Saturday storylines: Arizona needs QB Jayden de Laura to play like Batman, not Superman

Arizona football storylines for the Wildcats' final nonconference game of the season against UTEP: Quarterback Jayden de Laura channeling his inner Bruce Wayne, Jacob Cowing facing his former squad, right guard Raymond Pulido's debut, Bill Norton's impact on the D-Line, and UA's rushing attack.

1. Holy turnovers, Batman!

When Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch was asked about comparing Wildcats quarterback Jayden de Laura to other passers in the NFL, he mentioned Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes, "he can make plays off-schedule on a consistent basis."

Fisch also added Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and all-time gunslinger Brett Favre.

"He has a toughness about him and a competitive stamina. ... He's got such great confidence in himself that if he makes a mistake or turns the ball over, that's not going to affect his ability to go back out there," Fisch said of de Laura.

About those turnovers. The Wildcats have seven turnovers in two games — five of them are interceptions by de Laura, who leads the nation in picks. De Laura also fumbled inside the red zone in Arizona's season-opening win over Northern Arizona because he attempted to run through a defender rather than sliding and protecting himself.

De Laura may throw four interceptions in a game, like he did in last week's overtime loss to Mississippi State in Starkville, but he also completed 32 of 46 passes for 342 yards, led the team in rushing and was an inch shy of potentially sending the game into double-overtime.

All of it considered, de Laura's heroic efforts have oftentimes hindered the Wildcats in both games — and last season, when he threw seven combined interceptions in losses to Mississippi State and his former team, Washington State.

For now, Fisch doesn't long for de Laura to play like Mahomes, Hurts or Favre, but rather Bruce Wayne. 

"The biggest thing for him is, yeah, he makes wild plays," Fisch said. "But I tell him, 'You don't need to be Superman. Just be Batman. Use your tools." 

Translation (and mixing sports metaphors): Stop attempting to make the home-run play and live to see another down. Play smart and know when to take a risk. Those gadgets in de Laura's tool belt include an elite receiver tandem between Tetairoa McMillan and Jacob Cowing, tight end Tanner McLachlan and two pass-catching running backs in Michael Wiley and Jonah Coleman, who both are top four in receptions for Arizona.   

“I think there’s an aggressive mentality, there’s a mindset. Jayden understands that you can’t turn the ball over, but I didn’t see any of those throws he made being careless or reckless," Fisch said.

However, Fisch said, "There’s an expectation to how we want our quarterbacks to play," which isn't turning the ball over. De Laura has turned the ball over at least once in four straight games going back to last season. 

“If he doesn’t fulfill that expectation, there’s significant critique," Fisch said. "I would say this year, in comparison to last year, it’s not even close with his work ethic. I do not necessarily criticize on turnovers as much as I’d like to teach on turnovers, and see what we can do to eliminate some while also realizing it’s part of the game.”

'It'll be fun to go against the old squad' for Cowing

Arizona wide receiver Jacob Cowing, who has 10 catches for 69 yards and two touchdowns this season, will battle his former team on Saturday. 

Cowing signed with UTEP in 2019 following a standout career at Maricopa High School and recorded 2,595 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns in three seasons before transferring to Arizona to be closer to his family, including his son, Chase, who is named after former Arizona State Sun Devil Chase Lucas for his performance at a track meet in high school.

Cowing had the numbers to back up his prowess as a wide receiver, but could he replicate those statistics at a more prominent school? 

"We had a talk and I said, 'This is going to be good for you. If you go to a Power 5 school and pick up where you left and answer the questions that people have,'" said former Arizona defensive back and then-UTEP cornerbacks coach Trevin Wade. "He went to Arizona, fit right in, carried himself as a pro and he's showing that he can go anywhere and fit right in and be successful. I think he's a special kid."

In his first season at Arizona, Cowing led the Pac-12 last season with 85 receptions for 1,084 yards. 

