"Tell them … tell the team to bear down"

Fiery coach saves temper only for the refs

By Anthony Gimino and Javier Morales

Arizona football coach Mike Stoops can still get plenty hot on the sideline, but he has mellowed as the Wildcats have become more consistent winners — going 17-8 in their past 25 games ain’t bad. Stoops’ main motivational tactic in his early years was screaming obscenities, but he likely doesn’t have to dip into that bag of tricks as often on the practice field. Stoops has learned to trust his assistants and be more judicious with his bouts of raw emotion. Fifth-year senior defensive lineman Donald Horton was asked this week about the biggest difference in Stoops from his freshman season until now. “He doesn’t seem as stressed,” Horton said. “We have conversations now. When I first came here, I was like, ‘I ain’t never talking to that dude.’ Now, we can have conversations and stuff like a regular dude.” …

Sometime last week, Arizona updated its 2010 football schedule on ArizonaWildcats.com. The Nov. 20 game at Oregon has been moved to Friday, Nov. 26, the day after Thanksgiving. For many years, that was the date of the Arizona-Arizona State rivalry. The Nov. 27 home game against Arizona State was changed to Dec. 2. TV potential is always a factor in these things, but keep in mind, the schedule is still tentative. … Looking way down the road, Arizona’s first three road games in 2011 are at Oklahoma State, USC and Oregon State (when Jacquizz Rodgers would be a senior). Yikes. … Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller has plenty on his plate, but he’s happy to be keeping an eye on the football program, which is something he couldn’t do at Xavier because the Musketeers don’t have football. But Miller is from Pittsburgh, so you know the guy loves his football, especially on Sunday when the team in black and gold is playing. “I’m as big of a football fan as there is in Tucson,” Miller said. “I have really gained a great appreciation for the program Mike and his staff have built. It’s really an exciting brand of football to watch.” …

Detroit Country Day School point guard Ray McCallum Jr. has until Wednesday — the end of the fall signing period — to decide whether he will sign a letter of intent with Arizona, UCLA, Detroit, Florida or Oklahoma (the five schools he officially visited since September). McCallum has reiterated to us that he is keeping the option open of waiting until the spring to sign. “It could be beneficial to watch these teams play to see their style of play with their guards. It could give me a better idea of where I might fit in,” McCallum said. Ray McCallum Sr. is the head coach at Detroit, which lost to Cal 95-61 in its season opener on Wednesday — the starting date of the signing period. He has been busy coaching and recruiting other prospects, so he has not had the time to discuss with his son. “I plan on talking with him more this weekend,” McCallum said. … What has gotten into former UA guard Gilbert Arenas, who at one time was an NBA media favorite? After a game recently, Arenas looked despondent with his head down. He told reporters, “I’ll be happy when I get to my car.” The wild rumor running through the Internet like wildfire lately is that Arenas is upset because he is having personal problems with his fiancee Laura Govan. …

Bug Wright

In one of the strangest statistical notes you will ever see at this point of the season, Arizona went from worst to first in punt returns in one week. The Wildcats haven’t had a healthy Bug Wright for much of the season and were mostly in safe mode with David Douglas, not a running threat, back there catching punts. That helps explain why Arizona had three punt returns for minus-1 yard through seven games, which ranked 120th nationally out of 120 teams. Then, against Washington State, a now-healthy Wright broke off an 86-yard touchdown return and finished with 115 yards on three attempts. Arizona went from minus-0.3 yards per return to 19.0 yards per attempt, best in the nation. “I never dreamt we would go from 120 to 1,” said special teams coordinator Jeff Hammerschmidt. “Even my wife thought that was funny, and she doesn’t know much about football.” With Wright feeling good, and speedy Travis Cobb emerging on kick returns, Arizona is back to being a threat on special teams. “I wasn’t very popular for most of the season,” Hammerschmidt said. …

