Budding relationship between Jedd Fisch, Jayden de Laura leads to offensive growth for Wildcats

Arizona coach Jedd Fisch compared his growing relationship with quarterback Jayden de Laura to that of a pitcher and catcher.

Fisch makes the calls, which are signaled to de Laura. De Laura has the authority — a level of trust that took months and months to build — to shake Fisch off. In which case Fisch sends in a different play.

“He would never have done that early on,” said Fisch, whose teams visits No. 12 Utah on Saturday. “But now he’s feeling more comfortable in what we want to get done. And I feel more comfortable.

“Early on I would have said, ‘You run my call.’ But now I trust him that he can communicate better with me: ‘Coach, I know what the play is. I know what all five eligibles are going to do. I don’t feel as comfortable with this as that.’ That’s the growth we’re seeing from him.”

De Laura is making good decisions and playing superb football. The transfer from Washington State ranks fifth nationally with 2,654 passing yards and is tied for sixth with 22 touchdown passes.

De Laura has thrown for 380 or more yards in four of his past five games. He has a 14-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his past four contests.

De Laura’s growth is a product of time and trust.

“It goes with me and the receivers trusting Coach more throughout the season,” de Laura said. “And ... all of us trusting each other.”

Fisch and de Laura seem to be on the same wavelength. De Laura has a greater grasp of Fisch’s playbook and offensive structure. De Laura also can serve as Fisch’s eyes on the field.

“The quarterback’s got the best seat in the house for seeing what’s going on,” offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll said. “It’s great that those guys can pull off each other if needed.”

The communication doesn’t just go from quarterback to coach. De Laura and top receiver Jacob Cowing weren’t in sync in the first half vs. USC last week, including a play in the second quarter that de Laura said should have been a touchdown. Instead, he overthrew Cowing by several yards.

“I just told him, ‘Bro, that’s on me. That was just a bad throw,’” de Laura said.

Cowing had only two catches for 4 yards in the first half. He finished with seven for 80.

How did he and de Laura get back in sync?

“We just talk,” de Laura said. “We have a good relationship. It’s just me and him trying to clean it up.”

De Laura led Arizona in rushing last week with 54 yards on eight attempts. Take out sack losses, and his rushing total climbs to 76 yards.

He has been using his legs frequently and effectively of late after being hesitant to run earlier in the season. After discussing the issue with Fisch, de Laura began to take what the defense was giving him. If the initial, designed play doesn’t materialize, de Laura has the freedom to try to make something happen.

“Coach has given me the green light to just play now,” de Laura said. “I told him, ‘If we need it, just keep the ball in my hands.’ Not in a cocky way or anything.

“I’ll distribute it to the guys. I can get it to Jacob. I can get it to ‘T-Mac’ (Tetairoa McMillan). I can get it to Dorian (Singer). And if I need to, I’ll run.”

Fewer moves, more guys

Arizona isn’t getting home against opposing quarterbacks, failing to register a sack in three straight games and four of its past five.

The coaching staff is trying new approaches to address the problem. One is simplification.

“Concentrate on a couple of moves and not try to have five different moves,” defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen said. “Focus on what you can do. Everybody’s different. So that’s going to be the challenge moving forward.”

The other is expanding the rotation up front. Ten defensive linemen played at least 16 snaps vs. USC. Ends Jalen Harris and Hunter Echols combined for 106 snaps. They had averaged nearly 123 over the previous six games.

“We need to play more guys to keep everybody fresh,” Nansen said. “When you look at Jalen and Hunter, they’re playing so much ball. And then you ask these kids to rush the passer. You need to be fresh in order to get those things done.”

Regarding Rising

Utah quarterback Cameron Rising’s status for the game remained uncertain Tuesday, although he seems to be trending toward playing. Nansen is assuming Rising will be out there.

“We’re preparing for him to play,” Nansen said.

He compared the situation to last week vs. USC. The Wildcats prepared as if receivers Jordan Addison and Mario Williams would be available. They weren’t. It was barely noticeable as USC compiled 45 points and 621 yards.

“We’re not going to change our game plan,” Nansen said. “That’s how we’re moving forward.”

Extra points

Carroll on Utah’s defense, which has allowed the fewest yards and second-fewest points in the Pac-12: “Really strong, physical. They’ve been playing in a system that they’re really used to and have run there for a long time. So they’ve got a lot of answers to a lot of things. They’re all tough players. They’ll fit the runs well. They try to cover like crazy, play a lot of man coverage.”

In describing Utah’s offense, Nansen also lauded the Utes’ continuity. Offensive coordinator/QB coach Andy Ludwig is in his fourth season. “They’ve been in the system for a long time,” Nansen said. “The quarterback’s been in the system for a long time. The coordinator’s been there. The staff’s been together for a very long time. It makes a big difference.”

Carroll on the second-and-goal run from the 1 vs. USC that resulted in a 7-yard loss: “We got beat at the point of attack, which is never good. I need our guys to come through on that one. And I gotta coach them better so that they can be better in that situation. Really, technique-wise, it falls on me for them not having that exactly the way we needed.”

Carroll said freshman guard Wendell Moe is among the young offensive linemen who’ve improved the most during the season. “He got here late in the summer,” Carroll said. “So really, he’s had the most to learn. But he’s done a good job for us.”

One final comment on the controversial personal foul called on linebacker Jerry Roberts vs. USC, courtesy of Nansen: “I was right next to him. I’m just gonna leave it at that.”