Editorβs note: The Star is highlighting the best players, biggest questions and most interesting facts about the Arizona Wildcats, who open their Saturday at Utah.
Ask national college football pundits and Pac-12 experts, and theyβll tell you that Arizona isnβt expected to do much this season. Thatβs already been established.
But itβs 2020, and thereβs no reason not to take a glass-half-full look at the Wildcatsβ COVID-19-affected season.
Hereβs what we know: Offensive lineman Donovan Laie could be the Wildcatsβ most NFL-ready prospect, and Grant Gunnell has become the face of the program essentially ever since Khalil Tate walked off the field in Arizonaβs Territorial Cup loss to Arizona State in Tempe.
Defensively, Anthony Pandy will look to fill the Colin Schooler- and Tony Fields-sized holes at middle linebacker, while fifth-year cornerback Lorenzo Burns will lead a young secondary.
If Arizona has any hope of winning any games in its Pac-12-only schedule, reinforcements will have to help out the leaders.
These five Wildcats are poised for breakout performances:
Christian Roland- Wallace, CBFrom the moment he stepped foot on Arizonaβs campus, Roland-Wallace was college-ready. His 5-foot-11-inch, 198-pound frame was imposing even as an 18-year-old freshman.
Now 202 pounds and with an entire season of experience under his belt, the Palmdale, California, native could be one of Arizonaβs top defenders in 2020. Roland-Wallace is one of three Arizona scholarship defensive backs to weigh more than 200 pounds, joining Christian Young (206) and McKenzie Barnes (203).
In 12 games last season, including eight starts at cornerback, Roland-Wallace recorded 37 tackles, six pass breakups and one interception. He started the final six games of the season at cornerback.
Arizonaβs defensive coaching purge actually may actually help Roland-Wallace. New defensive backs coach Greg Burns, who came to Tucson when Demetrice Martin left for Colorado, recruited Roland-Wallace when he was the DBs coach at Oregon State. The OSU offer was Roland-Wallaceβs first from the Pac-12. Then Burns jumped over to USCβs staff and wanted Roland-Wallace to play for the Trojans, but he was already committed to the UA.
Burns said heβs βhappy to get my hands onβ Roland-Wallace. Maybe a relationship that goes back to Roland-Wallaceβs sophomore year of high school will mold him into a key player for Arizona. Plus, the athletic Roland-Wallace has worked with the special teams unit as a kick and punt returner; heβll see the field quite a bit this year.
Jordan Morgan, OT
Like Roland-Wallace, Morgan landed an offer from USC following his commitment to the UA. The Marana High School product opted to go the hometown hero route.
Morgan appeared in six games for the Wildcats as a freshman in 2019, making starts at left tackle against Oregon and Arizona State. When Morgan committed to Arizona, he weighed 270 pounds, but has spent the last year packing on good weight. His weight-gain routine has consisted of eating fruits, chicken or steak bowls from Chipotle and the occasional βCaniac Comboβ β no coleslaw, extra toast β from Raising Caneβs.
UA offensive tackle Jordan Morgan has put on βgood weightβ since his days as a Marana High School star.
Now 310 pounds, Morgan is expected to start at left tackle alongside Laie, who spent the last two seasons protecting the quarterbackβs blind side.
Michael Wiley, RB
Unless the injury bug tears down the entire group, Arizona will have no shortage of running backs in 2020.
Senior Gary Brightwell, who has patiently waited his turn to start after serving as the complementary back to J.J. Taylor for the last two years, will be the ringleader of the group.
Itβs unclear where Wiley falls in the pecking order of running backs behind Brightwell, but he can cause some damage in the passing game.
Last year as a freshman, Wiley rushed for 106 yards on 31 carries and caught 18 passes for 165 yards. His hauled in a season-high 48 receiving yards on six catches in Arizonaβs road win over Colorado. Bam Smithβs decision to sit out the season because of COVID-19 concerns opens up an opportunity for Wiley as well as other backups.
With the abundance of wide receivers and pro-style quarterback Grant Gunnell in the pocket, Wiley could serve as a safety valve in Arizonaβs passing offense this year.
Jamarye Joiner, WR
Joiner played the majority of the 2019 season with a foot injury that was later diagnosed as a Jones fracture, a break at the base of the fifth metatarsal.
The former quarterback tabbed a team-high 552 receiving yards on 34 receptions and hauled in five touchdowns. His best performance was a 140-yard, two-touchdown performance against ASU.
UA outside receivers coach Taylor Mazzone said Joinerβs efforts in the Territorial Cup game was βa great game for him to build off. Now we know what he can do. β¦ Game-planning-wise, heβs put it on tape for us.β
First impressions of Arizonaβs training camp indicate Joiner will be one of the Wildcatsβ leading receivers in 2020. With a pass-first quarterback in Gunnell driving the offense, Joiner could be in for a special season β even if itβs only seven games.
Boobie Curry, WRArizonaβs highest-rated commit in 2019 β he chose the UA over Auburn, LSU, Oklahoma, Georgia and Texas A&M, among others β Curry didnβt have the freshman season many anticipated.
The Houston native nursed a shoulder injury to start the year and didnβt make his college debut until Arizonaβs win over UCLA, which was also Gunnellβs first start under center. Curry finished the year with six catches for 68 yards in nine games.
Curryβs established relationship with Gunnell stems from their time together at St. Pius X High School, and the bond grew exponentially during the offseason, when players quarantined in their hometowns.
A few times a week in Houston, Curry spent afternoons with his quarterback, running routes and staying in shape for a season that was in doubt.
Curry told reporters that one of the reasons he followed Gunnell to Arizona instead of playing for a household name in the SEC was to βmake history.β Maybe he and Gunnell can do something special in a highly-anticipated 2021 season.