Former UA softball ace Taryne Mowatt makes Tucson her home base these days, but she is still traveling around the country as part of the PFX, a professional barnstorming tour that is kind of like the fastpitch equivalent of the Harlem Globetrotters. Mowatt is with the PFX this weekend in Fresno, Calif., and she has been busy with other projects, including spending three days last month on a set of a movie that stars Jack Nicholson, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and Reese Witherspoon. Not bad, huh? Witherspoon’s character is an U.S. Olympic softball player, and Mowatt was hired to appear in a scene that included members of another team. No speaking lines, however. Mowatt still says her dream job is being a sideline reporter. … Former UA guard Jawann McClellan is not on the Wildcats’ coaching staff — he told us this week that is one of his goals for the future — but he has his eye on Houston talent every week as an assistant coach at nationally-ranked Yates High School. Nic Wise’s father, Greg Wise, is Yates’ coach. Given the relationship of McClellan with the program and Wise sticking it out through his senior season, don’t be surprised to see Arizona remain a player for Houston-area talent (Texas overall) even though Josh Pastner is gone. …

Josh Pastner

Speaking of Pastner, he won his debut in a resounding way as Memphis coach Friday night over Jackson State 82-53. Any thought that Pastner would get a lukewarm reception in Memphis with John Calipari gone was answered when a boisterous sold-out crowd in excess of 17,000 showed up for the game at the Fed Ex Forum. After the game, Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson awarded Pastner the game ball. “I took that game ball and I sent it right back to the players because it’s not the coaching; it’s the players,” Pastner told the Memphis media. “I appreciate Mr. Johnson — without him I’m not even in this opportunity, so I give him a hug every time when I see him. But, when I took that ball, I said this is for the players because we wouldn’t be anything without them. But, anyway, that’s all well and good. We have to move on; we have a lot of work to do. That work includes preparing for a game Tuesday against Kansas in the Hall of Fame Showcase in St. Louis. It will be televised by ESPN. … Jordon James, a 5-10, 190-pound running back from Corona (Calif.) announced Thursday on ESPNU that he will attend UCLA. Arizona was one of his finalists after a good official visit last weekend in Tucson. “I’m really comfortable with the coaches at Arizona,” James told Rivals.com. “They (Arizona) were the first school to contact me and when I went up there last November with my coach, I really enjoyed that trip over there.” The scouting report on James, according to Rivals.com: “He has excellent change of direction and very good vision. James also does a nice job catching the ball with his hands and can jump out of the building. He is also a gamer. Playing against a difficult schedule, James seems to excel best when the bullets are flying in game competition.” James has rushed 112 times for 738 yards and five touchdowns. He has 10 receptions for 193 yards and three TDs. …

Friday Night Lights: Arizona’s newest member of the Class of 2010 recruiting list hails from Sun Devil Country — Avondale Westview senior quarterback/defensive back Jourdan Grandon. He played in his first game a week ago since suffering a broken foot in preseason, and looked like impressive by all reports. He passed for two touchdowns and ran for another and led Westview to touchdowns on all four of its first-half possessions against Goodyear Millennium. Grandon committed to the UA two days afterward. Grandon will exclusively play defensive back at UA. The Cats beat ASU’s Dennis Erickson for Grandon. He was also considering Oregon State, Colorado and Colorado State. … Allen (Texas) quarterback Matt Brown leads his team into a playoff game Saturday night against Nimitz. He is coming off a subpar performance by his standards. Brown had 75 yards rushing on 12 carries, which helped offset his 7-for-18 completion rate, in a victory over Wylie for the district title. … Oceanside (Calif.) wideout and defensive back Jerry Whittaker caught a 75-yard touchdown pass Friday night in the Pirates’ 52-6 win over Ramona. It was Oceanside’s 35th consecutive game without a loss. … Las Vegas Valley High School athlete Garic Wharton transitioned more away from quarterbacking his team into his traditional multi-purpose role Friday night and he had one of his best games. He caught a 99-yard touchdown pass by sprinting past the defensive secondary for Del Sol. Wharton also rushed for 42 yards on 13 carries.

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Tags: Jawann McClellan, Josh Pastner, Mike Stoops, Ray McCallum

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