"Our goal is to help him get back to that number and be one of those wide receivers that has really historic numbers, if we can get him to another 1,000-yard year and another 80 or so catches," Fisch said.   

While watching Cowing's film at UTEP in the recruitment process, Fisch admired Cowing's production as a slot receiver, slashing through defenses after the catch.

“His ability to make guys miss in space. The toughness that he shows blocking; the toughness that he shows catching a ball over the middle," Fisch said. "Really, there’s been no surprises with Jacob Cowing.

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"From what we saw on film, to what we’ve seen in person, Jacob Cowing has been a consistent soon-to-be pro. As he’s gotten better, stronger, I just think that experience gets you better. Jacob’s film showed what kind of player he was going to be when he first got here.”

Cowing said he's "excited for that one" on Saturday, playing against "the only school who gave me an opportunity to play college football out of high school."

"I still know a lot of guys on the offensive side of UTEP, so it'll be fun to go against the old squad that I used to be a part," Cowing said. "But at the same time, I want to get the W, have fun and play football with the guys I'm with now." 

Norton's selfless role important for Wildcats run 'D'

In the box scores of the Wildcats' first two games of the season, Arizona senior defensive tackle Bill Norton's six combined tackles through two games don't jump out, but the 6-6, 325-pound former Georgia Bulldog has been instrumental in stopping the run this season. 

Norton is a "big guy that can hold the middle and take up the double-teams," said defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen.

Norton's role — and the other 9-10 defensive linemen that rotate in — is simple: Make plays when needed, but make the linebackers look good. Against Mississippi State, Arizona linebackers Jacob Manu and Justin Flowe combined for 24 tackles and three stops for loss.  

"When you look at the stats, both linebackers made 12 tackles and that's a credit to the D-line," Nansen said. "They're taking up a lot of blocks and staying in their gaps and stuff like that. Having (Norton) here has been real helpful for our guys in the room, too." 

UTEP leads Conference USA in rushing yards this season, so Norton and the other bodies churning on the defensive line will have another important role Saturday. 

Wildcats 'really hopeful' guard Pulido makes debut

Fisch said he's "really hopeful" 6-6, 335-pound freshman right guard Raymond Pulido, who missed the first two games of the season following an on-campus bicycle accident, will make his Arizona debut against UTEP.

But the Wildcats "have still not gotten a final word there.”

Arizona offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Brennan Carroll was unable to share the details of Pulido's bike accident. 

"I wasn't there. I didn't see it. I was home already, so I don't have any comment on it," he said. "I just know that he wasn't able to play for a couple weeks."

With Pulido potentially returning to the starting lineup, the Wildcats will move Jonah Savaiinaea back to right tackle. Savaiinaea started at right guard at Mississippi State, with Joseph Borjon starting at right tackle.

Arizona's offensive line has only surrendered one sack in each game this season. 

“Our protection has been at a very, very high level," Fisch said. 

Establishing the run

Wiley leads the Wildcats with 14 receptions this season, but he'll tell you the running backs' role in the passing game is "not an extension" of their rushing attack.

The Wildcats currently rank seventh in the Pac-12 in rushing yards (277) and fifth in yards per carry (5.3). Arizona's running backs are the only skill group to not fumble this season, a streak that started in 2021.  

"I think the run game is going OK so far," Wiley said. "We just started the season, so there's going to be some things we have to clean up here and there, but I think we're definitely taking care of that with the film and preparation that we have. Without a doubt in mind, the run game will be where it should be."

De Laura's time as Arizona's leading rusher this season may come to an end when the Wildcats face a rushing defense surrendering 152.3 rushing yards per game.  

"In my mind, personally, there's no such thing as establishing the run. I would like to run the football because I look to run the football, not because we need to do it or there's any reason; it just fits in the game plan," Carroll said. "I think we're always going to have some kind of balance. We like to throw the ball, but we need to be a consistent running team.

"However we get to that, if it's running 30 times in the first half or 30 times in the second half, we're going to find a way to keep that balance and keep our playmakers with the ball in their hand."