Notes and takeaways from the Arizona Wildcats鈥 media availability Wednesday evening as the team continued to prepare for the Dec. 27 Foster Farms Bowl against Purdue:
* Quarterback Khalil Tate practiced and said his injured left shoulder is 鈥渁 lot better鈥 than when he first hurt it against Arizona State on Nov. 25. Tate added the following about his first season as a regular: "It went all right. I just put my foot in the door. I haven鈥檛 come in the room yet. That鈥檚 what I鈥檓 excited for."
*听搁别肠别颈惫别谤 Shun Brown on the Wildcats not placing anyone on the All-Pac-12 first or second teams despite leading the league in offense: "It just blows our mind, the level of disrespect." UA players are legitimately mad about this. We鈥檒l have more on that topic later tonight.
*听颁辞补肠丑 Rich Rodriguez was disappointed too. "We鈥檙e not huge on individual awards,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut it is nice recognition for the guys and the program. I would have thought somebody on our offense would be first or second team"
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*聽Rodriguez on Colin Schooler and J.J. Taylor winning Defensive and Offensive Freshman of the Year honors: "That鈥檚 really neat. The good part about it, with both of those guys, I know they鈥檒l keep getting better. Football鈥檚 really important to them. They had really good years. Their best football鈥檚 still in front of them."
*聽Graduate assistant Kyle Quinn and staff analyst Glenn Parker will coach Arizona's offensive line in the wake of Jim Michalczik's departure for Oregon State. The UA was granted a waiver so Parker could participate in on-field coaching.
*聽Rodriguez said he'd like to hire an offensive line coach before the bowl game if he can. Quinn and Parker, both former UA players, will be considered. Rodriguez is not looking for a coordinator type for this job. "I need a line guy,鈥 he said.
*聽Rodriguez doesn't anticipate much more staff movement but said he has to be ready for it now, after the bowl games and after the NFL season ends. He said he has an idea for what he wants to do with the new 10th assistant come January but remains flexible.
*聽Defensive tackle Luca Bruno, who sat out the Territorial Cup because of a concussion, said he鈥檒l back for the Foster Farms Bowl.
*聽Defensive end Justin Belknap, who missed the ASU game because of a knee injury, did not have a brace on his leg as he left the locker room.
*聽What did the Pac-12 say about the so-called block-in-the-back penalty that cost Arizona a touchdown against ASU? "I believe they agreed with our assessment,鈥 Rodriguez said. He'd like coaches to have one challenge per game on a "subjective call" such as pass interference or holding.
*聽It was Brown's punt return that got wiped out by the mistaken call. He summed up his reaction in one word: "Really?"
*聽Arizona will use the first week and a half or so of practices to evaluate scout-team players, in addition to prepping for Purdue. It鈥檚 hard to accurately assess those guys in season because they aren't running Arizona鈥檚 stuff, Rodriguez said. He added that this time is more important for vets who haven't played much than freshmen. "It鈥檚 time for them to make their mark," he said, "or they鈥檙e going to get passed up."
* Rodriguez said he expects to sign 15-17 players during the new early signing period Dec. 20-22. Recruiting experts say that number might be a little high.
