shot,” Stoops said. “He showed great explosiveness, and we’re looking for any way to create big plays.”

With so many explosive punt returners in the Pac-10 conference—led by Cal’s electrifying Desean Jackson—Cason could prove to be the ultimate wild card during Arizona’s conference schedule.

Before Wildcats’ fans get too excited about the blowout victory, they must remember that the win came against a smaller 1-AA (or, as it’s now known, the Championship Subdivision) squad.

Arizona’s vaunted defense still gave up 24 points, and Tuitama’s accuracy wavered in the second quarter before rediscovering his rhythm after halftime.

Lobos up next

Even though Arizona made serious progress between Week 1 and Week 2, the squad will still face a number of challenges when it hosts New Mexico (1-1) on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

The Lobos feature a strong tailback in Rodney Ferguson and a terrific wide receiver in Marcus Smith to go along with quarterback Donovan Porterie and a physical defense.

“New Mexico presents a lot of problems for us,” Stoops said. “It’s a good matchup, and we just have to build on the positive things we accomplished against Northern Arizona.”

A solid performance against New Mexico is mandatory for the Wildcats, as they begin their Pac-10 schedule the following week by traveling to No. 8 California on Sept. 22.

“The Pac-10 is exceptionally strong this year,” Stoops said. “We’re going to have to play a complete game every week if we’re going to compete against these teams.”

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747

Game Notes
New Mexico (1-1) at Arizona (1-1)

Kickoff: 7 p.m. Saturday

TV: FSNAZ, Channel 26

Radio: 1290 AM, 107.5 FM, 990 AM