Longtime NFL cornerback Marcus Coleman will man the sidelines next spring for the inaugural Indoor Football League season in Tucson.

Coleman, who spent more than a decade playing at the game’s highest level, racked up 517 tackles and 25 interceptions over the course of his professional career with the New York Jets, Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys. Before coming to Tucson, he worked as the defensive coordinator of the Iowa Barnstormers, who won last year’s IFL Championship.

The 44-year-old Texan was selected by Tucson Indoor Football owner Kevin Guy, for his mixture of on-field acumen and leadership abilities.

When the search for a head coach was launched, Guy said the organization wanted to find a leader that could “take us where we wanted to go.”

“I am confident we have found that in Marcus Coleman,” Guy said. “He has been preparing for his entire career, and he is ready for the responsibility and its challenges.”

Coleman expressed his own excitement when discussing the first season of Tucson Indoor Football this fall, having played in-town during his college career at Texas Tech University in the mid-90s.

“It means a lot to be here,” Coleman said. “Having the opportunity to put your stamp on something, bring your philosophy and, hopefully, build a winning tradition. It’s about building that foundation, not just for myself while I’m here, but also for whoever comes after me.”

Coleman believes Tucson has the right type of demographics as a college city to work well with the league, comparing it to cities in Texas that he knows well.

He said the region reminds him of Lubbock, San Antonio and Austin, “kind of rolled up in one,” “Every time that I’ve come here, people have always been great and it’s always been a great experience for both me and my family,” he said.

Coleman’s first season as a coach was in 2016, when he worked as a defensive backs coach with the Tri-Cities Fever.

He was originally drafted in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Jets, after spending four seasons as a defensive back with the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Coleman was inducted into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame last year, recognizing his on-field impact during his college career, where he recorded 9 interceptions, four of which were returned for touchdowns.

Coleman is hopeful that Tucson will welcome the new team with open arms, embracing the organized chaos that is indoor football.

“You get to share that bond with the community and bring something new to the City of Tucson,” he said. “Hopefully, I can build that bond and strengthen the relationship that we have right now and make it even stronger going forward.”

The Tucson indoor football squad’s name-the-team contest concludes at 5 p.m. on Sept. 12, with the squad’s logo and name being unveiled officially at an event on Sept. 18.

More information at tucsonindoorfootball.com or by following @TucsonIndoorFB on Twitter or on Tucson Indoor Football on Facebook.

We've successfully maneuvered our way through three weeks of the college football season, with a sparse amount of highs and a litany of lows in the Pac-12.

Last week's games produced a series of moments on both ends of the spectrum—with Arizona and USC looking flat-out ugly in road losses to Houston and Stanford, while Colorado punched its way past longtime rival Nebraska in Lincoln.

The 12-game college football season is a grueling gauntlet for most teams, with a single loss standing between immortality and failure.

It's been a brutal start to the season for the conference's dark-horse preseason darlings, Arizona and USC, with the former starting 0-2, while the latter sits at 1-1 after a dismal showing in Palo Alto.

Without further ado, here's my complete power ranking of all 12 teams in what Bill Walton refers to as 'The Conference of Champions':

1. Stanford (2-0, 1-0)

Last Week: Defeated USC 17-3

The Cardinal have been rock solid to start the season, trouncing San Diego State by 21 points in their opener, before stifling a solid USC team 17-3 last Saturday. The Cardinal have looked like a much better team top-to-bottom than last year's squad, which was basically reliant upon the exploits of dynamic running back Bryce Love to succeed. They were lucky, as Love put up a season that should have won him the Heisman Trophy, with 2,118 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns for the Cardinal, despite being hobbled by a nasty high ankle sprain for most of the year. The biggest difference with the Cardinal this fall is the performance of junior QB K.J. Costello, who has 515 passing yards and 5 passing touchdowns in two games, while only throwing one interception in that stretch. Love rebounded from a rough opening game against SDSU, where he ran for 29 yards on 18 carries, with 136 rushing yards and a touchdown on 22 carries against the Trojans. Expect the Cardinal to roll over Dan Hawkins' University of California-Davis team this week, with a road trip to play 20th-ranked Oregon looming large on Sept. 22.

