QB falls short in โpersonalโ game
Arizonaโs โItโs Personalโ mantra was amplified during its 31-20 loss to Washington State on Saturday at Arizona Stadium, when Wildcats quarterback Jayden de Laura faced his former for the first time since transferring to the UA in the offseason.
De Laura completed 28 of 46 passes for 357 yards, one touchdown and a career-high four interceptions.
The result was happy news for the segment of Washington State fans still angry over his departure from the program.
Some Cougar fans respect de Laura, but still wish he played for Washington State.
โHate is a strong word,โ one Washington State fan said walking on University Boulevard before the UAโs โBear Down Fridayโ pep rally. โLetโs just say we strongly dislike him for leaving, but we definitely wish he was still our quarterback. โฆ Heโs a better runner than our current guy (Cameron Ward).โ De Lauraโs journey from Honolulu to Pullman โ then to Tucson โ is a road less traveled. Hereโs a timeline of de Lauraโs rollercoaster college career: Oct. 2, 2019: De Laura commits to Washington State over USC, Ohio State, San Diego State, BYU and Hawaii. Dec. 6, 2019: De Laura is named Hawaii Gatorade Player of the Year after leading St. Louis High School. Dec. 18, 2019: De Laura signs with the Cougars to play for then-head coach Mike Leach, who leaves to take the Mississippi State head coaching vacancy less than a month later. Cougars name former Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich as new leader of the program. Nov. 7, 2020: De Laura is named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after passing for 227 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in Washington Stateโs 38-28 win over Oregon State in the truncated, pandemic-influenced season. Feb. 8, 2021: De Laura is suspended by WSU after he was arrested for suspicion of DUI. De Laura was found not guilty of the charge later that July. Oct. 18, 2021: Washington State fires Rolovich for not obliging a vaccine mandate for Washington state employees. Through his attorney, de Laura releases a statement and said, โWords cannot express our profound sadness and disappointment in the termination of our coach, Nick Rolovich. Playing for him was a great honor that all of us will cherish forever. He put trust in me and allowed me to grow as a man both on and off the field. โฆ But we also understand that Cougar football has always been bigger than any one person. We are a band of brothers who play and sacrifice for each other, no matter who the head coach is.โ Defensive coordinator Jake Dickert is named interim head coach. Nov. 26: De Laura completes 27 of 32 passes for 245 yards in WSUโs 40-13 win over Washington to win the Apple Cup for the first time since 2012. It was also the Cougarsโ first win over the Huskies in Seattle since 2007. De Laura planted a WSU flag on the UW logo in the middle of the field. Nov. 27: Dickert is named WSUโs full-time head coach. Dec. 7: De Laura is named named Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year. Dec. 8: WSU hires Incarnate Word head coach Eric Morris as offensive coordinator. Ward leaves Incarnate Word the next day. Dec. 28: De Laura arrives at Washington Stateโs pre-Sun Bowl practice at Eastwood High School in El Paso after inclement weather delays his flight from Honolulu to Seattle.Dec. 31: During the first half of the Sun Bowl, de Laura suffers an ankle injury and mutually agrees with the WSU medical staff to sit out the second half after taking an X-ray. Moments after Washington Stateโs loss to Central Michigan, Ward tweets that he has received an official offer from the Cougars. Jan. 7: De Laura enters the transfer portal. Jan. 10: De Laura commits to the Wildcats. Ward pledges to the Cougars hours later. Sept. 3: Arizona beats San Diego State 38-10 in the season opener behind de Lauraโs four-touchdown performance. De Laura was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week. Nov. 12: After leading Arizona to a win over No. 12 UCLA, the Wildcatsโ first win over a ranked opponent of the Jedd Fisch era, de Laura is asked about playing his ex-team. โJust watch,โ he says.Saturday: De Laura is intercepted a career-high four times, including once for a touchdown, in Arizonaโs 31-20 setback to his former team.
Washington State running backs coach Mark Atuaia wears a Virginia Cavaliers sweatshirt during warm ups before an NCAA college football game against Arizona, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022, in Tucson, Ariz.
Honoring UVa
Arizona honored the three Virginia football players who were shot and killed last week in Charlottesville. The UA had hung a field-level, heart-shaped banner on the northeast side of Arizona Stadium. The banner included the numbers 1, 15 and 41 โ the jersey numbers of Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and DโSean Perry. The hashmarks of the 1-, 15- and 41-yard lines were painted UVaโs orange color.
Washington State running backs coach Mark Atuaia wore an orange Virginia sweatshirt during warm-ups, and coached the game wearing a UVa polo shirt. Atuaia spent six years in Charlottesville before joining the WSU staff earlier this year. Cougars defensive tackle Nusi Malani, a UVa transfer, donned a Virginia T-shirt under his pads, according to the Spokane Spokesman-Review.
Saturday was also Military and Veteran Appreciation at Arizona Stadium, and members of the UA coaching staff donned green camouflage shirts. Two F-16 โFighting Falconsโ from Davis Monthan Air Force flew over Arizona Stadium following the national anthem. For the second time in as many weeks, Arizona wore its โdress whitesโ โ road jerseys with navy camouflage sleeve caps.
Ex-Wildcat Mason drafted by Roughnecks
The revived eight-team XFL held its draft earlier this week, and former Arizona defensive tackle Trevon Mason was selected by the Houston Roughnecks. Houston is coached by longtime NFL coach Wade Phillips.
Mason, a 2021 All-Pac-12 honorable mention, logged 107 tackles and 3.5 sacks in three seasons for the Wildcats.
The 2023 XFL season begins in February.
Numbers game
5: Arizona wonโt play in a bowl game, extending the programโs postseason drought to five years. The Wildcats last played in a bowl game in 2017, a loss to Purdue in the Foster Farms Bowl.
80: UA receiver Jacob Cowingโs six receptions against WSU moved him to 80 catches on the season, passing Jim Greth for sixth all-time in season receptions. Cowing trails Austin Hill (81), Juron Criner (82), Mike Thomas (83), Dennis Northcutt (88) and Bobby Wade (93) in the UA record books.
44:30: Time elapsed on the game clock until Washington State was penalized for the first time on Saturday. The Cougars finished with three penalties.
4: Since Arizonaโs win over Colorado on Oct. 1, de Laura threw just two total interceptions. He threw a career-high four interceptions, including a pick-six, against the Cougars. All of de Lauraโs interceptions came in the second half.
