Catching up with Jake Fischer
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Arizona is headed off to San Antonio Wednesday for its Thursday night game with UTSA in the second game of the 2014 season. Both teams are coming off impressive performances with the Wildcats handling UNLV for a second year in a row while UTSA knocked off Houston on the road in what could be the best win in program history.
Former Arizona linebacker Jake Fischer went up against UTSA last season when the 'Cats knocked off the Roadrunners in Tucson, 38-13. In that game Fischer had four tackles and a fumble recovery. The Wildcats are just a one-score favorite heading into Thursday night's matchup, and Fischer remembers what it was like going up against the Roadrunners offense very well.
"They try to run it down your throat," Fischer said. "They do a lot of stuff where last year their quarterback was very mobile, and they do a lot of movement-type stuff. They did a lot of misdirection but at the same time they did a lot of smash-mouth football. They say 'this is where we're going to go. Line up and see if you can stop it.'
"Their running backs run hard. Their guys block hard. Everyone plays hard on their team. Every single Larry Coker team is going to play hard, and they're going to try and play smash-mouth football."
Rich Rodriguez said overall the Wildcats still had a lot to correct this week even after the team's big win over UNLV to start the season. Fischer believes going into an environment like UTSA is expected to have could present a challenge for a younger team like the Wildcats, especially when you consider how much more seasoned the Roadrunners are with all their returning players.
"It's exciting to see how that young defense is going to respond," Fischer said. "I think the offense is going to do well. I can't wait to see how the young guys step up, and go into a hostile environment like that and react."
Overall the former UA linebacker liked what he saw from the Wildcats' defense in its first game without players like himself, Marquis Flowers and others.
"The one thing I took away was that we were running around and we were moving before snap," Fischer said. "The quarterback couldn't make an exact key or a read where to go with the ball. ... I saw a lot of really nice hits. Will Parks, Scooby (Wright), (Jared) Tevis, and a couple of the other young linebackers, and the defensive line played relatively well.
"I think moving forward we're going to only get better just because we have so many young players. I was very impressed with how they played, though."
For more of Fischer's thoughts on last week's game and more check out the second episode of the Tucson Sports Guys with Fischer, Matt Moreno, Anthony Gimino, and Steve Rivera.
Click Here to view this Link.Matt Moreno
GOAZCATS.com Senior Recruiting Editor