The Star presents five storylines of interest as the Arizona Wildcats face No. 12 UCLA on Saturday at the Rose Bowl. Kickoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. The game will air on Fox.
Freshman guard Wendell Moe overcomes tragedy, late arrival to earn starting spot for Wildcats
Sometimes, even 300-plus-pound linemen slip through the cracks.
It doesn’t make a ton of sense that Wendell Moe — a three-star recruit and all-state performer at Long Beach Poly, one of the highest-profile football programs in Southern California — had only one college offer. Or that that lone offer came from an FCS school, Morgan State.
But then, not much of Moe’s story is conventional.
Moe, a freshman guard set to make his second career start for Arizona at UCLA on Saturday, endured tragedy while in high school. His father, Wendell Moe Sr., died in January 2021 from COVID-19. He was just 41 years old.
“He kept showing up,” Long Beach Poly coach Stephen Barbee said of his former team captain during a phone interview this week. “Most of these situations ... it would bring people to their knees. He surrounded himself with our program, our coaches, his family. He just got through it. How can you not root for a guy like that?”
Moe committed to Morgan State, an HBCU in Baltimore, in October 2021. He signed to play for the Bears two months later.
But in February of this year, Morgan State coach Tyrone Wheatley resigned to become the running backs coach for the Denver Broncos. Because of that, Moe was able to get out of his letter of intent to play there.
The Arizona coaching staff, led by defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen and offensive line coach Brennan Carroll, expressed interest.
“They brought him to my attention,” UA coach Jedd Fisch said. “They sent some video over. Then we were able to research him and see what happened there and some of the situations that occurred.
“When we were able to get him here on an official visit, we were able to talk to him, get to know him. His guidance counselor came with him, and his brother. To be able to spend some time with him and his family, it was a no-brainer to get him here.”
Moe committed to Arizona on April 30. The Wildcats needed an offensive lineman. Moe needed a new home.
“Arizona got a steal,” Barbee said. “He was a road-grader for us. He was a big reason why we had a 1,500-yard rusher, over 2,000 yards as a team. He’s very physical. Once he gets his hands on you, it’s a wrap.”
Moe wasn’t in optimal shape when he arrived in Tucson in summer. He’s listed on the UA roster at 6-2, 360. Fisch said Moe has lost 38 pounds since joining the team.
Moe, whose nickname is “WoWo,” didn’t appear in any of Arizona’s first eight games. But he made an impression on the staff by performing well in practice. Carroll elevated him to the starting lineup at left guard for last week’s game at Utah. Moe alternated with veteran Josh Donovan and had the second-highest grade among UA offensive linemen, according to Pro Football Focus.
“He's a really good student of the game,” Carroll said. “A natural football player. The game comes easy to him in that aspect. He plays tough, plays with the right attitude. He's just been a sponge in terms of learning and getting ready to play.”
Wendell Moe
Fisch admired Moe’s skills as a player and leader. After Poly won the CIF Southern Section Division 4 championship last year, Moe led the Jackrabbits in a postgame chant. It concluded with these words: “We are family, we are Poly.”
“There’s a lot of stuff that he’s had to endure,” Barbee said. “He’s just a great kid — somebody you want in your program.”
Wildcats set to say goodbye to the Rose Bowl
Saturday could mark the last time Arizona plays at the Rose Bowl.
Unless the UC Board of Regents blocks the move, UCLA is headed to the Big Ten in 2024. The Wildcats have played the Bruins in the famed Pasadena stadium almost every other year since 1982.
Arizona never has qualified for the postseason Rose Bowl game. Its exact role in the expanded College Football Playoff is unclear. Whether it still will feature a matchup between the Big Ten and Pac-12 remains to be seen.
UA defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen coached in the 2017 Rose Bowl while serving as an assistant at USC. He coached at UCLA in 2020 and ’21.
“It's one of the best venues in college football,” Nansen said. “Every chance you get in there, the opportunity to coach, it's a blessing.”
Arizona coach Jedd Fisch served as UCLA’s offensive coordinator in 2017. He finished that season as the Bruins’ interim coach. They went 6-0 at home that year.
“I've had the fortune to do it six times,” Fisch said. “When you pull in and you see the mothership, the stadium, and then you look out there and you see the mountains and you see the beauty around it ... The roses on the stadium just make you really think of college football, think of Keith Jackson, think of all the great games growing up as a kid on Jan. 1 at 4:30 p.m.”
Fisch took part in one of the most memorable regular-season games at the Rose Bowl. In the ’17 opener, UCLA trailed Texas A&M — led by future UA coach Kevin Sumlin — 44-10 in the third quarter. The Bruins stormed back to win 45-44.
“That was my first experience in the Rose Bowl,” Fisch said. “And quite a good one.”
He is hopeful that what could be his last experience there is just as satisfying.
Jedd Fisch dishes on his former recruit, UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson
Arizona coach Jedd Fisch and UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson go way back.
Fisch first recruited Thompson-Robinson while serving as an assistant coach at Michigan in 2015 and ’16. Thompson-Robinson visited Ann Arbor — where his mother, Melva, get her undergraduate degree — in March 2016 and received an offer from the Wolverines in June.
