Assistant coach Darrell Wyatt, right, is leaving Mike Stoops' staff for Southern Miss. He's credited with helping young receivers develop and some big recruiting coups.

A.E. Araiza / arizona daily star 2007

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The departure of UA receivers coach Darrell Wyatt to become offensive coordinator at mid-major Southern Miss rocked the UA football program last week.

Part of it is that Wyatt had a big stake in the remarkable improvement of young UA receivers Delashaun Dean and Terrell Turner. Worse, he was the lead recruiter on five of the most coveted players who committed to Arizona: quarterback Matt Scott, running backs Ryan Bass and Keola Antolin, defensive lineman Dominique Austin and receiver Juron Criner.

No UA coach matched Wyatt's recruiting success over the last eight months.

Like all college football coaches, Wyatt's loyalty is mitigated by the game's overriding mantra: Cover your backside first.

As Kansas' offensive coordinator/assistant head coach from 1997 to 2000, Wyatt was viewed as one of the game's rising head coach prospects. But KU struggled. The Jayhawks went 5-6, 4-7, 5-7 and 4-7 under head coach Terry Allen — sound familiar? — and Wyatt bailed out, beating the posse, taking a lesser job as receivers coach at Oklahoma State. Allen was indeed fired a year later, going 3-8 at Kansas.

Wyatt, 41, is attempting to rebuild his coaching profile and now he'll do so with newly hired Southern Miss head coach Larry Fedora, who was fired three years ago when Ron Zook's staff at Florida was cashiered.

It's a hard-boiled, itinerant business. Now it's up to Mike Stoops to find a capable replacement at the worst possible time.

A n All-America safety during Arizona's Desert Swarm years, Tony Bouie went to the doctor for a routine life-insurance-qualifying exam on Dec. 15. Unfortunately, doctors in Phoenix discovered that Bouie has cancer in his liver.

According to his wife, Allison Bouie, Tony is expected to begin chemotherapy treatments but that the cancer is treatable.

"We believe in the power of prayer,'' she said. "So please do so.''

Only 35, Bouie played four seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after his 1991-94 UA career. His name is in the Ring of Honor at Arizona Stadium. He was on Sports Illustrated's "Rock Solid'' cover previewing the 1994 season.

Bouie is chairman and CEO of Halo Cups Inc., which makes and distributes stackable, dispensable and insulated cups for outlets such as Circle K. He lives in Anthem, north of Phoenix. He was a featured guest on Fox Sports Net Arizona's pre-game special to the Dec. 1 UA-ASU football game.

Would-have-been UA junior Marcus Williams had a breakthrough week in the NBA's D League. On back-to-back games Wednesday and Thursday, the former Wildcat scored 29 and 26 points, shooting an impressive 24 of 45 from the field (.533). He is averaging 19.1 points for the Austin Toros. … Sybil Dosty has broken into ASU's starting basketball lineup. The Salpointe Catholic grad, a transfer from Tennessee, has twice scored in double figures. She was limited to four points in Friday's loss to Texas. … In the EuroLeague's top Belgian basketball league, ex-Wildcat guard Chris Rodgers has apparently found a home (at last). Rodgers averages 31 minutes and 12 points a game for Liege, Belgium's first-place pro team. … Catalina Foothills grad Nolan Swett last week was named a first-team All-American in NCAA Division III. The senior tight end from Colorado College established school records for career receptions. … Sunnyside High four-time state wrestling champ Nick Gallick is starting at 141 pounds for second-ranked Iowa State. A sophomore, Gallick is 9-4-1 for the Cyclones, who beat No. 1 Minnesota two weeks ago. … Another four-time Sunnyside state champ, Kyle DeBerry, is redshirting his freshman season at Arizona State. His brother, Kory DeBerry, a freshman at Sunnyside, had his breakout meet last week. He finished fifth overall among 90 teams at the Reno Tournament of Champions, perhaps the top national high school wrestling meet of the winter.

