The transfer portal is a relatively new dimension to college athletics. It has its pros and cons. It can be “kind of tricky,” as Arizona defensive line coach Ricky Hunley put it.
The Wildcats’ defensive line has experienced the good and bad of the transfer portal. In addition to losing Jalen Harris and Hunter Echols to the NFL draft, the UA also lost interior starters Kyon Barrs (USC) and Paris Shand (LSU) to the portal. The Wildcats replaced them with defensive tackles Bill Norton (Georgia) and Tyler Manoa (UCLA); Arizona also added former Cal edge rusher Orin Patu.
“The guys that left here, they felt like it was the best fit for them, and we made some moves that we felt were the best fit for us,” Hunley said. “I’m not a fan of the transfer portal, but it’s a necessary evil, and I think that you can fill the team and fill out some spots that you really need. You can get guys from anywhere, but if they don’t buy in, it’ll never work. We’re very fortunate that we got two really good guys inside that have bought in 100%.”
Like most in the transfer portal, Norton sought more playing time and an essential role in a defense. At Georgia, the 6-6, 300-pound Norton played four seasons and totaled 12 tackles and was teammates with notable NFL defensive linemen such as Travon Walker, Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt. Another Bulldogs star, defensive tackle Jalen Carter, is draft eligible this year.
“The biggest thing I take away is playing with awesome dudes and just seeing the work you have to put in to be great,” Norton said. “Seeing how hard they worked, it showed me that’s what you have to put in to be successful.”
Norton visited the UA in December, when he officially met fellow UA transfer portal newbie and former Oregon linebacker Justin Flowe, who Norton first encountered in Georgia’s 49-3 win over the Ducks this past season.
“We clicked, man. We clicked just like that. I got that energy from him, it’s infectious,” Norton said. “I was like, ‘This dude is awesome, I hope he comes here.’ We went to Coach (Jedd) Fisch’s house, and I was like, ‘You going here?’ He’s like, ‘I’m going here,’ and I was like, ‘Let’s do it.’ ... That’s my dude.”
Scheme-wise, Norton said “the most attractive factor (at Arizona) was the familiar front”; Georgia also uses a four-man front on the defensive line.
“There was no learning curve besides new plays,” Norton said. “All the techniques are the same, same drills, so it felt like a second home.”
UCLA lineman Tyler Manoa sits on the sideline during a game against Alabama State in Pasadena, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. Manoa transferred to Arizona this offseason.
Familiarity also helped Arizona land Manoa, a 6-5, 315-pound senior from Hayward, California. Manoa is one of several players to leave UCLA for Arizona over the last year, joining defensive tackle Tia Savea, safety DJ Warnell and nickel back Martell Irby.
“There’s a bunch of guys that I already know, so it’s good to have that familiar face,” Manoa said.
Defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen and outside linebackers coach Jason Kaufusi mentored Manoa at UCLA, when the two were defensive assistants on the Bruins staff. Manoa said the relationship with Nansen and Kaufusi “is definitely growing.”
“I’m happy to be around familiar faces that want the best for me,” Manoa said.
When Nansen left his post as UCLA’s defensive line coach to lead Arizona’s defense, Manoa was moved to offensive tackle after logging 53 tackles, a forced fumble and a sack in five seasons.
“I was able to pick up blocking schemes for the offensive line, what they’re aiming for, and I just got my mind into thinking what an offensive lineman would think,” Manoa said. “So being back on the defensive end, I can use that to my advantage playing against offensive linemen.”
Following the 2022 season, Manoa returned home to the Bay Area “waiting to figure out where my next home is.” Then the Wildcats came calling, and his official visit “checked off all the boxes.”
“Not everyone is lucky find a place after jumping into the transfer portal,” Manoa said. “For me to get a couple schools to bless me with another opportunity, it was a blessing. I was able to find a home, and now we’re home here in Arizona.”
Manoa and Norton “both play with a very physical style of defensive line play” and take up space at the line of scrimmage, Norton said. That trait could help a UA defense that ranked 10th in the Pac-12 in rushing defense.
