Nick Wilson never doubted himself. Many others did.
The Arizona Wildcats running back was injury-prone. He was brittle. He’d never regain the form he showed as a freshman.
Well, the “old” Nick Wilson re-emerged Saturday night at Arizona Stadium. Overshadowed by quarterback Khalil Tate — but benefiting tremendously from his presence — Wilson rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns in Arizona’s 47-30 victory over UCLA.
It was a long time coming.
Wilson hadn’t reached the century mark since Week 2 of last season. That was the second of back-to-back 100-yard outings. Wilson appeared to be, well, back.
Then the injuries came. Again. A sprained ankle. A hurt knee. Frequent appearances on the weekly injury report. Rampant skepticism among UA fans.
Wilson never questioned himself.
“Absolutely not,” the senior said late Saturday night. “I’ve never been a quitter; I’ve never been one to stop doing me. I told myself if it ever got to that point, I would walk away.”
Rehab is no fun. Neither is “prehab,” but Wilson became proactive with the UA training staff anyway. He devoted himself to getting fitter, stronger and more flexible in the offseason.
Wilson missed the Houston game in Week 2 because of a sprained ankle, and it took him a little while to regain his form. He had it and then some against the Bruins.
“He’s a very physical runner, and he understands our offense really well,” Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said. “He knows how to press blocks.”
Wilson knew a breakout was coming — not necessarily because he was feeling fit but because of the way Tate was playing.
With the sophomore quarterback providing a true dual threat, it was only a matter of time before the running game opened up.
“Everyone focuses on him; it helps the running backs,” Wilson said. “It’s pretty simple. It’s pretty straightforward.”
Wilson, J.J. Taylor (64 yards) and Zach Green (27) combined for 226 of Arizona’s 457 rushing yards. Each played a part in another dominant UA rushing performance.
“I thought J.J. ran well,” Rodriguez said. “And then when we needed the big guy at the end, Zach Green, he’s running hard. With those three and the ability of Khalil to run a little bit, we’ve been able to run the football pretty well.”
The Wildcats have eclipsed 400 rushing yards three times through six games. Arizona ranks fourth in the nation in rushing (342.3 yards per game) behind three option teams: Navy, Army and Georgia Tech.
But the most noteworthy number of all might be this: Wilson carried the ball 22 times against UCLA. His previous season high was 13. He hadn’t rushed more than 20 times since his last 100-yard game, against Grambling State on Sept. 10, 2016.
“It was kind of hard trying to get back in the groove,” Wilson said. “I had that little ankle tweak early in the season.
“(But recently) I started feeling more like myself. I felt like I had the strongest offseason I’ve ever had, and it kind of showed.”
‘Only halfway through’
Arizona (4-2) is tied with Arizona State for second place in the Pac-12 South with a 2-1 conference record. The in-state rivals combined to go 3-15 in league play last year, and they were picked to finish fifth (ASU) and sixth (Arizona) in the division in the preseason Pac-12 media poll.
The Wildcats already have surpassed last season’s overall win total, but Rodriguez knows there’s a lot of season left and a tough slate of games ahead.
“Our confidence is up. But we’re only halfway through; our guys are smart enough to understand that,” Rodriguez said after the UCLA game. “What I’ve asked (of) the guys is to work and keep getting better. I think we’ve gotten better each week in a lot of ways, and there are lot of ways we can get better from tonight as well.”
Arizona struggled on special teams, had a difficult time stopping the run and committed a season-high 11 penalties for 113 yards. The Wildcats still have plenty to work on.
They would prefer that outsiders continue to discount them.
“We would still like to be a question mark; it keeps a chip on our shoulder,” cornerback Jace Whittaker said. “People are going to talk. We’re not going to listen.”
Target of his ire
Arizona won’t have defensive tackle Parker Zellers for the first half of this Saturday’s game at Cal. Zellers was ejected for targeting in the third quarter against UCLA after a hit on Bruins quarterback Josh Rosen. Because the foul took place in the second half, Zellers must sit out the first half of the next game.
Rodriguez wasn’t sure Zellers was guilty. Rodriguez also questioned the severity of the punishment.
“I thought he hit him in the shoulder,” Rodriguez said. “He may have led with the crown of his helmet. I don’t know. I’d have to watch the film or maybe the TV copy to see if that was justified.
“The penalty is one thing, but when you throw a guy out and he has to sit out the first half of the next game, that’s a pretty severe penalty.”
Extra points
- Arizona free safety Scottie Young Jr. left the UCLA game in the second quarter because of an undisclosed injury and did not return. Jarvis McCall Jr. initially replaced Young before yielding to Kwesi Mashack, who finished with three tackles, including two for losses, and a pass breakup.
- Arizona shut out UCLA in the fourth quarter. It was the third time this season that the Wildcats have held the opposition scoreless in the final period.
- Arizona has scored 45 or more points in four of its first six games for the first time in school history.
- UA forced two or more turnovers for the fifth time this season and the sixth time in seven games dating to last year.
- The Arizona-Cal game opened as a pick ’em. The Golden Bears are coming off a 37-3 blowout win over previously undefeated Washington State.
