Gold Nuggets: Post-Media Day edition
Welcome back for this week’s Gold Nuggets, Saturday Out West columnist Jon Gold’s weekly trip around the Pac-12.
Read below for some leftover news, notes and quotes from Pac-12 Media Day…
Arizona: Jedd Fisch looks to bulk up defense in Year 3
After spending the first 2 years of his regime attempting to resuscitate an offense that was dead on arrival, Wildcats head coach Jedd Fisch made it clear this offseason was dedicated to rescuing a defense that has been in the dumps.
“Offensively we made a big commitment a year ago,” Fisch said. “We were coming off being a 1-11 program, really 1-23 over the course of 24 games. We felt if we didn’t get good on offense, we were never going to be able to recruit defense. No one was going to want to come to a team that couldn’t score. Our offensive staff, with Brennan Carroll and Jimmie Dougherty leading the way, have done an amazing job of — we’ve had the same offensive staff for all three years I’ve been here — (and) they’ve recruited great players there.
“For us, it was a matter of saying, Okay, now that the offense is in a good place, what can we do defensively? In that case, what we did was we committed to both the portal and playing young. Last year we played — at one point in time six freshmen were starting on defense, true first-year college players. We were able to get those guys bigger, stronger and faster this off-season, complemented with guys like Justin Flowe, Daniel Heimuli, Tyler Manoa, Regen Terry out of Michigan, Orin Patu and some of these great players we were able to bring in. I think that will make a huge difference in our defense.”
Arizona State: Kenny Dillingham settles into his new gig — whether he likes it or not
First-year Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham is starting to get a hang of this head coaching gig. That might not be a good thing, if he has anything to say about it. When asked the biggest change from his coordinator days, he was quite clear.
“Meetings that have nothing to do with football — that’s been the hardest thing,” he said. “We’re about to hop into an offensive meeting and watch GT counter vs. the odd front. Yeah, I love it. It’s one of my favorite plays. Then I’m pulled into a meeting to talk about if we can get a slab of cement on the practice field for ice coolers. You know what I mean? Those are the things that are new to me, that I’m learning, that I’ve got to manage better. I’ve got to adapt and change; that way I don’t miss watching GT counter vs. odd four eyes.”
Cal: Bears ready to win little
The old sports adage goes lose big, lose little, win little, win big.
After dropping 12 of their 15 1-score games since the beginning of the 2020 season, Justin Wilcox said his Bears are hungry to flip the script. Just when Cal thought it had turned the corner last year with a 27-20 win over Stanford in Week 11, the Bears dropped a 35-28 loss in the season finale.
“I think we talked about it for a few years now that we’re close,” Wilcox said. “I think we’re tired of just being close. We set a culture this off-season that we’re going to finish things and do things the hard way, make sure that we win those close games and they go in our favor this year. Yeah, just setting the culture from the very beginning this winter. I think it’s gone well this summer. Now we have to go into camp with the same mentality so these games go our way.”
Colorado: Sanders ready to emerge from the shadows
He played second-fiddle to Travis Hunter as a transfer and he’s at best fourth on the Pac-12 totem pole entering this season, but new Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders used the bright lights of Sin City to make it clear he’s ready for all sorts of shine.
Sanders passed for 3,700 yards and 40 touchdowns last year at Jackson State; if he matches those numbers this year, he’ll set Buffaloes records.
“I’ve been here before,” Sanders said. “I always did the same thing, just on a different level. This is the first time actually able with all the cameras out, on a bigger stage, that I’m able to perform and be myself. Everything in this nature is 360 to me. We did it in Jackson. We just come to Colorado and do it again.”
Oregon: Bo Nix pulls double duty
Media day is perfect for those little anecdotes that reveal a bit of behind-the-scenes flavor of the Pac-12’s best players.
So it was great to learn the extent to which Dan Lanning trusts Bo Nix.
“Bo is not just our quarterback, he’s also my baby-sitter,” Lanning said. “I walked in the house the other day. My wife was out with some of the other coaches’ wives I believe. Bo is in the living room. I’m like, What are you up to? He goes, The boys just finished basketball practice, they’re getting ready for bed. So there’s a unique connection there. It’s more than just football. He’s a member of the family, so…”
Oregon State: Jonathan Smith doubling-down on talented running game
In addition to star sophomore Damien Martinez, who nearly topped the 1,000-yard mark as a true freshman, Oregon State returns both Deshaun Fenwick and Jam Griffin, who combined for more than 1,000 yards and 11 scores. With that trio, head coach Jonathan Smith is excited to lean on the running game as college football reintroduces a running clock following first downs.
“We want to be able to run the ball,” Smith said. “Let’s face it, when you establish the line of scrimmage, we do shorten the game, play some good defense. That’s a recipe that can work for us. We’ll try to take advantage of that. We do need to throw the ball better, in my mind, than we did last year. You have all these quarterbacks coming up on this stage all day today, in this league, with the level of quarterback play, you got to score some points if you want to win. We got to be able to do that. With the rule change, I do think that helps us because we want to run the ball and we’re into shortening the game.”
Stanford: Troy Taylor learning what makes a Stanford man
New Cardinal head coach Troy Taylor was one of the surprising hires of the offseason, even though he moved just a bit south from Sacramento State. Now Taylor is getting familiar with the kind of player he’s inherited from David Shaw.
