UA Sports

Safety emerges as perfect role player

Safety Marcus Hollingsworth kept telling himself there were better days ahead. Recruited by and scolded by former Arizona coach John Mackovic in the now infamous Dinner-gate, the 5-foot-10-inch, 228-pounder has emerged as a play-maker in the Wildcats' secondary. "I always kept my head up," Hollingsworth said. The San Diego product is fifth on the team with 34 tackles, including 20 solos. He has one of the Wildcats' 11 interceptions, shares the team lead with four passes broken up and has a sack. "He has a knack for making plays," UA defensive coordinator Mark Stoops explained. "He's around the ball a lot." Hollingsworth had his best game last week in a 29-27 victory at Oregon State. He was credited with 11 tackles, including seven unassisted stops and one tackle for loss. The junior defender also broke up a pass, and was in on a key fourth-down stop in the third quarter. "This defense is complex, and the coaches threw a lot at me," Hollingsworth said. "You gotta know what everybody on the field is doing; even the guys behind you." Hollingsworth was a top-100 recruit in the state of California at San Diego High School, where he was the team MVP all four years. Rivals recruiting service rated him as the No. 45 pure athlete prospect in the winter of 2003 when he signed with Arizona. "He fits his role perfectly" as the fifth defensive back, Stoops added. "He's a true nickel, and he knows his role on the team. "He can blitz, cover and play the run game. More than anything, he has a great football IQ." After giving up more than 600 yards to OSU, the UA defense faces a bigger test with UCLA's trio of stars in quarterback Drew Olson, tailback Maurice Drew and tight end Marcedes Lewis. The three have combined for 3,326 yards and 40 touchdowns to help the Bruins (8-0, 5-0 Pac-10) remain undefeated. "Anybody can be beat," Hollingsworth said. "It's going to be a big challenge. We have to stay in our gaps against the run, and our defensive backs have to be in the right position." Hollingsworth, who once ran for 275 yards in high school, put his speed to use right away in 2003, logging 19 tackles in back-up duty as a true freshman. That is when he was turned away at the team meal the night before the TCU game by Mackovic, who had required players to have their meal tickets punched earlier that afternoon. Hollingsworth was in class and showed up 15 minutes too late to have his card validated. Mackovic was fired 48 hours later, and Mike Stoops was hired at the end of the 2003 season. "I've had different coaches even going back to high school, so it's been hard," Hollingsworth said. "It's kind of hard getting used to different coaches coming in. "These coaches came in with the attitude that we're going to win. I'm behind them 100 percent because I want to win bad." Extra points

● Olson passes have been intercepted only three times in 257 throws, the fewest per attempt in the Pac-10. He has tossed 23 touchdown passes on the season. ● Arizona is 49-32-5 during homecoming weekend. The Cats have played UCLA four times for homecoming and are 2-2 against the Bruins (in 1927, 1985, 1996 and 2002). ● The Cats are attempting to keep their November roll going. Arizona went 2-1 last year in the 11th month, beating Washington and No. 18 ASU, and losing to top-ranked USC.