There are still 163 days until Arizona opens its football season at home against Northern Arizona, but the Wildcats have already started spring practice.

The 2010 season ended on a five-game skid including a 36-10 beatdown by Oklahoma State in the Valero Alamo Bowl, but quarterback Nick Foles said that Arizona isn’t using the poor finish as motivation.

“”You learn from it,”” Foles said. “”We looked at the film. We’ve looked at what we messed up on. It’s not something we’re going to get mad about. We just have to be as good as we can be.””

Foles said that Arizona can only focus on what is in the future, and that having fun during spring is key.

“”The thing I liked is that no one was afraid to make a mistake,”” Foles said. “”People weren’t getting down, they were fixing it. That’s what I like to see.””

Head coach Mike Stoops said that a big change for the Wildcats in 2011 will be using the pass to set up the run, as Arizona is in the early stages of implementing a full-time spread offense.

“”We’ve got to get the ball to our skill guys,”” Stoops said. “”Our skill level has never been this high — this is the best group of receivers we’ve ever had.””

That group of receivers includes Dan Buckner, a transfer from the University of Texas that sat out last season because of NCAA transfer rules.

“”He’s an extreme talent and a competitor, and that’s the thing that I love about him,”” Stoops said.

Defensive tackle Justin Washington and cornerback Shaquille Richardson didn’t practice because of minor injuries. Quarterback Cam Allerheiligen left the program to play baseball at a junior college.