“I think people are people and football is football,” he said. “When you talk about schematically and all those things, the players are a little bit bigger and faster. Really the same philosophy I used at Folsom High School, I used at Eastern, Sacramento State, Utah, and here at Stanford. People are still inspired by true human connection, believing in them and finding people that love what they’re doing, have fun doing it, being really competitive. Those things transfer across any school that you’re at.
“Now, I will say that the Stanford student-athlete, they’re very driven, very hard on themselves. They’re used to being successful in pretty much everything they’ve done. In a lot of ways my job is to alleviate some anxiety and some stress, let them know it’s okay to occasionally fail. That’s how you learn, right? In terms of people, though, they’ve accepted me, the staff and our philosophy with open arms. It’s been great. We’ve had a lot of fun doing it. I just feel blessed to be around our student-athletes. They’re inspirational. They really are. They’re thoughtful, intellectually curious and very driven. How can you not like being around those type of people every day.”
UCLA: Chip Kelly got some big advice on D’Anton Lynn
Looking for a new defensive coordinator to help cure a defense that has been the bane of his existence at UCLA, Chip Kelly turned to a pair of long-time NFL pros for some recommendations, eventually landing on young rising star D’Anton Lynn.
“I found him through Billy O’Brien and John Harbaugh, two guys I really relied on in the search,” he said. “When I talked to them, he’s 33, but he has 12 years of NFL experience. It’s a unique combination. He grew up in a football family. His dad has been a head coach in the NFL. He was a great player at Penn State. Played a year in the NFL, then got into coaching.
“For someone at that age, I didn’t really know he was 33. I knew he had 12 years NFL experience. He’s a 40-year-old guy. Usually it takes a little while to get into the league. He’s really mature. He really is poised. He has a great plan. He was under some really good coaches, whether it as Romeo Crennel Cornell or Mike Vrabel when he was in Houston or Wink Martindale and Mark McDonnell when he was in Baltimore. He’s been around some really, really good guys. He’s got a wealth of experience. It’s hard to picture him at 33 years old because he doesn’t act like he’s 33 years old.”
USC: Trojans beef up for the long haul
Playing at the break-neck pace of a Lincoln Riley offense, the USC football team struggled to stay healthy late last year, something that was evident in the Pac-12 title game and the Cotton Bowl. With a ton riding on this season, the Trojans aren’t going to let it happen twice.
“We were up there in stats and rankings and stuff offensive-wise, but towards the end of the season we had a lot of guys go down offensive-wise, including myself,” USC quarterback Caleb Williams said. “That’s something we for sure have been working on, building the muscle and the fortitude to be able to withstand a 15-game season. We’ve been working detailed, very detailed, throughout this spring and now summer, since summer is coming to an end for us. Being detailed, making sure we’re working on the small things ’cause it all adds up, especially when you get to championship November, anything like that.”
Utah: Cam Rising playing the role of recruiter
The Pac-12’s next great quarterback prospect might just hail from its own backyard. At least, its own backyard for now.
Newbury Park High (Southern Calif.) Class of 2026 superstar prospect Brady Smigiel may just be entering his sophomore season with the Panthers, but he already reportedly sports more than 20 offers and could go down as the top player in his class. He’s getting the full-court press from across the country, including fellow Panther Cam Rising. Rising, who has been doing some throwing with his young protégé this summer, could play one big role for Kyle Whittingham and Co.
“What comes to mind is Brady Smigiel from Newbury Park,” Rising said. “A great football player. I’m always trying to make sure he’s thinking of Utah, coming here, because it is such a great program. They know how to manage their players. Having a coach like Coach Whit, it makes a world of difference. Every time I’m back, I’m trying to make sure they know Utah is a great spot to be and that’s where you should go play football.”
Washington: Huskies looking to make it two in a row over Spartans
Rarely does a team get such a chance to prove itself as Washington did last year in Week 3.
Coming off a disastrous 4-8 campaign, the Huskies were 2-0 when they welcomed Michigan State, but the wins came against Kent State and Portland State. Not exactly Bama and Georgia. But UDub smashed the Spartans, 38-27, in a game that was not as close as the final score indicates.
“Definitely last year winning that game early on, it was definitely something that was big for our team. It just showed our team that we could compete with anybody. We knew that, but to be able to go out there and put on the show that we did week three last year, it was definitely a special moment.
This year we know that going into their place, they’re going to want to get that win back. So we just got to make sure we do everything that we can to make sure that we’re properly prepared and execute at a high level. I feel like the guys, they’re very locked in and they’re very bought into everything that these coaches are installing into us. It’s going to be an exciting season.”
Washington State: Cam Ward looking to make strides in Year 2 — but first he must stay upright
After transferring from Incarnate Word last year, Ward had a solid first season with the Cougars, though it was not overwhelmingly positive. Why? Ward spent far too much time on his back, something he’s striving to address this year.
“It’s true. Before every game, Coach Dickert tells me there’s the two biggest decision-makers are me and him. I look at the tape, 46 sacks. The O-line, that’s what everyone thinks. But probably half of them are on me, whether it’s bad pocket movement or not getting the ball out. That’s another thing I wanted to work on, beating the ball with blitz when teams would pressure us, which was my fault last year. Every team has their say-so, what the media says, but in the locker room I know what the situation is myself, so I take ownership in that, and I plan on doing a better job this season.”