Pac-12 Media Day: Rich Rodriguez Revitalized, Ready To Get Arizona Football Going

Previous Pac-12 Media Day reports: USC | Colorado | Awards

Rich Rodriguez looked like a kid on the first day of summer break. He was answering questions, talking and elaborating on any question big or small, basic or technical. For a man who seemed to retreat from the spotlight as head coach of the Wolverines, Rodriguez appears to be raring to go in Arizona.

With the shackles of Michigan no longer binding him, Rodriguez looks like a man who's enjoying being a football coach once again. There are no expectations for Rodriguez to deal with in Tucson. Just like in West Virginia, Rodriguez should be free to experiment and develop his team without the intense scrutiny that seemed to always foil his efforts in Arizona. He seems to know that he's in a good spot to grow and build the team he wants, and that there will be few interruptions in making it all happen.

The transitions aren't as hard for Rodriguez in Tucson as they are in Ann Arbor, but there still is quite a bit that needs to be fixed before he's ready to put Arizona football out there as the strongest product in the conference. There's nothing really to work on the next few weeks.

Other specific tidbits:

• Kyle Kensing of Arizona Desert Swarm was on the scene, and he reported on the adjustments Matt Scott has had to make from the spread-pass heavy offense Arizona runs to the spread option run attack that Rodriguez is installing. Jason Kirk also touches on the adjustment Arizona will make.
  
• Also, the Wildcats have adjustments to make on defense.
  
• K_Zim also managed to report the new Arizona depth chart.
• The loss of Brian Wagner (who was expected to carry a huge load on defense) could be tough to deal with for a team bereft of linebackers.
  
• Arizona seems ready to work without the burden of expectations.