Josh McCauley shined as a player at Red Mountain High School in Mesa leading to various Division II offers, but he made the choice to gamble on a spot at in-state FBS program Arizona as a walk-on player for the Wildcats.
The risk ended up paying off.
After redshirting his first year he worked hard to eventually become Arizona's starting center by 2018, and the year after that he earned a scholarship from the UA coaching staff during spring practice.
McCauley has contributed greatly to the program since getting his opportunity to see the field and has become somewhat of an ironman for the Wildcats with 22 starts at center over the last two seasons. He has been on the field for nearly 1,600 snaps in his two years as a starter.
After an MCL sprain late last season on a play that also took down his fellow lineman Bryson Cain, taking some time off and resting has helped him return back to 100%, and McCauley feels comfortable now that he has healed enough to help and not hurt the team.
Now a rising senior, he was one of the few players on the team to speak about the upcoming season during spring practices before all athletic events were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. It reflects his status within the team and what his coaching staff thinks about him.
Despite all the coaching changes Arizona has gone through in recent years along with players coming and going, McCauley only has positive things to say about the offensive line entering his final season.
"It's been a great group," said McCauley. "We got a group that comes to work everyday. There's not a guy in our offensive line that just takes days off and doesn't give everything they got. I like the group right now"
Offensive coordinator, Noel Mazzone, says not having a stable offensive line last year was tough for the team and on the quarterbacks. There is not much depth and the program has lost a few players, but when it comes to McCauley there is no doubt "he's tough."
McCauley will be a key piece up front for the Wildcats once again this season as the team makes the transition to a a new starting quarterback, Grant Gunnell. The relationship between the two players will be vital for the success of the offense as a whole and that is something the veteran offensive lineman understands.
"You're working with the same guys that are on the field you get some consistency going," said McCauley. "You know who's behind you and you know how the offense is going to run, so it's the same thing as playing with the guy I'm left and right of."
As of this point it remains unclear when the Wildcats will be able to return to the field, but when they do get back to work McCauley will be a big part of how well the offense plays this season. Arizona was able to get in just four practices in early March before spring ball was halted because of the shutdown of college sports due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
