Arizona Wildcats spring football practice No. 10: OL Donovan Laie, DL Trevon Mason return to trenches

The Arizona Wildcats are now in double-digit practice territory for spring ball as the UA finished its 10th practice of the Jedd Fisch era on Tuesday. 

Arizona practiced for nearly two-and-a-half hours at the Dick Tomey Practice Field and Cole and Jeannie Davis Indoor Center. Here are some notes, takeaways and observations from camp and post-practice media availability at the UA: 

* After a vote from local media, Fisch moved the Wildcats’ scrimmage — open to the public — on Saturday at Arizona Stadium from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and is hopeful “to get all 1,5000 seats filled for that one.” 

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* UA offensive lineman Donovan Laie returned to full-contact after missing time with an unspecified injury. Laie, who’s played the bulk of his college snaps at left tackle, was lined up at left guard between tackle Jordan Morgan and center Josh McCauley; Josh Donovan was right guard while Paiton Fears manned right tackle. Fisch on the return of Arizona’s veteran lineman in Laie: “It’s a starting player back, right? Anytime you get a starter back, you’re winning. To us, that was an opportunity to win the practice today.” 

* Defensive lineman Trevon Mason also came back from a minor injury to compete in practice and was not limited. 

* Defensive coordinator Don Brown named his top performers — aka “Desert Dudes” — from last week’s practices: “Viper” linebacker Christian Young, defensive tackle Kyon Barrs, cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace and defensive end Paris Shand. 

* Running backs Michael Wiley and Nazar Bombata donned plain black jerseys in practice, a sign of injuries. Both players have missed multiple practices with unspecified injuries. Freshman running back Jalen John walked around the sideline with an ice pack on his left elbow. 

* After missing the early stages of spring ball — and opting out the entire 2020 season, running back Bam Smith broke out for a 25-yard run between the tackles. 

* Wide receiver Brian Casteel caught a pair of touchdowns during team offense, including a 60-yard score from quarterback Gunner Cruz. 

* Offensive and defensive linemen battled in one-on-one drills. Offensive tackle Edgar Burrola was called out by Fisch to compete against Jalen Harris, which ended with Burrola on the winning end. Stepping away from the trenches, defensive lineman Nahe Sulunga was called to cover Donovan in passing route. The pass was incomplete, so advantage Sulunga? 

* Speaking of competition, the Wildcats were divided into multiple teams for a dodgeball tournament that took place at Arizona’s indoor practice center last week. Offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll’s team, “The Glacier Boys,” won the tournament. McCauley, who was on a different team, said the championship bout had “controversy” when it came down to the winner being decided via “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” Carroll on his team’s victory: “You got to have a team that can accomplish the goal, when you set the mission, and I felt like the ‘Glacier Boys’ got that done and I’m proud of them. I feel like we’re going to repeat next year.”