2. Colorado (2-0, 0-0)

Last Week: Defeated Nebraska 33-28

No Pac-12 team has caught me by surprise quite like the Buffs have through their first two games. I was quite impressed by Mike MacIntyre's team and the way they handled their business in Lincoln on Saturday, with junior QB Steven Montez completing 33-of-50 passed for 351 yards and three scores against a much-improved Huskers defense. The Buffs have looked explosive on offense through two games, destroying my alma mater (Colorado State) 45-13 in their opener on Labor Day weekend, exhibiting the type of offensive firepower that's been lacking in Boulder for the past decade or so. The Buffs face their final non-conference tuneup game against the University of New Hampshire this weekend, before hosting Chip Kelly's UCLA squad on Friday, Sept. 28 in their conference opener. Don't be surprised if Montez keeps the Buffaloes in contention for a division crown as the season progresses.

3. Washington (1-1, 0-0)

Last Week: Defeated North Dakota 45-3

The Huskies entered the season as the unanimous pick to be the Pac-12's on-field darling, but ran into a buzzsaw against Auburn in week one. The Huskies weren't able to usurp the Tigers' defensive prowess in a game that the conference desperately needed to win from a PR standpoint, falling 21-16 in a defensive bloodbath of a game. Chris Peterson's team rebounded nicely against a mid-tier FCS squad last week, with a crucial contest in Salt Lake City against an undefeated Utah team on Saturday. The issue is that senior QB Jake Browning has been inconsistent through two games, posting a QB Rating of 53.5 (on a scale of 0-100) against Auburn, before rebounding somewhat to 70.2 against North Dakota. That inconsistency is nothing new for Browning, who finished last season with a 59.8 QBR in 13 games a junior in 2017, a year after a promising sophomore campaign where he had a QBR of 71.1 for the Huskies. It's clear that the senior is heading in the wrong direction statistically for the Huskies, though he has a definitive chance to salvage his career with a strong showing in the conference season. It'll be interesting to see if Browning can crack the Utes' strong pass defense this Saturday, with Utah ranking second overall in passing yards allowed per game, at 62 passing yards per game against Weber State and Northern Illinois University.

Welcome to week two of the college football season, where the University of Arizona Wildcats already face a must-win game on the road in Houston on Saturday.

The 'Cats, like many of their most fervent supporters, looked rather sluggish in their season opener against Brigham Young University during Labor Day weekend.

They were able to move the ball in fits and spurts on Saturday night, with 197 passing and 129 rushing yards to their name.

The problem was their inability to disrupt the BYU Cougars' offense, surrendering 392 offensive yards to a team that went 4-9 a year ago.

The result of that inefficiency was a glaring L in the record book for coach Kevin Sumlin in his debut, falling 28-23 to the BYU Cougars in front of an announced crowd of 51,002 at Arizona Stadium.

Sumlin guides the Wildcats into familiar terrain this week, having coached in the Space City for four seasons (2008-11), posting a 35-17 record with the UH Cougars.

His new squad faces a daunting task on multiple levels, having to play Saturday's contest at 11 a.m. Central (9 a.m. Arizona time).

They also have the unenviable task of trying to slow down Houston's dynamic defensive tackle Ed Oliver, who's a bonafide top-five pick in next year's NFL Draft.

Both feats will be tough for the Wildcats to surmount, resulting in Vegas picking the Cougars as a 4.5-point favorite, as of Wednesday morning.

Here are some of the aspects to keep an eye on:

Can Khalil Tate Find His Rhythm?

Let me start by saying it's entirely unfair to pin much of the Wildcats sad season opener on Tate's shoulders, given the questionable play-calling decisions made by Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone. Mazzone had Tate throw 34 passes against the BYU Cougars, which is the second-most he's ever thrown in a game (behind the 35 he threw in last year's 48-28 debacle against Oregon). What's even more head-scratching is that Mazzone seemed to hem in Tate's rushing abilities on Saturday, with the dynamic QB carrying the ball 8 times for a meager 14 yards. In order for Tate to be successful, he has to have the freedom to use his legs to force the secondary to move forward, which then allows him to hammer opponents with a well-timed play action fake or deep pass. Sumlin alluded to this disconnect during his weekly press conference on Monday, with the following excerpt telling volumes:

“What we have to do is play to our team’s strengths offensively. I would say too it’s not just Khalil, I think for [senior receiver] Shun Brown to have one touch, that’s not OK...It’s not so much about plays, it’s players and putting them in the right position for us to be successful.”

