Arizona, Jordan Morgan is clear for liftoff.
The Arizona Wildcats senior left tackle, who suffered a season-ending knee injury at UCLA in November is “good to go” for the UA’s season opener Saturday against Northern Arizona, coach Jedd Fisch said during his Monday afternoon news conference.
Morgan missed all of spring ball and was limited during preseason training camp, but did participate in multiple team periods and Arizona’s scrimmages as part of the team’s starting rotation.
With multiple medical trainers and strength and conditioning coaches working together on Morgan’s knee rehabilitation, Arizona offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll compared Morgan’s rehab to a “NASA launch,” adding that “it’s a really good plan and we’ll take great care of him.”
“They’ve been behind me 100% of the time,” Morgan said. “No one let up. Everyone has just been focused and I feel like all of that has helped me.”
Now Morgan “is fully medically cleared and I expect Jordan to play at a very high level,” Fisch said Monday.
Arizona offensive lineman Jordan Morgan takes the field during the first half of Arizona’s 43-20 win over Colorado last year.
Saturday will mark 294 days since Morgan suffered the torn ACL injury in the Wildcats’ 34-28 win over the No. 12 Bruins. Morgan conceivably could’ve opted to turn pro and bud into a first-round NFL Draft pick, but his recovery, as well as missing pertinent showcases like Arizona Pro Day or even the NFL Draft Combine in Indianapolis, would’ve affected the Marana native’s draft stock.
“It was either stay or leave, but I broke it down to those two things to make it easier for me mentally because I was already going through a lot.
“I was told to take a positive outlook on it. That’s all you can really do,” Morgan said. “If you’re negative, nothing is going to come out of it. Thinking positive through the whole thing really helped me.”
The 6-5, 325-pound Morgan only allowed one sack in 443 pass-blocking snaps last season, according to Pro Football Focus. PFF graded Morgan the highest-rated (83.1) offensive tackle in the Pac-12 entering this season — third-best nationally behind Notre Dame’s Joe Alt (91.4) and Duke’s Graham Barton (88.2). Morgan will star on an Arizona offensive line alongside redshirt freshman left guard Wendell Moe, junior center Josh Baker, freshman guard Raymond Pulido and sophomore right tackle Jonah Savaiinaea.
UA offensive lineman Jordan Morgan celebrates with running back Jonah Coleman after Coleman scored a second-quarter touchdown against North Dakota State last season. UA head coach Jedd Fisch said Monday that Morgan, who suffered a torn ACL midway through near the end of last season, is "fully medically cleared" to play in Arizona's season opener Saturday against NAU.
Morgan dedicated his brief absence the “time of his rehabilitation to get more football smart,” Fisch said. “He used this time to improve his upper-body strength even more than it was prior.
“Obviously he was one of the strongest guys on the team before he got hurt, but he had a huge focus on how strong he could get,” Fisch added. “He used this time to really take care of himself and now get his life in a spot to where his full focus is football, and I’m excited to see Jordan out there and being able to play.”
Fisch watches former colleagues
Several UA connections were scattered across the country on Saturday for the “Week Zero” slate of the college football season.
The most Arizona connections in one game was the UMass-New Mexico State battle in Las Cruces. UMass signed eight former Wildcats through the transfer portal this offseason: linebacker Jerry Roberts, defensive lineman JB Brown, cornerback Isaiah Rutherford, wide receiver Anthony Simpson, running back Jalen John, defensive lineman Jermaine Wiggins, linebacker Tyler Martin and linebacker RJ Edwards. UMass is head coached by former Arizona defensive coordinator Don Brown, who led the Wildcats’ defense in Fisch’s first season in 2021.
UMass cornerback Isaiah Rutherford, a former Arizona Wildcat playing for the Minutemen under head coach Don Brown (Arizona's former defensive coordinator), heads downfield for a pick-six in UMass' win over New Mexico State on Saturday in Las Cruces.
Rutherford had a 43-yard interception returned for a touchdown, while Simpson ran a jet sweep for a 10-yard touchdown in UMass’ 41-30 win over the Aggies, marking the Minutemen’s first season-opening win on the road against an FBS opponent since 1973. Fisch said UMass’ win was “super cool” to watch on Saturday.
“It’s a great opportunity for those guys,” Fisch said. “They have chances to go play and be involved in the games and in their two-deep (rotation). Great win and I texted Coach Brown yesterday, congratulating him on the win.
“All together, it was an awesome win for UMass and I was really happy to see that.”
Former Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez led the Jacksonville State Gamecocks to the program’s first win as an FBS program, knocking off UTEP. Ex-Arizona wide receiver Jamarye Joiner had one catch for negative-two yards for the Gamecocks on Saturday. Former Arizona wide receiver Dorian Singer, who’s now at USC, had four catches for 41 yards and a touchdown in the Trojans’ 56-28 win over San Jose State. In 31 snaps, former Arizona cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace was the highest-graded USC defender on PFF (73.5).
“It was nice to see football on Saturday,” Fisch said. “It was an enjoyable day to watch, and it was a reminder that college football is a great thing. The chance to get back out there this Saturday night is going to be amazing.”
Extra points
Fisch said that over 44,000 tickets have been sold for the Wildcats’ season opener against NAU. Fisch said “Zona Zoo” passes have seen an estimated increase of 1,500 sign-ups from last year, and there are over 7,000 students with Zona Zoo memberships so far.
The Pac-12 Network broadcasting crew for Arizona’s season opener will be play-by-play commentator JB Long and former USC and Pittsburgh quarterback Max Browne as the color analyst.
Arizona’s prized No. 1 jersey will “remain retired,” according to Fisch. In 2021, Arizona’s No. 1 representatives were wide receiver Stanley Berryhill III and fellow team captain and defensive end Jalen Harris, who also had the number last season along with Simpson. Two players — one of them has to be a starter, per Fisch — can don No. 1 for the Wildcats this season. Fisch said, “No one really said they want (No.) 1. I think they’re all content with the numbers that they have.
“We’re just going to hold (No.) 1 for right now, but if something changes, I’ll let you know.”
