The Star presents five storylines of interest as the Arizona Wildcats face No. 14 Utah on Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m. The game will air on Pac-12 Networks.
Overlooked freshman Jacob Manu is standing out for Arizona’s LB corps
He arrived later than many of his classmates. He’s undersized for his position. He had to work his way up from the bottom of the depth chart.
None of it fazed Arizona’s plucky, pint-sized linebacker, Jacob Manu.
Manu has gone from forgotten freshman to integral starter for the Wildcats, who visit No. 14 Utah on Saturday.
"It’s a credit to him, the hard work he put in," UA quarterback Jayden de Laura said. "Since he came in, he’s just been grinding."
Manu made a spot start early in the season. He officially moved into the starting lineup Oct. 15 vs. Washington, completing a rapid and unexpected ascent.
Manu had the least fanfare — and the fewest scholarship offers — among the four players from Servite High School in Anaheim, California, who signed with Arizona. The UA, in fact, was his only FBS offer.
The lack of interest from those schools had nothing to do with Manu’s talent or production. It had everything to do with his size, or lack thereof. He’s generously listed at 5-11, 220.
Like a player who feels scorned after going later than expected in the draft, Manu is taking it personally. USC wasn’t just any opponent last week.
"I'm not gonna lie: USC, that was my dream school," said Manu, who ranks seventh on the team with 30 tackles. "So I feel like that was a really big game for me — and all these Pac-12 schools that I wanted to get recruited by. They all (overlooked) me. That's just another chip on my shoulder to do better and show them that they’re wrong."
Arizona already had commitments from two of Manu’s teammates, quarterback Noah Fifita and tight end Keyan Burnett. Jedd Fisch and his staff were pursuing Servite receiver Tetairoa McMillan. They couldn’t help but notice the energetic, aggressive Manu on the other side of the ball.
By the time Arizona offered him, it was too late for Manu to meet the academic requirements to graduate early and enroll in January. The other Servite players all did.
"I wasn't highly recruited like that," Manu said. "I wasn't planning on leaving early because I didn't have a home to go to."
Manu arrived in June. He had a lot of catching up to do to earn playing time.
At the outset of training camp, Manu was buried on the depth chart. He seemed destined to redshirt, or play exclusively on special teams. Manu had other ideas.
"I knew I had a chance," he said. "But I knew it was gonna be way harder for me than the other guys. So I just knew I had to work my butt off."
Manu kept showing up during practice. He went above and beyond for the scout team.
"I would have to tell him to relax sometimes," de Laura said.
That was a good thing. Manu played with the same passion and ferocity for the scout team as he does on Saturdays.
"He's extremely active," Fisch said. "He's trying to make as many plays as he can make. He's just gonna get better."
Manu almost played the role of hero vs. the Trojans. After making a stop on third-and-1 on USC’s final drive, Manu just missed making another on fourth-and-1. He would have had a great chance to bring down quarterback Caleb Williams if running back Travis Dye hadn’t cut-blocked him.
Manu still got a piece of Williams. That’s just how he plays.
"Whoever's in front of me, like, it don’t matter," Manu said. "I'm gonna win."
Arizona wide receiver Dorian Singer makes a one-handed grab over Colorado cornerback Nigel Bethel Jr. during their Oct. 1 game at Arizona Stadium.
Wildcats wideout Dorian Singer continues to defy gravity, expectations
Dorian Singer has become so adept at making leaping one-handed catches and sublime sideline grabs that the Arizona coaches have had to talk to the officials about it.
The message: Believe your eyes.
"You guys have watched him catch the ball," UA offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll said. "We've had to mention to the refs, 'Our guys have made great catches. You can believe it. You don't need to review all of them. So when they make those plays, just keep playing.'"
Singer has shown he can go up and get the ball a la teammate Tetairoa McMillan. Meanwhile, Singer has nearly matched the production of top Wildcats receiver Jacob Cowing. Cowing has 60 receptions for 817 yards and seven touchdowns. Singer has 48, 746 and five.
"I knew he was athletic and a freak of nature," Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura said. "But if I'm being honest, I didn't think he was gonna be that good. I don’t think anybody thought he was going to be the (player) he is today."
Singer has gone over 100 yards in three of his past five games and had 99 in another. Last week he torched USC — whom he made his college debut against about a year earlier — for 141 yards and a school-record-tying three touchdowns. All were highlight-reel plays.
UA offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll attributed Singer’s production to his development and attitude. He came to Arizona as a walk-on after a scholarship opportunity at Texas fell through. Singer immediately went to work to prove he deserved one. In less than a year, he had earned his keep.
"And he's still got more to go," Carroll said. "There's a really high ceiling for the kid. He's just gonna keep growing and getting better."
