Arizona left tackle Jordan Morgan suffered a high ankle sprain during training camp last year. How long did that injury linger?
“It lingered till ... a month or two after the season,” Morgan said.
Wait. After the season?
Bear in mind, Morgan played almost the entire campaign, balky ankle and all. He missed only one full game, the season opener vs. BYU, and played 706 of a possible 916 offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Morgan had a variety of other injuries too, and no one would have blamed him if he took a week or two off to get his body right. But Morgan never seriously considered that option. He had duties to fulfill. He had quarterbacks to protect.
“I never wanted to take weeks off, days off,” Morgan said. “I didn’t want to fall behind. We were already behind last year, so falling behind would have been big trouble.”
Like Morgan, the Wildcats’ offense never found its footing last season. Arizona ranked last in the Pac-12 in scoring and last in the nation in red-zone touchdown percentage.
The quarterbacks and offensive line bore most of the blame. The Wildcats will have a new starting QB this year in transfer Jayden de Laura. (UA coach Jedd Fisch hasn’t made that assignment official yet, but every indication from spring practice says de Laura is the guy.) The composition of the offensive line remains largely the same.
Fisch and his staff, led by offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Brennan Carroll, believe the line play will improve this season. Having a full year’s worth of experience in Fisch’s system should help. In Morgan’s case, being healthy could make all the difference.
“I feel great,” Morgan said Tuesday after Arizona’s 13th practice of spring camp. “I feel stronger, quicker, smarter.”
Under the guidance of strength coach Tyler Owens, Morgan has added about 16 pounds of muscle to his 6-5 frame. The Marana High School product is listed at 328 pounds and carries it well.
“Jordan has made some huge gains in the weight room this offseason,” Carroll said. “They show up on the field, where we get him out in space a couple times and he looks pretty nifty out there. That’s a compliment. There’s not a lot of things he can’t do movement-wise, strength-wise.”
Those practice reps are critically important for Morgan, who missed a ton of time between games last season. That affected his performance more than anything, Carroll said.
Morgan ranked 18th out of 21 Pac-12 tackles who played at least 561 snaps last season, per PFF. He allowed 27 quarterback pressures; only four linemen from that group surrendered more.
Morgan knew he wasn’t quite right physically. He finally has been able to put the high ankle sprain and the other assorted bumps and bruises behind him. But he knows more are coming. It’s the nature of the job.
“During the season, it was really frustrating,” said Morgan, who will be a fourth-year junior this fall. “I just played through it. Playing on the line, you get hurt all the time. You just gotta man up pretty much.
“You build a tolerance to pain. You learn how to get over stuff quick. Pain doesn’t last forever. You might as well just finish your job.”
‘It’s a huge deal’
Morgan’s bookend, right tackle Paiton Fears, also believes in the value of showing up for work every day.
Fears started all 12 games and played all but one offensive snap, per PFF.
“I wasn’t really thinking about it during the season,” Fears said. “I was just trying to be a good teammate. No matter what happened, I was just trying to be there for every game I could, every snap I could. That’s what was on my mind.”
Fears proved to be a steadying presence for a line that battled injuries throughout the season. He and center Josh McCauley were the only linemen to start every game at the same position.
“It’s a huge deal,” Carroll said. “When you can say that you got a guy that’s going to be there the whole time, that’s a huge weight off your shoulders — not just him being there, but him being there and being consistent and being reliable.”
Fears also improved as a player, raising his PFF grade by nine points and upping his pass-blocking efficiency from 94.5% to 96.9% over the previous campaign. He credits time spent watching film in the meeting room, where he has elevated his football IQ. Facing newcomer Hunter Echols in practice this spring also should help Fears prepare for the edge rushers who have given him trouble from time to time.
Fears expects the entire line to continue to trend upward.
“We improved already a ton,” he said. “We spent a lot of time together. So we have way better chemistry with each other.
“It was a new system (last year). This being the second year ... we got the hang of everything now.”
Extra points
Morgan on de Laura’s demeanor: “He’s a very open, cool dude. Got here, made friends with everybody right away. He’s a quick learner. Already knows the playbook, already knows what everyone has to do, knows what the receivers have to do. If he throws a pick or something, he’s positive about it. He’ll say, ‘Let’s go, next play.’ He moves on.”
Fears on freshman Jonah Savaiinaea, who’s playing alongside him as the first-team right guard: “Big Jonah, that’s little bro. We tried to take him under our wing. He came in like a sponge and soaked up everything. He was ready to get better from Day 1. So it’s really been easy for us older guys, because he picked up on everything pretty fast.”
Carroll on center/guard Josh Baker, who’s been out this spring because of a pectoral injury: “Coach Baker? That’s his new role. He’s got a script back there. Which is great. For a guy that’s injured and could be on the side rehabbing or whatever, he’s in there helping the guys, making calls. He’s done a really good job with that. He texts me a couple times a week: ‘Hey, what’s this look? What we do here? Should we do this?’ So he’s totally engaged. And I’m fired up to get him back out there.”
Freshman tailback Jonah Coleman, who suffered a minor knee injury during Saturday’s scrimmage, worked on the side Tuesday and appeared to have no trouble running and cutting.
Tailback Jalen John, who’s missed most of spring, participated in individual drills and 7-on-7 while wearing a red no-contact jersey.
Offensive lineman Joseph Borjon was a full participant after getting banged up Saturday. Fellow lineman Leif Magnuson was limited. Lineman Sam Langi was out.
Offensive lineman Davis DiVall continued to increase his workload and worked with the second unit at left guard.
Receiver Ma’jon Wright got dinged during practice and exited early.
UA president Robert C. Robbins dropped by practice and chatted with Fisch and a handful of players afterward.
The Wildcats have one more practice, on Thursday afternoon, before the spring game Saturday.
