As the final week of spring practice takes place, the Arizona Wildcats look to tighten up as a team in preparation for the spring game. They added size and it shows on their offensive line.
Last season, Arizona did not have a ton of size with offensive line which was among one of their many struggles last season as they went 1-11. Offensive line coach and offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll has been adamant about getting his guys in the weight room so they can get bigger and stronger.
"I feel like Jordan has made some huge gains in the weight room this offseason,” Carroll said about left tackle Jordan Morgan. “And they kind of show up on the field where we get him out in space a couple times and he looks pretty nifty out there. So, there’s not a lot of things he can’t do movement wise, strength wise to keep building on everything else.”
Morgan returns to the Arizona offensive line after starting 11 of the 12 games last season, missing the opening game with an injury. When he returned, he played left tackle the rest of the season. It was his first full season playing as he only played in two games in 2020 and six games in 2019 as a true freshman.
Going into the 2022 season with a lot to prove, the Wildcats number one goal is to stay healthy and luckily they have a guy like right tackle Paiton Fears who played every single game last year and never came off the field with an injury.
“Oh its a huge deal,” Carroll said. “You know when you can say that I got a guy that’s going to be there all the time that’s a huge weight off your shoulders and not just him being there, but him being there and being consistent and reliable. So that’s a huge deal. And he’s got every step of this game too. So it’s just brilliant again.”
Fears returns this season being a leader on the offensive line. His 6’6” body gives him the leverage to go against any defensive lineman and he also has the athleticism. His versatility makes him a threat to opposing players.
“I would say overall, right now, I’ve been trying to spend a lot of time in the meeting room watching defenses so I can pick up on games,” Fears said about how he has improved since coming to Arizona. “Stuff like that before it happens, just trying to improve my IQ and stuff like that.”
With Fears having played almost every single snap on offense, he has essentially become the heart and soul of the offensive line being someone that the coaches rely on most.
“To be honest, I wasn’t really thinking about it during the season. I was just trying to be a good teammate,” Fears said. “ No matter what happened, I was just trying to be there for every game I could, every snap I could. So that was really that’s what was on my mind. I wasn’t really thinking about every snap, actually found out like way after the season that I played that many snaps and I was like, wow, but you know, I was just trying to be a good teammate.”
Arizona hopes that they can get the same thing from Morgan on the left side. He missed about a game and a half last year because of a minor shoulder hyperextension.
“I feel great. I feel stronger and quicker,” Morgan said about how he feels physically. “I feel smarter. Coach TO (strength coach Tyler Owens) up in the weight room he has me pretty much gaining a little bit more weight. So I feel heavier in a good way, I can move better. Overall stronger.”
With the spring game fast approaching on Saturday afternoon in the stadium, the Wildcats have one more practice beforehand to put everything together in the hopes of putting on a good showcase at the game in front of fans.
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