UA football storylines: On Rourke Freeburg's rivalry ties, Arizona newbie QBs and the gray-haired Aaron Blackwell

The Star's Michael Lev and Justin Spears break down five storylines to watch as the winless Wildcats and Sun Devils prepare to play Friday at 5 p.m. The game will air on ESPN, 1290-AM and 107.5-FM.

Rourke Freeburg, son of a Sun Devil, is the latest Wildcat walk-on success story

Long before Rourke Freeburg began making a name for himself as one of Arizona’s most unlikely defensive standouts, his parents gave him a distinctive one.

Rourke, according to Rourke, means “little ruler” in Irish. The O’Rourkes, according to the Internet, were a prominent ruling family in Gaelic Ireland centuries ago.

“My family,” Freeburg said, “wanted to stick with ‘R.’ My dad's name is Ryan. I’m Rourke. Then I got my younger brother, Rogan. And my youngest brother, Jack. So we kind of threw that one off.”

Uniformity isn’t a requirement in the Freeburg household. After all, mother Mia attended Arizona State. Her rooting interesting in Friday’s Territorial Cup matchup cannot be questioned.

“She doesn't care about Arizona State anymore,” said Freeburg, who attended Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale before walking on to the UA football team. “She's a full Wildcat, especially now that her boy’s playing on Saturdays for the Wildcats.

“There's no (trash) talk there. She's just excited to watch me play.”

Freeburg has given his family something to see this season. The redshirt junior has risen from special-teamer to starting “Sam” linebacker. He leads Arizona with 3.5 tackles for losses. His 19 total stops are tied for fourth on the team.

“Sitting on the bench for three years, really only playing special teams, it was going to be tough to step in right away and start making plays,” Freeburg said. “But at the same time ... I’m not surprised. I show up every day, I work hard and I made sure that I'm doing my job.”

Freeburg delivered a prime example against Colorado last week. He kept outside leverage on a jet sweep, initiating a tackle that led to a fumble.

“That was my assignment,” Freeburg said. “I just put myself in position to make the play and made it happen.”

Freeburg has put himself in position to receive a scholarship. Several other walk-ons have earned that distinction at the UA under Kevin Sumlin, including center Josh McCauley and receivers Stanley Berryhill III and Thomas Reid III.

“I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about it,” said Freeburg, who considers senior defensive analyst Chuck Cecil – who went from walk-on to All-American at Arizona – to be a mentor.

“But ... those aren’t the things I can really control. I can control my attitude, my effort, my energy, taking care of business in the classroom.

“I'm just focused on getting a ‘W’ against Arizona State on Friday.”

Wildcats determined to honor seniors — even if it breaks with tradition

Arizona is about to play its fifth game of the 2020 season — and it might be the last for the Wildcats’ seniors at Arizona Stadium.

The location of the UA’s final game next weekend, against an opponent to be determined, has yet to be finalized. It could be here or in another Pac-12 precinct.

As such, the football program has decided to honor its seniors, even if it can’t do so in a traditional way.

The biggest change will be the lack of direct parental involvement. Usually, parents participate in the ceremony on the field. With guests not allowed in the stadium because of COVID-19 concerns, the athletic department has been trying to find a workaround that would allow parents to partake in the experience while abiding by local safety and health guidelines.

In lieu of that, seniors who elect to participate are expected to walk out to midfield, possibly through a tunnel of players, while being recognized by the public-address announcer before taking a photo alongside UA coach Kevin Sumlin.

The following players are expected to walk on Senior Night – although that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re leaving. This shortened season doesn’t count against anyone’s eligibility, so every player listed here conceivably could keep playing football. Kicker Lucas Havrisik has said he plans to return, while defensive tackle Aaron Blackwell said he’s thinking about it. Last year, cornerback Lorenzo Burns walked and ended up returning.

• OL Steven Bailey
• DT Aaron Blackwell
• RB Gary Brightwell
• WR Tayvian Cunningham
• OL Tyson Gardner
• PK Lucas Havrisik
• LB Parker Henley
• DT Roy Lopez
• DT Trevon Mason
• C Josh McCauley
• H/P Jacob Meeker-Hackett
• WR Thomas Reid III
• DT Myles Tapusoa

'The greatest thing a guy from Arizona could ask for.': Veteran Aaron Blackwell ready for first Territorial Cup

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Even at age 23, Aaron Blackwell considers himself a grizzled veteran.

