They didn’t know what was happening at first.
As Arizona coach Jedd Fisch addressed the Wildcats on Wednesday, an image was projected behind him. It was a graphic from the infamous ESPN special “The Decision,” during which LeBron James announced he was taking his talents to South Beach.
“Not all of us got to experience that moment where you guys got to make your decision,” Fisch told the team. “Your decision to come to school. Your decision to draw that hat. Your decision to sign that letter.
“I want to feel it a little bit. So I want three of you guys to come up here, put your hat on, sign that scholarship check.”
Fisch then rattled off the names. Rourke Freeburg. Jaydin Young. Treydan Stukes.
They were the three members of the projected two-deep who’d been here since at least last year who didn’t have scholarships. That was about to change.
They walked to the front of the meeting room, sat down at a table, put on UA hats and signed the paperwork — just as they would have had they inked letters-of-intent in high school.
“I felt blessed, honestly,” Freeburg said after practice Thursday night. “A lot of kids get their offers out of high school, off their high school film. For Coach Fisch to bless me with the opportunity to continue to play here off of my college film ... it was very special. A guy that’s been here like myself going on five years, it was special to be there for my teammates and share that moment with them.”
Freeburg is the longest tenured among the newly minted scholarship players. He has been with the Wildcats since 2017, when he walked onto the team and redshirted. He had been a multi-position captain at Scottsdale Desert Mountain High School but got injured as a senior. He had no Division I scholarship offers.
Freeburg appeared in 15 games the next two seasons, mostly on special teams, and accumulated one tackle. The 2020 campaign brought opportunity. Freeburg became the starting “Sam” linebacker. He totaled 21 tackles in five games, including 3.5 stops for losses, second most on the team. He proved he belonged.
Freeburg has moved to the “Viper” position in Don Brown’s defense, sharing time there with starter Christian Young. Freeburg remains a core special-teamer. That’s how he got onto the field in the first place. Earning a scholarship won’t change his mentality.
“Absolutely not,” Freeburg said. “I show up every day with the mindset that I'm here to compete and earn a starting job, regardless of who's in front of me or who's behind me. ... I'm here to work, compete and win football games.”
Shortly after the team meeting, Freeburg called his parents. Tears of pride and joy were shed.
Cornerback Treydan Stukes runs the gauntlet while during a drill at Thursday night's practice.
Stukes and Young shared similar tales.
“I got on the phone with my family as soon as I could,” said Stukes, a second-year cornerback. “It was just unreal. I couldn't even express how happy I was.”
Stukes attended Goodyear Millennium High School, where he participated in track and field and football. He was a state champion in the triple jump and a finalist in the long jump. He intercepted 11 passes as a defensive back. But he had no stars and no offers to play major-college football.
“I was a lot smaller,” Stukes said. “I hit my growth spurt pretty late.”
Stukes said he was about 5 feet 11 inches and 150 pounds as a senior in high school. He’s now listed at 6-1, 184.
Former defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads and defensive backs coach Greg Burns saw something in Stukes and brought him to Arizona. He appeared in three games last season. In the Territorial Cup, with injuries having ravaged the secondary, he played extensively, registering a career-best seven tackles.
Stukes made a quick impression on the new coaching staff, establishing himself as the No. 3 cornerback behind starters Christian Roland-Wallace and Isaiah Rutherford. New DC Don Brown labeled him a “dude.”
“He's out there doing similar things as C-Ro and Rutherford,” cornerbacks coach DeWayne Walker said. “When you see a guy doing those types of things, you want to take care of him.”
Stukes learned football from his father, Ray, who played cornerback for Pacific and in the Arena League. Although he knew he could play at this level, Stukes had no grandiose expectations for himself.
“I come out here and work hard, just like everyone else,” Stukes said. “Everyone works hard. I wish I could put everyone on scholarship.”
The number is limited to 85 per team, unfortunately. But as spring practice and training camp progressed, it became clear that Young deserved one too.
From the onset of spring ball, the second-year player worked with the first unit at one of the safety spots. With the season just two weeks away, no one has bumped him from the lineup.
Walker isn’t surprised. Before coming to Arizona in January, Walker trained defensive backs in the Phoenix area. Young just so happened to be among them.
“When I first started working with him last summer,” Walker said, “I was pretty shocked that he wasn't on scholarship.”
The consensus in the recruiting community was that Young had been overlooked despite excelling as a two-way player at a well-known program, Peoria Centennial. Among his nine reported scholarship offers, only one was from a Power Five school, Purdue.
Young felt his best opportunity was Arizona. He appeared in four games as a freshman, totaling six tackles. More important, he formed a bond with Chuck Cecil, an analyst last season who would become Young’s position coach. Like Young, Cecil began his UA career as a walk-on. He became one of the school’s all-time greats.
Young knows it’s the body of work that matters most, regardless of one’s scholarship status.
“It means a lot. But I'm not done working. It’s just a steppingstone,” Young said. “I still have many more steppingstones to hit.”
Extra points
- Quarterbacks Will Plummer and Gunner Cruz might have had their best practice during the last full workout of camp Thursday night. Both threw the ball accurately and decisively on underneath and intermediate routes, and both were more aggressive throwing downfield.
- The play of the day came in 7-on-7 when Cruz connected with Tayvian Cunningham for a touchdown of about 60 yards. Cunningham made a leaping catch over Young, who had tight coverage.
- Defensive tackles Trevon Mason and Dion Wilson Jr. returned to action after missing a few days because of lower-leg injuries.
- New defensive lineman Mo Diallo jumped right in, working with the first unit at strong-side end in his first practice at Arizona. That spot usually is occupied by JB Brown, who just returned after missing almost a week because of a personal matter. Brown worked on his conditioning on the side along with fellow defensive linemen Kyon Barrs and Eddie Siaumau-Sanitoa.
- With Barrs still out, transfer Leevel Tatum III got an extended look with the ones at defensive tackle. Aaron Blackwell worked with the twos at left end.
- Defensive end Jason Harris is starting to flash. He had a sack during an 11-on-11 period against the first-team offense as well as a run stop.
- Receiver Ma’jon Wright practiced for the first time and made a nice back-shoulder catch on a throw from Jordan McCloud in 7-on-7.
- The Wildcats were scheduled to hold a closed walk-through Friday. They will scrimmage at Arizona Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The workout is open to the public.
