Star reporter Michael Lev lays out five storylines to watch as the Arizona Wildcats prepare to take on Colorado on Saturday night in Arizona Stadium. The game kicks off at 5 p.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports 1.
Surprised, nervous, ‘fired up’: Will Plummer makes UA debut, and his dad’s emotions run the gamut
UA quarterback Will Plummer threw for 151 yards and rushed for 49 more after taking over for the injured Grant Gunnell in Saturday’s loss at UCLA. “For a guy that didn’t even get a chance to warm up ... it was a pretty good performance,” said coach Kevin Sumlin.
Brad Plummer is the father of two Division I quarterbacks — Purdue’s Jack Plummer and his younger brother, Arizona’s Will Plummer. Brad wasn’t expecting his boys to play on the same day as early as this past Saturday. But you never know what’s coming next in 2020.
Brad Plummer attended Jack’s game in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue lost to Rutgers despite Jack, a redshirt sophomore, passing for 237 yards and accounting for three touchdowns.
The game ended at 7:44 p.m. Eastern Time. Brad planned to stop at a small outdoor gathering hosted by fellow Purdue football parents near Ross-Ade Stadium to catch the beginning of Arizona’s game at UCLA. It started at 8:05 ET.
“We just turned the TV on as we got back there, literally as they were kicking off,” Brad Plummer said. “I looked up and saw Grant (Gunnell) go down. I said to some of the other parents, ‘Holy (blank), I think Will’s gonna come in.’ And he did.”
Gunnell got hurt on the first play from scrimmage, suffering a shoulder injury that would sideline him for the rest of the night. Will Plummer, a freshman who had yet to take a college snap, came off the bench and took over.
Plummer performed admirably under the circumstances, accounting for 200 yards of offense. He threw two late interceptions in a 27-10 defeat.
Plummer could make his first career start Saturday against Colorado, if Gunnel is unable to play. Brad Plummer again will be watching from afar.
Unlike the Nov. 14 UA opener, which he attended, player guests aren’t being permitted at Arizona Stadium because of a surge in COVID-19 cases in the state. Brad won’t be at Jack’s game either, a home contest vs. Nebraska, because of a family issue. He’ll watch both of his sons play from the basement of his home in Dubuque, Iowa, where he’s an insurance broker.
The Boilermakers and Wildcats each have lost three in a row this season.
“We’ve got to turn these tides around,” Brad Plummer said. “But yeah, I'm looking forward to Saturday.”
If Will Plummer plays again, it won’t catch his family by surprise. Brad was going to head to his hotel room after catching the start of Wildcats-Bruins but ended up staying for the entire first half. He couldn’t leave. He felt both nervous and excited.
“Obviously, you feel bad for Grant,” Brad Plummer said. “I’ve been there with my other son, Jack; he broke his ankle last year just as he was really starting to come into his groove.
“You don't want ... your kid to go into the game because someone gets hurt. It’s always terrible when any of the kids get hurt. But it's part of the game.”
Once the reality of the situation kicked in, Brad shifted his allegiance from black and gold to blue and red.
“Some of the other Purdue parents ... they basically had to scrape me off the ceiling,” he said. “I was a little fired up.”
Will Plummer was more circumspect when he talked to his dad the next day. The freshman said he felt sore. He acknowledged making some mistakes.
“But he knows that he played hard,” Brad Plummer said. “He knows that he was maybe not perfect all the time, maybe not pretty, but he moved the chains.
“I'm proud of him. I thought he played a great game, particularly when you consider how many times he got hit.”
Tireless fifth-year CB Lorenzo Burns nears the end of his Arizona marathon
Sports gradually, and fitfully, returned to the fields and the University of Arizona finally got back on the field November 14, 2020, in a loss to USC where UA defensive back Lorenzo Burns (2) took wide USC receiver Drake London (15) out of mid-air after he tried to leap for extra yardage at Arizona Stadium.
Mirroring his Arizona career, veteran cornerback Lorenzo Burns was in it for the long haul against UCLA last week.
Burns played all 78 defensive snaps at the Rose Bowl. The fifth-year senior also plays on the punt-coverage team. The Wildcats punted six times.
Because of injuries and opt-outs, Arizona’s depth at cornerback is thinner than Burns’ freshman frame. (He was listed at 5-10, 165.) A lot is being asked of Burns and fellow corner Christian Roland-Wallace.
“Lorenzo Burns has been phenomenal,” UA coach Kevin Sumlin said. “Whatever we need him to do, he does it, special teams-wise, as a corner. He is giving it his all. And so has C-Ro.
“Those guys are playing a lot. They understand the situation. We've got confidence in those guys.
“They get challenged every week, and they respond. I think our team sees that, everybody sees that, and those guys are playing their tails off.”
Burns dutifully accepts his responsibilities. He could have left the program any number of times since last season. He could have entered the 2020 NFL draft or switched schools as a graduate transfer. Instead, Burns chose to stick it out.