Expect Tate to have much more liberty to run the ball this week, with the fate of the game hinging on his ability to execute the team's read-option attack properly.

Can anyone stop (or even slow down) Ed Oliver?

Ed Oliver will be the toughest task for an undersized and inexperienced Arizona offensive line come Saturday morning. Oliver, who was an All-American as a sophomore in 2017, didn't miss a beat in Houston's opener against Rice, with 13 tackles in the Cougars' 45-27 win. It'll be interesting to see if the Wildcats double-team Oliver, using multiple linemen (or a lineman and a tight end/running back) to slow down the junior tackle. It'll be up to the likes of redshirt sophomores Tshiyombu Lukusa, Josh McCauley and Bryson Cain at left guard, center and right guard to inhibit Olivers' pass rushing abilities. It's a mighty tall task, but one that will determine whether the Wildcats leave Houston in free-fall or with momentum at their backs heading into their final non-conference game against Southern Utah.

Can the Arizona pass defense make stops when it counts?

Perhaps the most frustrating thing for third-year Defensive Coordinator Marcel Yates' unit in last Saturday's opener was its inability to stop BYU when it mattered most. The Wildcats defense, which was expected to be much improved this fall, surrendered 392 offensive yards to a Cougars offense that just over 325 yards per game last season. What's worse is that they allowed BYU quarterback Tanner Magnum all day to throw, with the senior completing 18/28 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown. The Wildcats didn't force a single turnover against BYU, despite the Cougars averaging more than two a game last season. The Wildcats' pass secondary was a non-factor against the Cougars, with four pass deflections and zero turnovers forced, against a BYU squad that finished 117th in the nation (out of 129 teams) in turnover margin last season (committing 10 more turnovers than their opponents). It'll be interesting to see what alterations Yates and Sumlin put in place against a Houston offense that put up 320 passing and 257 rushing yards against Rice in week one.

How to Bet: Vegas has the Houston Cougars as a 4.5 point favorite, as of Wednesday morning, down from the opening line of -6.

How to Watch: ABC will broadcast the Arizona-Houston game live at 11 a.m. Central (9 a.m. Arizona time).

Who to Watch: Keep an eye on Ed Oliver (mentioned above), as he's probably the best player on either side, from a talent perspective. Also, watch out for Houston's junior quarterback, D'Eriq King, coming off a phenomenal season opener where he threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns, with 33 rushing yards and a score on the ground as well. It'll be up to Arizona's defensive stalwarts, like Colin Schooler (16 tackles against BYU), Isaiah Hayes (13 tackles) and Tony Fields II (11 tackles) to contain King and the Cougars in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Who Will Win: It's hard to bet against a well-oiled machine, which is exactly what Houston Coach Major Applewhite has. I'm going with Houston winning this one by a score of 42-28 over the Arizona Wildcats. 

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the then-Pac-8 adding two vagabond programs, Arizona and Arizona State, to its conference.

Those schools, which previously played in the Western Athletic Conference, formally joined the conference in 1978.

The move, which centered on the renegotiation of television rights with NBC, allowed both schools to move up to the echelon of college athletics.

A fascinating interview done by longtime San Jose Mercury News columnist Jon Wilner and former Conference Commissioner Tom Hansen (found here) pores through the details of the move.

The talk, which is certainly worth the 30 minutes it takes, covers a litany of topics, including how the two Arizona programs were picked and Hansen's quest to pilfer the University of Texas from the Southwest Conference in the 1990s.

It's worth noting that a major reason both schools joined the conference centered around its stake in the annual Rose Bowl Game, which the Wildcats have never played in.

