When Justin Flowe transferred from Oregon to Arizona in the offseason, he came to Tucson with lofty expectations as a run-stopping and highly productive linebacker in the UA's defense.
Due to the ascension of linebacker Daniel Heimuli and Flowe's developing understanding of Johnny Nansen's system, the Flowe Show was put on ice to start the season; he only played 11 snaps in Arizona's season opener, while Heimuli played the majority of the snaps at "Mike" linebacker.
A week later, Mississippi State was on pace to rush for well over 300 yards against the Wildcats on Saturday in Starkville; the Bulldogs had 88 rushing yards after the first quarter. But Arizona only surrendered 57 rushing yards after that, and Flowe had a significant hand in the slowdown. Coupled with Arizona committing four turnovers in the first half, "I feel like there was a point where they needed the defense," Flowe said on Tuesday.
"We wanted that so bad and it happened," he said. "'We just gotta take this moment. The defense gotta show up and we can't let this moment pass us up.'"
In 27 snaps, Flowe recorded 12 tackles and 0.5 stops for loss, including a critical third-down stop late in the fourth quarter to force Mississippi State to kick a field goal. The 12 tackles were the most he's had in a contest since his second season at Oregon in 2021.
"He's got a motor, man," Nansen said. "He gives all that he's got and he makes plays. It's all about who can produce, and the guys has been producing, so we need to keep him on the field."
Flowe was not on the field in overtime when Heimuli had a missed tackle that led to a 29-yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 31-24 lead.
"If he would've just did what he does at practice, he probably would've picked the ball," Nansen said of Heimuli. "And when you get in position to make the tackle, trust your ability to make the tackle and not dive for his feet. He was in position to wrap him up and bring him down. Those are learning experiences. I know he felt bad about it and he's going to learn from it."
The bulk of Arizona's production at linebacker was from Flowe and "Will" linebacker Jacob Manu, who both each had 12 tackles on Saturday. Flowe had Arizona's second-best rushing defense grade (a 70.0, per Pro Football Focus) at Mississippi State. Against MSU's 12-personnel lineups, which use two tight ends and emphasize running the ball, Flowe's downhill and aggressive style as a linebacker came in handy when the Wildcats needed stops in the second half.
Justin Flowe, left, pumps up his teammates during an Arizona spring football practice on March 21.
“That’s an enormous amount of production," Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch said during his news conference on Monday. "So we’re going to have to play Justin more."
“We’re going to continue to watch his development grow. He’s becoming more comfortable in the system."
Fisch said Flowe “brings an energy to the game, to the defense,” and he “would expect to see more of him as we go and really build off his performance Saturday night.”
Flowe said he "felt pretty good" having an influence on Arizona's defense.
"It was a blessing. Some SEC competition I felt like it was a blessing," he said. "That game felt like a video-game environment,"
"It felt unreal being in that. It was a blessing being in that game, and I feel like going into that game as a defense, we had everything to prove as a defense, and I feel like we're starting to do it."
Flowe said Arizona's nine-man rotation on the defensive line has led to Arizona's linebackers making plays at the line of scrimmage.
"I feel like they're all freaks and take up blocks," he said. "They're units and they're doing everything we need to be the best defense that we gotta be."
Leading up to Flowe's breakout performance, he struggled to play within his responsibilities and assignments in Nansen's system. After sitting back and observing for the most part in the season opener, then finally unleashing himself, Flowe is "pretty far (ahead)," he said.
"As a (linebacker) room together, I feel like we're all pretty smart with the scheme and everything," Flowe said. "I feel like I'm doing pretty good and we're all doing pretty good."
Nansen would "like to play (Flowe) more" moving forward; it's just a matter of getting him "comfortable with some of the calls we have."
"Obviously he's getting more comfortable with the system," Nansen said of Flowe. "You can see he's more productive when he's doing things right. We just gotta keep bringing him along and then I think he's going to have a bigger role. Him and Daniel will keep competing. Best player is going to start. We just gotta keep bringing him along."
Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura runs but fails to get a first down against Mississippi State on the last play of overtime.
Wildcats in 'disbelief' with JDL's fake-spike TD
Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura is comfortable in the UA's system. So comfortable, he fake-spiked the football on the 2-yard line with no timeouts in the final seconds of the first half — and rushed in for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 14-7. It wasn't planned.
"Honestly, I was a little confused when it happened," Arizona running back Michael Wiley said. "When coach called for a spike, it was supposed to be an actual spike. Jayden kind of saw the defense was kind of being lazy and so he decided to just fake-spike it and try to score. Credit to Jayden and the guts he has to do that. It worked out."
Added Wiley: "I was just kind of confused as to what was going on. 'Did he fumble? What happened?' I didn't really know when I saw Tanner (McLachlan) start helping him. Once I saw him helping, I started helping. It was kind of one of those confusing situations."
Arizona offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll was in "a little bit of disbelief" with de Laura's fake-spike touchdown.
"The guys reacted well to an unplanned thing, Carroll said. "I'm glad it worked out."
Mississippi State wide receiver Justin Robinson (3) fumbles the ball after a hit by Arizona defensive back Martell Irby during the first half Saturday. UA rallied but lost in overtime 31-24.
Extra points
• Wiley, on coaches' messages to the offense after the Wildcats' four first-half turnovers, including three first-quarter interceptions from de Laura, at Mississippi State: "Pretty much just, 'Keep your head up.' It was very unfortunate, but the good thing is that it happened early in the game, so there was plenty of ball game left to still fight and we all knew that. Credit to Jayden for not putting his head down and stuff like that. He still believed that he could make something happen with the offense. ... We all believe we're a great offense and stuff like that can't hinder us from doing what we do."
• Nansen, on why nickelback Martell Irby was benched in the second half: "Everybody has gotta know their assignment to stay on the field and to be able to execute at the highest level. We just felt that second half we made some adjustments because we wanted to run some of our calls that we held on at the end of the first quarter."