“When I found out Tyler was coming, I was ecstatic. You can’t have just one big dude in the middle, you need two dudes,” Norton said. “You need a good rotation and someone you can rely on.”
About the rotation. Norton and Manoa aren’t sure-fire starters, but they’re in the mix with a group that, at times last season, had four true freshmen playing at once: Russell Davis II, Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei, Jacob Kongaika and Sterling Lane II. Savea, edge rusher Isaiah Ward and former Utah Ute Jeremy Mercier have also earned reps with projected starters during Arizona’s spring practices.
“It’s vital because you’re building a foundation for the future,” Hunley said. “You would always hate to start a year where your backups never touched the field.”
‘Mind Time’
Weekly, multiple groups of about 10-15 players will meet in rooms at Arizona’s team facility for “Mind Time,” a moment for the Wildcats to learn about their teammates.
“When guys hang around each other a lot, that’s the type of bonding that you need to have a good football team,” Hunley said.
“The root to every great team is connection,” Norton said.
“With these little Mind Time sessions, we get to find out more about each other’s lives, why they’re playing football, who they’re playing it for, just stuff about their background that we wouldn’t know just by seeing them on the field, and I think that’s what is going to help us get connected.”
What’s something that Norton has shared or heard?
“Everyone wants to play for their moms,” he said. “You hear some people talk about coaches, you hear about grandpas, but I think moms are the backbone for a lot of athletes out there. I know that’s what I said.”
Arizona defensive line coach Ricky Hunley watches the Wildcats get loosened up for their spring practice at the Dick Tomey Practice Fields on April 13, 2021.
Hunley still recovering from knee surgery
Hunley has taken a hands-off approach with the Wildcats’ defensive line this spring due to rehab from surgery to repair a torn meniscus, an injury he suffered playing softball in Los Angeles a few years ago.
“It’s actually doing great,” Hunley said. “The physical therapists say I’m kind of ahead of schedule, but it’s tricky when you’re 61 and the swelling comes. You just got to elevate it and keep it up in the air, and I can’t keep it up in the air at practice.”
With Hunley sidelined, Nansen, Kaufusi and defensive graduate assistant Teddy Bolin have contributed to coaching the defensive line this spring.
“I feel really good because they’re in great hands. ... So we don’t miss a beat when it comes to me not being here,” Hunley said. “It’s tough. You want to be out there, you want to be with your guys, but there’s only one Ricky, and if I don’t take care of myself, nobody else will.”
Beats by Bill
When Norton isn’t playing football, he’s producing hip-hop instrumentals, a hobby that started when he was a teenager.
“One year for my birthday, I got a little beat pad and I was like, ‘This is cool.’ Then I didn’t really mess with it. Then two years later I was like, ‘Let me mess with this a little more,’ “ Norton said. “I started messing with it and did some research and realized, ‘Hey, we can make some money off of this. This could be (an) actual living.’ And that can branch off into different aspects of music business, not even just the producing part. ... Besides football, that’s my biggest passion.”
Originally from Memphis and having played at Georgia near Atlanta, Norton “gained a whole bunch of new connections.” Now Norton has a YouTube page, “Bill Norton Beats,” for his self-produced music. He’s also the team’s de facto D.J. in the team locker room.
Said Norton: “That’s a new activity in the locker room: me getting on the aux cord and playing beats, and everyone starts freestyling over them.”
Extra points
Arizona received its first decommitment of the 2024 recruiting cycle after three-star safety-linebacker hybrid Kingston Lopa, a 6-3, 190-pound Sacramento product, announced on his social media accounts Wednesday evening that he’s reopening his recruitment. Since Lopa committed to the UA in January, he’s received offers from Texas, Notre Dame, Louisville and Cal.
Former Arizona safety Christian Young, who is preparing for the NFL draft later this month, had a private workout earlier this week with the Buffalo Bills. Young is widely projected as a Day 3 draft prospect.
Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch spoke to reporters following the Wildcats' scrimmage to end the third week of spring ball.
