蜜柚直播

If anyone needed a reminder, Cecil provided one during a post-practice interview Thursday evening.

Cecil, in his first season as 蜜柚直播鈥檚 safeties coach, was asked about one of his players, Jaydin Young. Like Cecil when he first started out as a Wildcat, Young is a walk-on.

Knowing that Young was standing behind the media gathered in the northwest corner of the Dick Tomey Practice Fields, awaiting his turn to talk, Cecil at first feigned ignorance.

鈥淲ho? What鈥檚 his name? I don鈥檛 know who you鈥檙e talking about.鈥�

Pause.

鈥淥h, JY! Are you kidding me? My boy JY!鈥�

Cecil then spoke about the connection he has formed with Young, a second-year freshman from Peoria who has been working with the first-team defense during spring practice.

鈥淚 was a walk-on. He鈥檚 a walk-on. Enough said,鈥� Cecil said.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited for him because he鈥檚 going to be a dude for us. He鈥檚 young and still has things to learn, and that鈥檚 going to be on me. I have to teach him, and I have to do all I can to help him.

鈥淏ut the mental part and the person, you can鈥檛 ask for anything more from a coaching standpoint 鈥� the want-to and the desire and the (willingness) to put in the work. It鈥檚 special.鈥�

The more he talked, the more emotional Cecil became. By the time he was finished, he was on the verge of tears.

Young wasn鈥檛 surprised. He鈥檚 been working with Cecil since Jedd Fisch promoted him from off-field analyst to on-field assistant in late December.

鈥淐oach Cecil鈥檚 always emotional,鈥� Young said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a great guy. He just loves the game. He just loves to be out here with all of us.鈥�

Fisch announced two hires on New Year鈥檚 Eve: Cecil and Ricky Hunley. Both UA legends.

Fisch had a prior working relationship with Hunley. Fisch didn鈥檛 know Cecil. It didn鈥檛 take long for Fisch to learn how Cecil operates.

鈥淗e is there until the very end every single night. He鈥檚 the last guy I see leave the building,鈥� Fisch said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 dedicated. He鈥檚 got great energy. He鈥檚 got great passion.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really all about the kids for him. He鈥檚 a great teacher. He pulls them aside. They come see him all the time, and he likes to just talk one on one.鈥�

Cecil has found a bright, eager prot茅g茅 in Young, who鈥檚 emerging as a playmaker alongside fellow safety Jaxen Turner on the back end of Don Brown鈥檚 defense.

Young had only one other Power Five offer, from Purdue, despite earning all-state recognition at Peoria Centennial High School. He decided to walk on at 蜜柚直播, where he had formed a relationship with Brown鈥檚 predecessor, Paul Rhoads. Young appeared in four games last season, registering six tackles.

Rhoads wasn鈥檛 retained by Fisch, but Young had a link to one of the defensive coaches Fisch hired 鈥� cornerbacks coach DeWayne Walker. Young was among the athletes Walker helped train during his year off from full-time coaching in 2020.

鈥淗e always used to say, 鈥楳an, Coach, it鈥檇 be great if you can come to 蜜柚直播,鈥� Walker said.

They ended up reconnecting. And in Cecil, Young gained another mentor, one whose journey from walk-on to stardom he hopes to emulate.

鈥淗e鈥檚 just so inspirational,鈥� Young said. 鈥淗e just gives me the motivation to come out here every day and ... give it my all on the field, the classroom, practice, no matter what it is.鈥�

Cruz makes a move

Quarterback Gunner Cruz might have had his best practice to date Thursday.

Taking the majority of the first-team reps, the transfer from Washington State had a particularly strong connection with Stanley Berryhill III. One highlight: an on-the-run TD pass on third-and-6 from about the 20-yard line.

鈥淗e had the most amount of reps with the first group, and I think he benefited from that,鈥� Fisch said. 鈥淕unner is developing, and he鈥檚 showing that he鈥檚 got a pretty good skill set.鈥�

Will Plummer threw an interception on the next play but performed better than the previous two practices, particularly when executing the quick game. His best pass of the day, a corner route to Zach Williams, was negated by a penalty.

Fisch said he wanted to see more of Plummer with the first-team offense during Saturday鈥檚 practice at 蜜柚直播 Stadium. Cruz and Plummer have emerged as the front-runners for the starting QB job, with transfer Jordan McCloud set to join the battle in June.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e moved the ball the most. They鈥檝e completed the most amount of passes,鈥� Fisch said.

鈥淚t starts in individual. It starts at walkthrough. It鈥檚 having command in the huddle. It鈥檚 being able to call plays. It鈥檚 being able to control the line of scrimmage.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e done that in the meeting rooms, on the practice field, and we鈥檙e rewarding them for that.鈥�

Still being tested

UA players and coaches are still undergoing tests for COVID-19 every morning. They will continue to do so until it鈥檚 deemed unnecessary. And Fisch will continue to emphasize the importance of practicing safe behavior away from the field.

鈥淲e have to,鈥� Fisch said. 鈥淲e show them what鈥檚 going on in other parts of the country. We talk about it to try to avoid it here. Other teams have been shut down already this spring, and we can鈥檛 afford to miss one day. That鈥檚 our goal, and our guys have done a really good job of that.鈥�

UConn had to cancel its final three spring practices because of a COVID-19 outbreak, and Tennessee had to pause its workouts for the same reason.

Like most other UA coaches across all sports, Fisch has been vaccinated. He said players have been signing up for shots.

鈥淗opefully, we鈥檒l get them all vaccinated here. That鈥檚 the plan,鈥� Fisch said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 certainly available to them all.鈥�

Extra points

• Tailback Drake Anderson continued to display quick feet and shiftiness Thursday, eluding JB Brown in the backfield to gain a first down on a fourth-and-1 run. Brown earlier had a tackle-for-loss and later recorded a sack.
• Cornerback Isaiah Rutherford had a superb pass breakup on a fade pass to Boobie Curry in the end zone.
• Tailback Bam Smith practiced in full for the first time but didn鈥檛 get many reps during team drills.
• Offensive lineman Donovan Laie and safety Gunner Maldonado remained out. Defensive backs Isaiah Mays and Rhedi Short remained limited.
• The team visited the Center of Opportunity homeless shelter Friday, handing out meals and preparing Easter baskets for the center鈥檚 residents.
• Fisch said Saturday鈥檚 11 a.m. practice will include a 鈥�49%鈥� scrimmage, as allowed by NCAA rules. The Wildcats will perform drills for just over the half of the session before scrimmaging with live tackling. The workout is open to the first 1,500 attendees.