“I’m getting some gray hairs in here,” the UA graduate transfer defensive tackle said, rubbing his red beard.

Blackwell’s college football resume since leaving Peoria Liberty High School indicates he’s more likely than other members on Arizona’s defense to have gray hairs.

He redshirted one season at Weber State, returned home to the Phoenix area and played season at Mesa Community College. Blackwell then enrolled at New Mexico, where he played three seasons before transferring to the UA.

Since arriving in Tucson in January, Blackwell has served as a veteran presence on a defensive line that’s desperate for experience.

The 6-foot-3-inch, 293-pound Blackwell has started three games this season at defensive end, totaling six tackles.

It’s been a strange season all the way around.

Blackwell played for a New Mexico program that finished 11th in the Mountain West Conference in attendance, drawing an average of 15,747 fans per game in 2019. He was hoping to play in front of larger crowds in the Pac-12, but the coronavirus pandemic scuttled his plan.

Blackwell may get another chance. Arizona’s coaching staff has expressed a desire for him to use an extra year of eligibility next season.

“I came to play Pac-12 football and I feel like I missed out on the whole experience without the fans and environment,” he said.

That atmosphere will surely be missed on Friday, when the Wildcats play archrival Arizona State for the Territorial Cup at an empty Arizona Stadium. Blackwell, who grew up a 25-minute drive from the ASU campus, observed the rivalry from afar as an Oregon fan. However, he always preferred the Wildcats to the Sun Devils.

Blackwell visited Tucson for the first time as a high-schooler, when he attended a UA-Utah game following an invitation from the Wildcats’ coaching staff.

“Being in Phoenix, (Tucson) was kind of that down-south cowboy area that you didn’t really hear about too much, so coming down here to the university finally and being stuck down here, it was really eye-opening to see how great of a community — how great of a city — it is,” Blackwell said.

“One thing that has blown me away is the people and food and the university itself has just been amazing. It’s really an oasis out here in the desert.”

Blackwell said Friday’s rivalry game is “everything” and “the greatest thing a guy from Arizona could ask for.”

“This is bigger than some of the games we’ll play all year,” he said. “This is recruiting talk, state talk, the whole year with bragging rights, so this is bigger than a bowl game in a lot of our eyes. …

“You hate to say it, but if we were to win one game this year, it’s this one. It’s the biggest one of the year. …

“You could be a one-win team during the whole year and the other team could be undefeated, it comes down to whoever showed up ready to play for the Territorial Cup, and that’s what’s so exciting.”

UA quarterback, whoever he is, will be making Territorial Cup debut

The biggest — and most obvious — question heading into Friday evening’s Territorial Cup contest for Arizona is this: Who will play quarterback?

Co-captain Grant Gunnell missed Arizona’s loss to Colorado last week after sustaining a right shoulder injury on the first play of the UCLA game two weeks ago, thrusting backup quarterback Will Plummer into the driver’s seat of Noel Mazzone’s offense. Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin said this week that Gunnell is questionable to play.

Gunnell, if he plays, could take another leap as a leader of an Arizona team that has lost 11 straight games. He arrived at the UA with high expectations following a record-setting high school career in Texas, and if there’s any game to provide optimism for the future despite the program in disarray, it’s the Territorial Cup game which hasn’t gone in the Wildcats’ favor since 2016.

Friday would mark Gunnell’s first taste of the rivalry. He didn’t play last season, when the Wildcats lost to the Sun Devils in Tempe.

Then there’s Plummer. The true freshman could become the first Arizona native to start at quarterback in the UA-ASU game for either team since Jeff Krohn in 2001. Friday’s game could be extra motivation for Plummer considering the Gilbert High School product wasn’t recruited by the Sun Devils.

Regardless, whomever starts at quarterback will experience the Territorial Cup for the first time.

Fan-less football will add new chapter to long-standing rivalry between Cats, Devils