Arizona Reportedly Eyeing This Player to Be Their Starting Right Guard
With their opener less than a week away, the Arizona Wildcats are reportedly going to name this player as their starting right guard.
Brad Wakai | 2 Hours Ago
Detailed view of an Arizona Wildcats helmet on the field / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
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Arizona is entering this season with some lofty expectations from inside the program, and those outside of it.
Because they have so many talented players returning from last year's team that won 10 games, the expectation is they'll be able to build upon that and put in something similar during this campaign, even though it's their first in the Big 12 Conference.
While having back-to-back successful seasons has been a rarity for the Wildcats, there have been plenty of projections out there that has this team playing in a high-profile bowl game, or even making the College Football Playoff.
With Noah Fifita, Tetairoa McMillan, an exciting run game, and other emerging stars on the offensive side of the ball, the sentiment is Arizona will produce an explosive attack that can put up points against anyone they face.
For that to happen, though, they will need a solid offensive line.
Despite being led by star tackle Jonah Savaiinaea, there are some real questions about how this unit might look this year after starting left tackle Raymond Pulido was already ruled out for the season with an injury. Others across the line have gotten banged up during camp, too, with projected starter Leif Magnuson also getting sidelined.
Because of that, head coach Brent Brennan and his staff were cycling through different rotations to see which players could potentially fill that role.
According to Jason Scheer of 247Sports, it seems like they have found their starting right guard.
"When the season starts next weekend, San Jose State transfer Ryan Stewart will likely be starting at right guard," he reported.
Following Brennan from his previous program to Arizona, the former two-star high school recruit out of Illinois initially started for San Jose State during his redshirt freshman season before injuries impacted his career. In three years, he has only appeared in three games, missing all of last season.
"We knew there was a lot of potential there. It's going to be something we continue to watch. When you go into the first game, the starting lineup is whoever they are, but it's still up for negotiation. You either play well or you don't. If you don't play well, we're going to play somebody else. He's done a really good job so far," Brennan said per Scheer.
The offensive line will be something to monitor throughout the year as this unit will either allow the Wildcats to perform up to their perceived abilities, or cause them to struggle.
