As he was departing a news conference Tuesday, Arizona edge rusher Hunter Echols gave a shoutout to a member of the media who happened to be wearing Seattle Seahawks gear.
One of Echols’ former teammates at USC, Uchenna Nwosu, signed with the Seahawks in the offseason and had a big game against the Broncos on Monday night.
Nwosu was one of Echols’ mentors when he was a freshman with the Trojans in 2017. Now Echols has assumed that role.
Echols, who transferred to Arizona in January, is one of a handful of “super seniors” on the UA roster. Two of the players behind him on the depth chart at the “Kat” position are true freshmen: Russell Davis II and Sterling Lane II.
Echols has taken it upon himself to coach them up — just as Nwosu and others did for him when Echols was just getting started.
“I love the way they listen,” said Echols, who also referred to freshman linebacker Jacob Manu as one of his “favorites.”
“They follow us and they want to be coached, not only by the coaches but by the older guys. They look up to us, and it’s our job to set that example of Arizona football and what we want them to be when you look back here and see them as juniors and seniors.
“I feel like they’re taking that information and processing it well.”
Echols has appeared in 39 college games. Davis, Lane and Manu have played 55 defensive snaps.
Arizona edge rusher Hunter Echols, right, talks with cornerback Jaj-Ayviauynn Celestine before one of the Wildcats’ spring practices.
All of them are undersized at this point in their careers. But Echols believes they’re more advanced at this stage than he was.
“Size doesn’t matter when you have heart and when you have determination,” Echols said. “They’ll be fine. As they get older, they’ll grow. They’ll get bigger, they’ll get stronger, they will get faster.
“You’ll start looking at them like, ‘Dang, that’s 99? That’s the same 99 that we saw as a freshman?’’”
Davis, No. 99, is listed at 6-3, 210. Echols is 6-5, 250.
UA defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen happened to be Echols’ position coach when he began his college career. Nansen has seen Echols grow, on and off the field.
“He’s more mature,” Nansen said amid preparations for Saturday’s home game against North Dakota State. “When I got him, he was a true freshman. He had a lot of growing to do. It was nice to have Uchenna Nwosu and some of those older kids that he could look up to. You can see the difference.”
Echols doesn’t see himself as a finished product, however. Although he’s off to a strong start — 11 tackles, two pass breakups, a sack and a fumble recovery through two games — Echols feels as if he’s capable of more. One example: Echols should have had two sacks in the opener against San Diego State but allowed Braxton Burmeister to escape his grasp.
“I just want to continue to get better each and every day and focus on the little things,” said Echols, who receives regular reminders about that from position coach Jason Kaufusi.
“I know I might be doing some stuff well. But I’m still trying to get better, and I feel like I can bring more stuff to the stat sheet or just (make) more plays out there.”
North Dakota State will present a different challenge for the UA defensive front. The Bison have run the ball about 70% of the time since the start of last season. Arizona’s last opponent, Mississippi State, throws the ball at about that same rate.
“This week is going to be one of those weeks where the pass rush might not be there,” Nansen said. “It’s going to be a grind-it-out type of game.”
Echols is confident the Wildcats can handle it — primarily because they have so much experience on that side of the ball. Ten of Arizona’s 11 defensive starters have been in college for at least three years. Echols, defensive end Jalen Harris and linebacker Jerry Roberts are sixth-year veterans.
“It’s no real big difference,” Echols said. “You just gotta lock in and shift your focus each and every week to a different scheme.”
About those snaps
Although center Josh Baker has had some trouble snapping the ball, offensive line coach Brennan Carroll isn’t overly concerned about it.
“Baker’s on it,” Carroll said. “He’s got great mindfulness about it. We’ve got a couple things we can help him with on that. We have to make sure that it doesn’t continue to be a problem.”
Carroll said Baker made “two snaps I didn’t like” against Mississippi State. One was too high for quarterback Jayden de Laura to handle cleanly, leading to an 8-yard loss.
Carroll and UA coach Jedd Fisch blamed that one, in part, on Baker getting over the ball too soon after a TV timeout.
“We were up at the line of scrimmage for a long time,” Carroll said. “We should have either stayed in the huddle or ... stayed off the ball.”
Baker, a third-year sophomore, is starting at center for the first time. He started seven games last season at right and left guard. He missed spring practice while recovering from a torn pectoral muscle.
Backup center JT Hand suffered a minor shoulder injury in the opener, Carroll said. Hand is expected to practice this week.
Extra points
UA receiver Dorian Singer is from Saint Paul, Minnesota, which is about a four-hour drive from Fargo, North Dakota. Singer, who moved to Arizona for his senior year of high school, had an offer from North Dakota State. But the Bison wanted him to play defense. “I didn’t want to play defensive back in college,” Singer said.
North Dakota State linebacker Luke Weerts is the older brother of UA linebacker Mojo Weerts. The Weerts family is from Batavia, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
Former UA kicker Lucas Havrisik has been signed to the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad and will compete with NFL veteran Chase McLaughlin for the Colts’ placekicker job. Indianapolis waived Rodrigo Blankenship on Tuesday. Havrisik played for Arizona from 2017-21.
Only one sportsbook, WynnBET, has a point spread for the game. (Lines between FBS and FCS teams typically aren’t posted until the day of the game). WynnBet has the Bison as 1-point favorites.