Singer was added to the Biletnikoff Award watch list in midseason. He was third in the Pac-12 in catches and yards entering this week. But it’s what he does between Sunday and Monday that’s put him in this position.
"He's making those plays consistently rather than weekly. They're happening daily," UA coach Jedd Fisch said. "He takes almost every practice rep. His practice mentality is exceptional. So we're seeing more and more of these moments where he's not afraid to go up and just high-point the ball.
"His confidence continues to grow. When you catch three touchdowns in a game, your confidence has now gotten to a point that he believes, ‘I'm always open.’ "
‘We want to be that’: Jedd Fisch reiterates respect for Utah program
Jedd Fisch has made no secret of his admiration for the program Arizona is about to face.
Utah exemplifies consistency and continuity. The Utes have had the same head coach, Kyle Whittingham, and the same DNA since well before they joined the Pac-12 just over a decade ago.
"He's recruited to exactly what he wants his program to look like," Fisch said of Whittingham, who’s in his 18th season as Utah’s head coach — the second-longest tenure in FBS. "There's a definite standard in the way they recruit defensively and what their expectation is. ... Offensively, they know exactly what they want to be.
"Additionally, they’ve won a lot of games. They sell out their stadium. They have an incredible home-field advantage.
"We want to be that. I don't know why we can't be. I believe we can be. But it starts with the community. It starts with the fans rallying behind (the program). It starts with our players making plays. It starts with our coaches coaching at the highest standard, recruiting at the highest standard and then, all together, the group of us finding a way to get it done."
As an example of the continuum that is Utah football under Whittingham, Fisch noted that he participated in a pre-draft dinner with Utes safety Eric Weddle while with the Baltimore Ravens in 2007. Weddle’s final season at Utah was ’06. That was current defensive coordinator and safeties coach Morgan Scalley’s first year as a member of the Utes coaching staff after playing for the program. It was Whittingham’s second full season as head coach.
Utah quarterback Bryson Barnes carries the ball during the first half of last week's win over Washington State in Pullman.
Meet the potential replacements for banged-up Utah skill players
Utah quarterback Cameron Rising probably will play. Tight end Dalton Kincaid might. Tailback Micah Bernard has been banged up. Tailback Tavion Thomas’ status has been murky for a while.
The 14th-ranked Utes are battling an unusually high number of injuries heading into their matchup against Arizona on Saturday. Most seem to be concentrated at the skill positions.
The expectation is that at least some of those players will play, or at least try to. If they can’t? Here are four lesser-known Utes who could take their place:
QB Bryson Barnes
Barnes filled in for Rising in the Rose Bowl last season and started for him last week at Washington State. The third-year walk-on’s state line vs. the Cougars wasn’t bad: 17 of 27 for 175 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
RB Jaylon Glover
Rivals rated Glover, a true freshman, as a four-star prospect coming out of Lake Gibson High School in Lakeland, Florida, where he rushed for 2,073 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior. He carried 20 times for 76 yards – both career highs – at WSU.
RB Ja’Quinden Jackson
Jackson came to college as a four-star dual-threat quarterback and began his career at Texas in 2020. He transferred to Utah and has been moved to running back. He also notched career-high marks vs. WSU – 10 carries for 43 yards and a TD.
TE Thomas Yassmin
With star tight end Brant Kuithe lost for the season, Yassmin has started three games. A native of Sydney, Australia, Yassmin has been used more as a blocker (75 run-blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus) than as a receiver (50 snaps). He has six catches for 122 yards and one TD.
Should Arizona be ultra-aggressive on fourth down to offset leaky defense?
As their defense struggles and they desperately seek ways to overcome it, Arizona Wildcats coach Jedd Fisch repeatedly has offered a solution: Score touchdowns every time they have the ball.
That isn’t realistic, of course. But it could lead to more aggressive play-calling and decision-making.
Fisch elected to kick field goals twice in the red zone against USC and has noted since that those red-zone "failures" ended up being the difference in the game. But Fisch didn’t really have a choice.
Both fourth downs were goal-to-go situations — but they required 8 and 7 yards. Arizona wasn’t likely to convert from those distances and trailed by seven and four points, respectively, with plenty of time to play.
"If it was closer," Fisch said, "I probably would have gone for it."
He did, unsuccessfully, on fourth-and-4 from the USC 33 in the second quarter. The alternative would have been a 50-yard field-goal attempt. Tyler Loop’s career long is 48 yards.
Arizona hasn’t gone for it on fourth down at an abnormally high rate. Entering Friday night, the average number of fourth-down attempts per team in the Pac-12 was 14.8. The Wildcats have 15 entering Saturday’s game at Utah.
Arizona has been one of the least successful fourth-down teams in the conference, ranking 10th at 46.7%. Utah has been the toughest team to convert against, limiting opponents to a 33.3% success rate.
