Wildcats positive about Rodriguez hire

TUCSON He wasn't smiling ear to ear, but would you blame him if he did? It appears Matt Scott may have been the second best winner in this week's announcement that Rich Rodriguez is the new coach at Arizona, with Rodriguez being No. 1. Scott seems like a hand-in-glove fit for Rodriguez's spread-option offense. Apparently, good things happen to those who wait. "I'm excited to be here and for him to be here," said Scott, who sat out as a redshirt this season to prepare for his final season next year. His final year would have been under former UA head coach Mike Stoops, but he was dismissed last month. Now, Rodriguez comes in with all the hype and hope of a new coach, and a fan base itching to be successful. Scott, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound quarterback, is familiar with Rodriguez's system, having run it a Centennial High in Corona, Calif. Rodriguez went as far as mentioning Scott in Tuesday's press conference. Scott said it was a little bit unexpected, but "I'm just happy he knows my name." Heck, next year he could be calling it plenty. "It's going to be fun," Scott said. "I get to go back to my natural roots and be myself." Or a clone for former West Virginia quarterback Pat White, a talented option quarterback. White's name was mentioned often as they looked back on their next head coach's career while at WVU. The successes at West Virginia all appealed to UA players and others in coming in looking forward to next year. And, some of the success Michigan (9-2) is having now is attributed a bit to Rodriguez, who recruited many of the current players after coaching there three years. "They are his guys," said UA junior receiver Dan Buckner. "He did turn that program around." Buckner added he's just ready to come back and work hard and get some things accomplished right away. "I don't want a four-year turnaround," he said. "I thought we let people down this year. Like Matt and me, we want to make an impact right away and lay the foundation." He added, "it'll be like a new birth." It could be for a coach or two on the current staff. At his press conference, Rodriguez said he wanted a good mix of guys he's coached with and coaches who know the west coast when it comes to recruiting, adding current coaches will be considered for new staff. "He's a good football coach, everybody knows that," said Frank Scelfo, UA's quarterback coach who worked with Rodriguez at Tulane in the mid-to-late 1990s. "And he's a personable guy. People in Tucson will be able to grasp. They will like him." Scelfo said Rodriguez is "Innovative" and he's learned "a great deal of football" from him. Rodriguez was the offensive coordinator at Tulane back then; Scelfo was the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator. When asked if he hopes to stay, Scelfo said, "it's his decision." "I do know what his goal is, and that's get us to the Rose Bowl," Scelfo said. "If he feels I can help him do that then he'll give me the opportunity to stay. If he feels there is somebody else that fills that niche better then we move on. It's part of the business." And so is transition. UA senior quarterback Nick Foles said Rodriguez is "lucky" to be inheriting a nice core of solid talent. Arizona started 13 juniors and younger in its 31-27 win against Arizona State on Saturday. Another group of talented players have sat out this season because of injuries. "I don't care what anybody says but coach Stoops did a great job (in getting players)," Foles said. "This program wasn't much before he got here. He's instilled a lot of things. You saw us play (last week) and there's a lot of fight in these guys. There's been a lot of adversity this year. We fought all game. That's the team he is inheriting. He's a lucky guy. I know he knows that. I hope he does well."