Expect UA softball coach Mike Candrea to fill the hole left by Nancy Evans' departure by adding the esteemed Gale Bundrick of Canyon del Oro High School as the UA's volunteer assistant/pitching coach. Bundrick has coached seven CDO pitchers to Division I scholarships and has been a private (and in great demand) pitching coach for 20 years. …By earning a berth on the NFC's Pro Bowl roster, Dallas rookie kicker Nick Folk became the eighth ex-Arizona football player in the NFL's all-star game. He is in excellent company with Tedy Bruschi, Michael Bates, Darryll Lewis, Chuck Cecil, Chris McAlister, Lance Briggs and Antonio Pierce. As you might've noticed, Pierce, an alternate on this year's Pro Bowl squad, introduces himself on NBC telecasts as from "Mt. San Antonio College'' and not Arizona. That can likely be traced to his timing at Arizona: Dick Tomey's final season, which wasn't a good time to be a Wildcat. … Tucsonan Jerry Coons Jr., winner of the 2007 USAC Midget championship last month, is back home and scheduled to race next Saturday and Sunday in the Roger McCluskey Classic at USA Race Park on Los Reales Road. Coons won races in Australia, Kansas, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and Arizona this year. Races begin at 1 p.m., Saturday and Sunday.

Ranked No. 1 in Collegiate Baseball's preseason poll, Andy Lopez's UA baseball team is the most anticipated here since 1989. That group, which included future major-leaguers Trevor Hoffman, J.T. Snow, Alan Zinter and Lance Dickson, was ranked No. 2. It won the Pac-10 with the best league record (23-7) in school history and was loaded with talent, including current New York Yankees batting coach Kevin Long. Its team ERA (4.17) was the best at Arizona dating to 1978. But in the NCAA regionals, in Tucson, it ran into a hot team, Long Beach State, and was eliminated with a 45-18 record. I'm guessing Lopez would take 45 wins today and take his chances in the playoffs. … If you haven't yet seen UA-committed quarterback Matt Scott, either on TV or via Internet video, you can't fully understand the impact UA coaches expect him to make. He is the second coming of Keith Smith — and Scott is four or five inches taller. I would not be surprised if the Wildcats mix Scott into the offense immediately, a true freshman, as a midquarter change-up to Willie Tuitama. That could befuddle Pac-10 defenses. As one of the seven finalists nationally for the inaugural Joe Montana Award, Scott, from Corona, Calif., finds himself in the company of QBs who have already committed to Notre Dame, Florida State, Oklahoma and Iowa. That's unprecedented territory for an incoming Arizona quarterback.

After last Sunday's UA-Fresno State basketball game, Arizona's fifth-year senior manager, Jim Hawkins, felt ill. He had difficulty breathing; the pain in his chest was frightening. Thinking clearly, he drove to University Medical Center and was taken to the emergency room.

Doctors feared he was having a heart attack.

A day earlier, Hawkins received his diploma in UA graduation ceremonies. Fortunately, his parents, James and Cindy Hawkins of Elgin, Ill., were in Tucson to watch their son get his degree and were able to immediately comfort him at the hospital.

It was a worrisome week. The man who hired Hawkins to the UA basketball staff, ex-coach Jim Rosborough, became a regular visitor. So did UA interim head coach Kevin O'Neill and wife Roberta.

Doctors initially said that Hawkins would not be able to travel with the Wildcats for at least a month.

O'Neill was so concerned that he phoned his manager shortly before the UA's game at UNLV. Rosborough was in the room Wednesday when doctors told Hawkins he did not suffer a heart attack, but, more likely had a stress-related issue that affected his breathing. The good news: Hawkins was released Friday and was able to fly with his parents to Illinois.

Hawkins hopes to be back on the job next semester as he gets stronger and works his way back to full health.

Best bowl game of the week: Thursday's Texas vs. Arizona State Holiday Bowl. It's on ESPN at 6 p.m.

Two noted Sun Devil killers, Duane Akina and Larry MacDuff, are Texas co-defensive coordinators. When together at Arizona from 1987 to 1996, Akina and MacDuff — two of the most respected people ever to coach at Arizona — went 6-3-1 against the Sun Devils.

But because Texas dropped to No. 54 nationally in total defense and No. 109 in passing defense, both MacDuff and Akina are reportedly under fire. The Texas defense yielded 35 or more points to four Big 12 opponents, and you know Longhorn fans: They have no patience.

Dennis Erickson's Sun Devils are potentially in trouble. They are averaging 32 points and 406 yards per game.

Whatever the outcome, the Longhorns and Sun Devils are among the most well-coached teams in college football. I'll take Texas, because I don't think ASU quarterback Rudy Carpenter is an elite-game player.