It's also interesting to note that ASU was a tough sell when the conference first came calling, thanks to their ties with the local Fiesta Bowl and their strong standing within the WAC at the time.

Both teams will do their darndest to be the conference's representative in the Rose Bowl when their seasons kick off this Saturday.

No one knows whether either will make it to Pasadena, but the chat about the Pac-12 and its path to the Conference of Champions is well worth your time nonetheless. 

The 10-year-old Indoor Football League introduced its seventh and newest club inside the cavernous Tucson Arena on Thursday afternoon. 

The to-be-named squad, which will take to the artificial turf inside the venerable arena for the league's 2019 regular season, will be the Old Pueblo's first professional indoor football team.

A quartet of people responsible for the team's inception, including owners Kevin and Kathy Guy and longtime Tucson attorney Ali Farhang brimmed with excitement about the team's prospects going forward at the ceremony.

The co-owners trumpeted the league's adrenaline-fueled, family-friendly gameday atmosphere, calling the development a win for the arena and downtown corridor as a whole.

Kevin Guy, who has coached the Arizona Rattlers of the IFL since 2008, was the first to bring up the possibility of adding a Tucson team to the league a year ago.

Guy, who's led the Phoenix-based Rattlers to eight playoff appearances and six Arena Football League and Indoor Football League championships, praised the city for its efforts in negotiating a deal that's fair for all.

"This is going to be great for the state of Arizona," Guy told the crowd. "So, I appreciate this support and allowing this to happen."

Longtime Tucson professional sports figure and team Executive Director Mike Feder, who previously worked with the Tucson Padres, believes the team will be a smashing success.

He hopes to see 7,000 people decked in the team's colors when the IFL's regular season starts in March, 2019.

He believes the Tucson community is ready and willing to answer the call.

"We need people to help us with that," Feder said. "But, you know, it's a labor of love for me. I just enjoy what I do. And when I have the ability to help people out, raise money, create entertainment, that makes me feel good."

Feder says his experience in professional sports prevents him from being nervous or anxious about getting everything done in time for the 2019 season.

He believes the team will be ready to roll come March and that the city will be ready to showcase its passion for the indoor game.

"If experience provides you anything it shows you how to get it done. You don't get scared by the timeline," Feder said. "Those things don't bother me. We've got to get out knocking on doors. We've got to talk to sponsors, on the corporate side we've got to talk to season ticket people, we've got to talk to groups. We're going to do it. We're just going to be committed and we're going to do it."

Fans can help name the team and put down a $50 season ticket deposit on the team's website, tucsonindoorfootball.com. 

Details surrounding Arizona sophomore forward Ira Lee's arrest for Extreme DUI came to light Wednesday morning.

Lee, who averaged 2.4 points per game in 27 appearances as a freshman, was pulled over by a University of Arizona Police Department motorcycle cop just after 1 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 19 near the intersection of Seventh Street and Warren Avenue, according to a UAPD report.

The 20-year-old student basketball player's 2017 Hyundai Sonata sedan nearly collided with an SUV as it turned from Sixth Street onto Warren, before driving the wrong way down Warren going southbound.

Lee was shirtless in a pair of overalls when he was pulled over, according to the report, telling the responding officer, "No, no, no," when asked if he'd been drinking that night.

The same UAPD officer noticed a strong odor of intoxicants, and Lee's red and watery eyes, with Lee telling the officer he left his registration at his house, according to the report.

Lee failed multiple field sobriety tests and had blood alcohol content readings of .215 and .198, resulting in the citations for DUI slightest degree, DUI above .08, extreme DUI (above .15), minor drive after drinking and super extreme DUI (Above .20), in addition to a citation for failure to yield in relation to his reckless turn on Warren Avenue. 

The University released a statement on Tuesday, Aug. 21, addressing Lee's arrest and the process that will decide his academic standing in Tucson.

“The incident has been referred to the Dean of Students for review under the University’s student code of conduct, and the Athletics Department is reviewing the incident for team consequences," the UA statement reads. "Students also have access to counseling and other support services.”

Lee is scheduled to appear in Pima County Consolidated Justice Court at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 10 for a criminal arraignment.