If pro scouts needed to see more film of the wiry cornerback, they’re getting their fill. Burns considers playing every snap more of a mental challenge than a physical one.
“In my mind, I just have to be resilient,” he said. “Football’s a hard game. It’s gonna test you whether you play a lot of snaps or not.
“Physically, you get tired. But ... it’s all about how strong you are mentally. If you can't push on mentally, then you're gonna have a tough time. I feel like I've done a good job of doing that.”
Burns can afford to expend maximum energy because he knows his college career will end soon. He has already been invited represent Arizona at the East-West Shrine Bowl, though the honor is mostly symbolic. January's game won't be played because of the pandemic.
“It's been a roller coaster, to be honest with you,” Burns said. “I've enjoyed every minute of it. I don't have anything negative to say about my experience here. I've met a lot of great people, (made) a lot of great connections, and I'm excited for my next step.”
Arizona OLB Issaiah Johnson savoring long-awaited opportunity to play
Arizona defensive end Issaiah Johnson (45) in the second half during an NCAA college football game against Southern California, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020, in Tucson, Ariz. Southern California won 34-30. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Sometimes, you just aren’t ready. Oftentimes, players aren’t willing to admit that.
Consider Arizona’s Issaiah Johnson an exception. The outside linebacker did not play a single snap in his first two seasons as a Wildcat. He didn’t blame others for his plight.
“Obviously, not playing, it’s a bummer,” Johnson said. “But it's a process, and I wouldn't change that at all. I wouldn't go back and change anything. It's made me who I am today.
“I can actually say I savor the moment even more.”
Johnson’s patience and persistence have paid off in Year 3. The product of Southern California’s Los Alamitos High School has emerged as a defensive contributor for the UA. Johnson has recorded four tackles in each of the past two games.
The redshirt sophomore has come a long way since he arrived on campus in 2018 as a 17-year-old. He attributed his progress to experience and maturity.
“I believe everything happens for a reason,” Johnson said. “I just wasn't ready. So I can't really get mad at it. It was just on me.”
Johnson’s stops against UCLA last week including a tackle for loss in the second quarter. Johnson dropped tailback Demetric Felton 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage on first-and-10 from the Arizona 11. The Bruins ended up settling for a field goal.
Johnson described the play as something of an out-of-body experience.
“When I made the play, like, I wasn't even there,” he said. “Like, it wasn't me. It's hard to explain, but it was good. It didn't hit me until I got on the plane ... or when I watched film again: ‘Oh yeah, I did make that play.’”
It took some time, but Johnson has made himself into a viable — and visible — defender.
Comeback kids Noyer, Broussard bolster Buffaloes’ backfield
Colorado’s backfield features a pair of comeback stories.
Quarterback Sam Noyer, a fifth-year senior, never had started a college game before this season. He didn’t even play quarterback last year.
During the offseason, Noyer entered the NCAA transfer portal. Now he’s one of the most productive passers in the Pac-12 for a 3-0 team.
"I was gone," Noyer told reporters in October. “If you would have told me I would come back here, I would have said you're crazy.”
After sitting behind Steven Montez and moving to safety last season so he could contribute in some way, Noyer was ready to transfer. But a coaching change created an opportunity at Colorado. Noyer decided to return, and he won the quarterback job during fall camp.
Noyer has thrown for 650 yards and four touchdowns in three games. He also has rushed for 112 yards and four scores.
Colorado’s leading rusher is Jarek Broussard, a redshirt sophomore who has overcome a pair of torn ACLs in his left knee.
Broussard first hurt his knee as a high school senior at Dallas Bishop Lynch in a playoff game against Houston St. Pius X (which featured future Arizona quarterback Grant Gunnell and receiver Boobie Curry). Broussard had to sit out his freshman year, in 2018, as a result.
Broussard came back the following year, only to tear his ACL again in September.
Fast-forward to today. Broussard ranks second in the Pac-12 at 144.0 rushing yards per game.
“I was determined to get through them, because it would make the story even better,” Broussard said after being named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week following a 187-yard, three-touchdown rushing performance vs. UCLA. “As you can see, it’s paying off.”
Against Colorado, Arizona QB Khalil Tate was undeniably great
Quarterback Khalil Tate’s Arizona career ended ignominiously, but if there’s one team that’s glad to see him gone and graduated, it’s Colorado.
Tate broke out against the Buffaloes and never stopped tormenting them. His record-setting 327-yard, four-touchdown rushing performance on Oct. 7, 2017, stands as a singular achievement. But his passing numbers in that game and two subsequent starts against Colorado are outliers in their own right.
In those three games, Tate never completed fewer than 75.6% of his passes. All told, he went 60 of 76 (78.9%) for 908 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. He averaged 11.9 yards per attempt.
Tate wasn’t as consistently effective as a passer vs. anyone else. Against all other opponents, Tate completed 55.7% of his throws with 48 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. He averaged 7.6 yards per attempt.
