Anu Solomon excels in Arizona’s 2015 Spring Game

Arizona State wasn’t the only college in the Grand Canyon State to hold a Spring Game on Friday.

The University of Arizona football program concluded spring practice Friday night with its annual Spring Game.

Returning starting quarterback Anu Solomon led the with 175 yards and two touchdown on 19-of-25 passing.

“He was pretty sharp,” Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said on Solomon. “There were a couple of times he probably could’ve been a little more decisive in his throws, but Anu is a smart guy. He’s gotten better and, with a great summer, I think he will be even better come this fall.”

Redshirt senior quarterback Jerrard Randall completed 6-of-12 passes for 77 yards and one touchdown.

“He had some practices where he showed leaps and bounds above where he was at last year, Rodriguez said on Randall’s improvement.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Dawkins also took several snaps. He did most of his damage on the ground, rushing for 20 yards and one touchdown on nine carries.

With starting running back Nick Wilson sitting out of full contact drills this spring, Jared Baker was featured in UA’s backfield during the Spring Game. The redshirt senior found the end zone twice, finishing with 36 yards on eight carries.

“Jared has had a great spring. He’s putting himself in a position where we are going to put him in the regular rotation,” Rodriguez said.

Redshirt sophomore Zach Green gained 28 yards on the ground, while sophomore Jonathan Haden rushed for 27. Redshirt freshman RB Jarrett Mitchell ran one in from the goal line.

As far as receivers, tight end Josh Kern hauled a team-high five receptions for 31 yards. Redshirt junior Cayleb Jones caught three passes for 27 yards and a touchdown, while redshirt senior David Richards and sophomore Trevor Wood also notched touchdown grabs.

“I think we have a really good grasp on what we are doing,” the head coach said of his offense. “We were really vanilla (Friday). Early in the last week or two of practice, as far as plays, we had a lot of variety. I think we can add more. We were more focused on execution and technique and working on some particular skills. I think there is a lot we can do and we don’t want to overburden our guys mentally. But I think we can play faster than we ever have before.”

On the defensive side of the ball, junior transfer Paul Magloire Jr. was the most active with nine tackles. Resdshirt freshman Marcus Griffin rang up four tackles and a recovered fumble, and redshirt senior Sir Tomas Jackson posted four tackles — including two for a loss — and a sack.

“They had a couple big plays,” Rodriguez said of the defense. “We were holding a lot of guys out of the first couple series. Scooby (Wright III) didn’t play after the warm up. Reggie (Gilbert) was in there for two or three plays. We didn’t play some of the guys defensively as much because we know what they can do. But I think overall we found some guys that we need to get in the rotation. Hopefully they will work hard this summer and be ready in August.”

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