Luca Bruno was a last-minute addition as Arizona’s defensive representative at Pac-12 Media Days, accepting an invitation only after linebacker DeAndre’ Miller suffered a foot injury and had to back out.
Bruno took the moment in stride, saying he felt bad for Miller. But …
“This is crazy, man,” he said. “It’s a dream come true, honestly.”
Bruno embraced the moment, smiling the entire time he was on a podium for the initial press conferences. He took photos for the Pac-12 while eating a sandwich, and at the end of the day took off his shirt and jumped into the hotel pool. Bruno’s mother made the trip from her Ventura County home.
Earlier in the day, Bruno met new Cal coach Justin Wilcox for the first time.
Wilcox asked Bruno, “What’s your name? What do you play?”
Bruno answered.
Then he asked Wilcox the same question: “What do you play?”
When Wilcox told him he was the coach at California, Bruno turned bright red. He relived the embarrassment again on Pac-12 Networks.
“I was so nervous when they brought it up,” Bruno said. ‘The first time I heard about it was on the TV interview and they were like, ‘We found something on social media.’ I was like, ‘What? I didn’t do anything stupid! What are they going to find?’”
Bruno said things are “all good” with him and Wilcox.
“We talked. I told him: ‘You’re a young, good-looking guy,” Bruno said. “It’s OK. It’s a compliment!”