This story has been updated.

Arizona Wildcats sophomore forward Ira Lee was cited for driving under the influence in the early morning hours of Sunday, Aug. 19, according to a University of Arizona statement.

Lee, who averaged 2.4 points per game in 27 appearances as a freshman last year, may face repercussions from the school and team, depending on the course of a review by academic staff.

“The incident has been referred to the Dean of Students for review under the University’s student code of conduct, and the Athletics Department is reviewing the incident for team consequences," the UA statement reads. "Students also have access to counseling and other support services.”

According to Pima County Consolidated Justice Court records, Lee was cited for Failure to Yield, Minor Driving After Drinking and DUI Extreme BAC .20 or More at the intersection of 6th Street and Warren Avenue. 

Lee is scheduled for a criminal arraignment hearing on Sept. 10, according to the court's report.

The University's athletics department would not release any additional information regarding Lee's citation.

The Wildcats open the 2018-19 regular season with their Red-Blue intra-squad game on Oct. 14, with their first game on Wednesday, Nov. 7 against Houston Baptist.

Tony Fields II sees a bright future for the Arizona Wildcats’ defense, a year after being named to ESPN’s Freshman All-American team.

Fields, who had 104 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks and an interception as a freshman last season, believes the team is in for a defensive renaissance this fall.

Part of his gushing confidence comes from the continuity he and his defensive brethren have in third year Defensive Coordinator Marcel Yates.

It also comes from the trio of dynamic linebackers that the Wildcats have, in Fields, Colin Schooler and Jacob Colacion, who combined for 206 tackles and 3 interceptions a year ago.

Fields admits that he made mistakes on defense as a freshman but believes that he’s in better shape and is better prepared heading into his sophomore campaign.

“I feel like I need to develop a lot,” Fields said. “Obviously, I made a couple of plays, but I could have helped my team more and more if I worked on my craft a little bit more beforehand.”

Yates believes that Fields and Schooler will have big years this season, saying that the duo and the Wildcats revamped defensive line, including Derek Boles and PJ Johnson, can up their defensive fortunes.

“Our next step is to be a lot better against the run,” Yates said. “For me, I go back, and I look at when I was an assistant coach or a coordinator, I’d go back and look at what we’d do well. And usually, when we were doing well, we were able to stop the run. So, we’ve got to be better and filling our gaps and getting downhill, and we’re seeing that each day.”

Shoring up the defensive side of the ball will be key for Yates and Coach Kevin Sumlin, coming off a 2017 season where the Wildcats ranked 10th in the Pac-12 in points allowed (34.4) and yards per game allowed (471.2).

Their rushing defense ranked ninth in the conference, allowing 185.1 yards per game, with their pass defense ranking dead-last, at 286.1 YPG.

Fields believes the team’s biggest step towards righting their defensive deficiencies is in their improved depth and talent level.

He believes the team will have the talent in the secondary and at linebacker to stymie opposing offenses on the ground, while the secondary will ground opponent’s passing attacks. He believes the offseason work undertaken by safeties, like freshmen Dayven Coleman and Christian Young as well as senior Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, will help shore up their pass defense this year.

“The biggest difference this year is that we’ve got a couple more linemen, like PJ Johnson and Mykee Irving,” Fields said. “and we’ve got more linebackers to work with.”

The biggest improvement for the Wildcats this fall, according to Yates, is the on-field comfort level that players like Fields, Schooler and Flannigan-Fowles have with each other and with the system that the UA has had in place.

"All those guys they go from trying to learn the defense to trying to learn, ‘OK, how is the offense going to attack us,’ which is a huge difference,” Fields said.

Fields has a set of expectations laid out for his sophomore season that he would not disclose publicly but says fans will be in for a treat when their season kicks off on Sept. 1 against Brigham Young University in Tucson.

“Before the season, I sat down with my old high school coach and a few players and I set out goals for myself,” he said. “I said that I wanted to have 100 tackles and I wanted to be a Freshman All-American and it’s just a blessing that it actually happened. I worked as hard as I could to make it happen and it actually happened.”

