Arizona junior defensive end Ricky Elmore had five tackles and one sack in Arizona's season-opening win over Central Michigan last Saturday.

Elmore, a Grace Brethren graduate, told the Arizona Republic that extra playing time - the most of his career - in last allowed him to both get comfortable and be productive.

"It was the best game he's played, I thought," coach Mike Stoops told the Republic . "He looked better on his feet, and he was able to make more plays."

Elmore told reporters he benefited from the extra reps.

"I got to play a full game, get into a groove, get relaxed and just play the game," he said. "The biggest thing was getting able to play without all the stress on my shoulders."

Rob Gronkowski, Arizona's star tight end, remains slowed by a back injury.

"We're going to evaluate him week to week," said Arizona coach Mike Stoops Tuesday. "We're going to make sure with him that he's symptom-free before we put him out there."

Gronkowski was the first team All-Pac-10 and third-team All-America last year, catching 47 passes for 672 yards and 10 TDs despite missing the first three games.

Arizona coach Mike Stoops believes this will be a good season for the Pac-10 and Arizona.

"I don't think the Pac-10 has ever been stronger than it's been right now. I feel this is our best overall team from 1 to 85 that we've had in our program."

(on replacing Willie Tuitama)
I believe we'll be able to replace Willie with Matt Scott and Nick Folee... That competition with go throughout camp.

(on the team as a whole)

"When you look at our team, I think what jumps out at you is the quality of players that we have... I think our team is very skilled, it is very fast and I believe it is capable of great things."

(on perhaps playing his brother, Bob, and Oklahoma in the future)

"We'd love to play Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl this year. That's about with us to play Oklahoma. I think the only chance of that happening would be in a bowl game of some sort."

(on the evolution of the game in the conference)

"I wouldn't say we're getting away from the passing game. It's just the way the coaches are recruiting, knowing you need a balanced offense to win."

Arizona coach Mike Stoops spoke this week about his team's 31-10 win at UCLA last weekend:

"Really pleased with the way we played at UCLA. We just kind of roughed the game out and won pretty easily, could have scored a couple more touchdowns.

"We thought UCLA, with their offensive problems, would have trouble moving the ball consistently. We felt good about our matchup all the way through that game.

"Offensively, they're obviously searching for some playmakers. They've got some guys banged up. Defensively, I thought hey played a much better defensive game. They put some pressure on our offense."

Mike Stoops' hot seat rose a few degrees Monday when his star tight end, Rob Gronkowski, was diagnosed with step throat and deemed out of Saturday's season opener against Idaho.

"He's definitely ruled out for this game and we'll address it week to week," said Stoops Tuesday.

If Gronkowski has mononucleosis, he could miss a month of the season. That would be a huge setback for quarterback Willie Tuitama and the Wildcats' attack. Gronkowski is considered the Pac-10's top tight end after catching 28 passes for 525 yards (a school record for a tight end) and six TDs as a freshman.

Sophomore A.J. Simmons will start in Gronkowski's place.

"There is a lot of ways we can go adjusting the offense," said Stoops. "It's a little bit of a setback, but I think our offense will run smoothly."