He is all over the field and is the unquestioned leader of the Arizona defense. I think it will be hard for the huskies to improve this season with to many gaps to fill. However on defense they will have to replace one of the best defensive ends in Nate Orchard who recorded 18.5 sacks.
Advertisement
USC finally has its full slate scholarships back – the Trojans list 78 scholarship players on their roster compared to 50 from past year – and has ubiquitous touchdowns threats in JuJu Smith and two-way talent Adoree Jackson. With a new offense and defensive coordinator it will be interesting to see how this team responds.
Falk stepped in for Halliday in the final four games of 2014, and Leach showed a similar lack of restraint when it comes to using his quarterback. Their defense is lead by one of the best linebackers in Scooby Wright who recorded 163 tackles last season. Coming off a season where he caught 73 passes for 1,019 yards and 9 touchdowns, Jones could emerge as one of the best receivers in the Pac-12. Their defense returns seven starters and should have a good year. If they can win one of those two games, which is very possible, then Arizona could win the Pac-12 South and set up a rematch with Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship. They will rely heavily on the play of senior quarterback Kevin Hogan who will start for his 3rd year. That game and a November 21st showdown with rival Arizona State will make or break their season.
Even the conference’s bottom-dwellers, the Washington States and Oregon States, are rife with excellent, or at least legitimately captivating, quarterback play.
Strengths • As always, Oregon’s athletic talent is still off the charts.
And this is exactly why Rosen is going to be one of the most fascinating players in the Pac-12 – or in the entire country, for that matter – this season. Their offense is lead by quarterback Cody Kessler who threw for 39 touchdowns past year.
It would benefit the Pac-12 and their television network to have Oregon contend for the league conference and a spot in the College Football Playoffs.
Advertisement
A ranking of the top five most exciting quarterbacks to watch this season.
