Before the Arizona Wildcats opened the 2014 season, Rich Rodriguez and his staff stayed away from anointing Nick Wilson as the man at running back.
Rodriguez and the Wildcats brought in UNLV transfer Adonis Smith and had senior Terris Jones-Grigsby, who was getting first-team reps in practice, on the roster.
Rodriguez insisted the job was open and wouldn’t hand it to any one player.
But a few weeks in, it was rather obvious: Wilson was the man.
He served as Arizona’s top rushing threat throughout the season and rushed for more than 1,300 yards.
This year, there won’t be any charade.