He says his teamwide goal for the season is to hold opponents to 13 points per game, some 21 points lower than the 34.4 points per game they surrendered in 2017.

He believes that Sumlin and Yates are the right men to lead them forward and that the team’s brightest days lie ahead, starting with the Cougars some 23 days from now.

“We know exactly what we have to do because [Coach Yates] touches on everything,” Fields said. “He tells us when the corners messed up and things like that. So, we know everybody’s responsibility on the field now.”

The road to realizing Scott Catt’s lifelong dream of becoming a basketball coach took him from the sunny agricultural hotspot of Marana to the newest country on Earth.

Catt, 30, realized his dream a year ago when he was picked to lead the national team for the South Sudan Basketball Association. The Marana native, who played two seasons with the Tigers from 2005-07, is a basketball fanatic.

Those who know him best, like longtime Tigers basketball coach Joe Acker, remember a much younger Catt showing up to the Tigers summer camps as a toddler.

Acker, who won 497 games over the course of his MHS career, from 1973-2004, remembers Catt’s lifelong obsession with the hardwood. A self-described father figure to Catt, Acker remembers how the youngster would absorb everything he could about the ins and outs of the sport.

“He’s like a sponge about learning and picking up things,” Acker said. “He’s been around me since he was a little kid. He would sit behind the bench from when he was a little kid all the way through high school. So, he kind of absorbed everything.”

Jeremy Springer took a deep breath and let loose a torrent of football jargon after practice on Tuesday afternoon.

Springer, 29, is in his first season with the Wildcats, coaching the special teams unit for Arizona this fall.

The native Texan, whose brother, Justin, works as a strength and conditioning coach with the Wildcats, is tasked with building a core unit of kick and punt coverage and return team players.

His task isn’t simple, but is a labor of love, with Springer enjoying the early work he’s put in with the units.

He’s thrilled with the two-man kicking competition between rising senior Josh Pollack, who converted 11-of-15 field goals a year ago (and 23/29 in his two-year tenure) and rising sophomore Lucas Havrisik.

Springer was rather tight-lipped about the status of the competition, saying both have what it takes to excel this fall.

It’ll be hard to deny Havrisik, who showed off his rocket-powered right leg in spurts as a freshman—hitting 3/4 field goals, including a 57-yard bomb.

Springer wants one man to handle the team’s kicking needs this fall, unlike last year, when the two split reps depending on the distance needed.

He is impressed by the effort that each player has shown in spring and fall camp, with Havrisik exhibiting strong potential, while Pollack has honed his workman-like attitude toward the craft.

Havrisik believes he’s done everything he can to win the job ahead of the team’s opener against Brigham Young in Tucson on Sept. 1.

The Riverside, California native says he’s been working hard on the field and in the weight room over the offseason—getting his weight up from 163 to 188 pounds since the end of the season.

He’s also worked on his form, trying to eliminate any stutter-steps that derail kicking form in games.

His offseason routine has also included extra yoga and stretching work with Justin Springer, which has paid dividends already, according to the sophomore.

He believes that his steadfast approach to kicking will earn him a leg up on Pollack in their friendly competition for the starting job.

“[My focus is on] staying consistent and staying disciplined,” Havrisik told the media on Tuesday. “Keep doing your own thing. I mean, I’m still kicking great, but [Josh] is doing good too. So, I just have to stay disciplined and trust myself.”

Havrisik said the two-man battle for the starting kicker role has remained friendly, with each kicker doing their best to learn what they can from each other.

He believes their camaraderie will help come the regular season, as they’ll be able to talk with each other when things are going well and commiserate when they’re not.

“We’re really good friends,” Havrisik said. “[Josh] is a great guy. I don’t think the competition really gets in between us. I mean, we’re both competitive, but we’re good friends, so it’s pretty good.”

Havrisik believes that the addition of Springer as a full-time special teams coach can help the unit tap into its fullest potential this season.

“I think it’s huge, because offense and defense, that’s one-third and two-thirds of the game,” he said. “The third-third is special teams and that can play a huge role with the kickoff return. If you have a great kickoff return, kickoff coverage team, punt team—all of that, it’s just huge.”