UCLA offered Thompson-Robinson, a budding star at Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman High School, two weeks later. More offers poured in after Thompson-Robinson’s junior year.
Fisch joined the UCLA staff in January 2017 and became Thompson-Robinson’s lead recruiter. He committed to UCLA in April of that year.
“He was so gifted, so talented as a thrower,” Fisch said of Thompson-Robinson, who didn’t become Bishop Gorman’s full-time quarterback until his senior year. “He has a huge arm. His running ability is off the chains. He's a very special kid, a special player and I've enjoyed watching him grow.”
Thompson-Robinson never played for Fisch, who joined the L.A. Rams’ staff in 2018. Chip Kelly became the Bruins’ coach in late 2017, and Thompson-Robinson was a perfect fit in Kelly’s offense.
Thompson-Robinson decided to return to UCLA for a fifth season, and he’s having his best year. His 71.7% completion rate is more than six percentage points higher than his previous best (65.2%). His efficiency rating of 165.1 is also a career-high mark.
Thompson-Robinson, who played receiver in high school before succeeding Tate Martell as Bishop Gorman’s QB, is just as dangerous with his feet as he is his arm. He’s second among Pac-12 quarterbacks with 439 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. He’s tied with Arizona’s Jayden de Laura for the most scrambles (30) in the league.
“Dorian can hang in the pocket and throw,” Fisch said. “He’s just electric fast.
"You're gonna have to swarm tackle. You're gonna have to run to the ball. You're gonna have to stay fresh.
“We're gonna have to play great team defense and make a lot of tackles."
From coaches to players, Arizona and UCLA have multitude of connections
The connections between Arizona and UCLA go well beyond Jedd Fisch’s year in Westwood and recruitment of quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Here’s just some of what we unearthed:
Fisch joined the Bruins staff on Jan. 5, 2017. Sixteen days later, UCLA hired DeShaun Foster as its running backs coach. He remains in that role.
Fisch served on the same staff at Michigan as current Bruins offensive line coach Tim Drevno. Fisch coached quarterbacks and receivers and was the Wolverines’ passing-game coordinator; Drevno was their O-line coach.
Drevno previously worked for Jim Harbaugh at Stanford. In two of those seasons, 2008 and ’09, Arizona tight ends coach Jordan Paopao served as a recruiting assistant for the Cardinal. Paopao played for Harbaugh and Drevno at the University of San Diego.
UA quarterbacks coach Jimmie Dougherty worked as an analyst at Michigan in 2016. He then spent four seasons as UCLA’s passing-game coordinator and receivers coach.
UA defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen overlapped with Dougherty in 2020 and spent another year at UCLA in ’21 before joining the Arizona staff last December. Jason Kaufusi, who coaches the Wildcats’ edge rushers, worked at UCLA from 2019-21 before following Nansen to Tucson.
Ken Norton Jr. joined the UCLA staff as inside linebackers coach in March. He was part of Pete Carroll’s first staff with the Seattle Seahawks in 2010 – as was Fisch.
Norton previously worked under Carroll at USC from 2004-09. The Trojans’ recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach during that period was Brennan Carroll, who’s now Arizona’s run-game coordinator and offensive line coach.
Carroll played at Pittsburgh from 1999-2001. His first year there overlapped with Bill McGovern’s last as the Panthers’ DB coach. McGovern is now UCLA’s defensive coordinator.
Two current UA players, defensive tackle Tiaoalii Savea and defensive back DJ Warnell Jr., transferred from UCLA. Bruins cornerback Azizi Hearn began his career at Arizona. He spent the past three seasons at Wyoming.
Arizona running back DJ Williams muscles his way around Colorado linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo during the teams' Oct. 1 game.
Arizona tailback DJ Williams’ strategy in open field: Keep on truckin’
We neglected to ask Arizona running back DJ Williams what kind of car he drove while regularly making a six-hour drive from Lake Placid, Florida, to Tallahassee to finish his degree at Florida State.
We do know he likes to truck defenders.
On multiple occasions this season, including last week at Utah, the 225-pound Williams has lowered his shoulder into an unsuspecting opponent, sending him tumbling to the turf.
Williams doesn’t think that much of it.
“That just comes naturally,” said Williams, who’s averaging 3.4 yards per carry after contact, according to Pro Football Focus. “That's what I've always done. ... It just feels like it's another run.”
His teammates and coaches view it differently. Every time Williams — or any Wildcat — bowls over a defender, it ignites the UA sideline.
“It gives us energy,” senior defensive end Jalen Harris said. “Anytime we see somebody on offense truck somebody ... that just provides us with a spark.”
“Everyone just kind of raises up a little bit, gets off the ground,” said run-game coordinator Brennan Carroll. “It's exciting to see him exert his dominance on players. ... When we can show our toughness, we love to do that.
“We’re gonna encourage him to be physical, run through guys. They're not always gonna tackle him. There was chance I thought that he might run through that tackle (vs. the Utes). Just that physical run style, they’ll get him (down) sometimes. But they're not gonna get him every time. He'll break those tackles and just keep going.”
