Every week, Arizona Daily Wildcat football beat reporters Zack Rosenblatt, Cameron Moon and Kyle Johnson will vote on the top 10 players on Arizona’s roster. The rankings will take into account the full-season performance, with fluctuations based on week-to-week performance.
1. Ka’Deem Carey, running back; Last week: 3
Week 5: 17 rushes, 115 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns, 4 receptions, 68 yards
Season totals: 97 rushes, 538 yards, 7 touchdowns, 14 receptions, 152 yards, 1 touchdown
Carey had an astounding 6.8 yards per rush and was only tackled for three yards total for loss, which is all the more impressive when you consider the Wildcats played most of the game against Oregon State without starting offensive lineman Trace Biskin and center Kyle Quinn.
2. Matt Scott, quarterback; LW: 1
Week 5: 31-for-53 with 403 yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 5 rushes, 29 rush yards
Season totals: 1,608 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, 64.1 completion percent, 52 rushes, 228 yards, 2 touchdowns
Scott had an overall top-notch performance, with a season-high 403 passing yards, but he barely ran the ball and threw two costly interceptions in the three-point loss.
3 (tie). Jake Fischer, linebacker; LW: 3
Week 5: 9 tackles
Season totals: 49 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 forced fumbles
Fischer didn’t make as much of an impact against Oregon State as in recent weeks, which is evident when you consider the Beavers’ Storm Woods ran for 161 yards and a touchdown. It won’t get much easier against Stanford either.
3 (tie). Jared Tevis, safety; LW: 2
Week 5: 3 tackles
Season totals: 42 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 2 interceptions, 5 pass breakups, 7 pass deflections, 3 forced fumbles
Tevis missed all but two drives of Saturday’s game after spraining his ankle in the first quarter. The severity of the injury is unknown until Thursday, but if it’s serious, Arizona will be missing its most valuable defender so far this season.
5. Austin Hill, receiver; LW: 7
Week 5: 8 receptions, 74 yards, 2 touchdowns
Season totals: 31 receptions, 443 yards, 3 touchdowns
Hill snared two touchdowns and continued to make his case as the Wildcats’ most talented and dangerous receiver.
6. Marquis Flowers, linebacker, LW: 9
Week 5: 11 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack
Season totals: 38 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 2 pass breakups, 2 pass deflections, 1 forced fumble
Flowers had easily his best game of the season against OSU, extending his team lead of sacks to 2.5 on the season and garnering 11 tackles
7. Dan Buckner, receiver; LW: Unranked
Week 5: 6 receptions, 119 yards, 1 touchdowns
Season totals: 31 receptions, 422 yards, 2 touchdowns
As usual, Scott looked Buckner’s way often, and he didn’t disappoint. He typically doesn’t get too many long passes, as he’s more of a possession receiver, but against OSU he had catches of 29, 26 and 31 yards, and led the Wildcats in receiving.
8. Jonathan McKnight, cornerback; LW: 5
Week 5: 5 tackles, 2 pass breakups
Season totals: 22 tackles, 3 interceptions, 3 pass breakups, 6 pass deflections, 1 touchdown
McKnight, and the secondary overall, uncharacteristically struggled against the Beavers’ talented wideouts. Markus Wheaton and Brandin Cooks combined for 19 catches, 315 yards and two touchdowns.
9. Sir Thomas Jackson, linebacker; LW: 9
Week 5: 7 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup
Season totals: 36 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 3 pass deflections
Jackson continues to make a surprising impact at linebacker for the Wildcats and against the Beavers. He was able to get into the backfield more than usual with 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
10. Tra’Mayne Bondurant; LW: 6
Week 5: 6 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 pass breakup
Season totals: 31 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 3 pass breakups, 3 pass deflections
Bondurant came down a bit from his 3 tackle for loss performance against Oregon, but he was still solid against the Beavers, forcing a fumble and garnering another tackle for loss.
