Arizona will look to break a four-game losing streak Saturday night when it heads to take on No. 12 UCLA in what could be the team's final game at the Rose Bowl Stadium. The Bruins are off to a blazing 8-1 record this season led by the dynamic playmaking of quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Ahead of Saturday's game against UCLA, Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch spoke to the media Thursday afternoon.
Here's everything he had to say before the Wildcats leave Tucson for the final road matchup of the season.
Opening statement
"An opportunity to go into Pasadena and play at the Rose Bowl. It is certainly one of the meccas of college football and to play in that stadium is pretty cool. We're excited about that and the players have practiced very well. They seem to be on the healthier side and our guys are focused and ready to go to take on this challenge. We have had quite the run these last four games in regards to who we have been playing and this certainly is no different. I think this team right now is playing at its highest level of good and we know we got our work cut out for us going into LA and I think playing the eighth or ninth best team in the country based upon rankings."
On what stands out about playing in the Rose Bowl
"I think history is first and foremost. I have had the history to do it six times, six home games when I was at UCLA in 2017. We went 6-0 in those six games and when you pull in and just see the mothership of the stadium and then look out and see the mountains and see just the beauty around it, obviously the roses on the stadium just makes you think of college football, think of Keith Jackson and all of the great games growing up as a kid on January 1 at 4:30 p.m. and probably remember all of the games we sat and watched on those days. It was certainly something I remember going into the first time and coaching that game against Texas A&M and we came back down 34 points. We were down 44-10 in that game and won 45-44 and that was my first experience."
On recruiting Thompson-Robinson
"He has had incredible growth as a quarterback. I recruited him at Michigan first. His mom was a Michigan graduate, professor at UNLV now. She brought him over to Ann Arbor in 2015 and 2016 and we offered him. I think we had him at Michigan and then when I went over to UCLA, he came over and committed to us at UCLA. My last recruiting visit with that staff was at his home which was sometime in late December or early January leaving his home and I certainly remember that time prior to going to the Rams. He has grown up in every sense of the way. He was a wide receiver at Bishop Gorman when Tate Martell was the starting quarterback and he was the backup quarterback who would go in as soon as they would get a big lead so he would throw often in that timeframe. He was certainly so gifted, so talented as a thrower. He has a huge arm. His running ability is off the chains. He is a special kid, special player and I have enjoyed watching him grow."
On the lack of mobile quarterbacks Arizona has faced this season
"I think San Diego State we would say going into it, we thought [Braxton] Burmeister would have had some mobility to him based on his time at Virginia Tech. We haven't really had that type quarterback on our schedule this year that I can think of off the top of my head. We have really gone against pocket passers or pro style passers I guess you can say that have been able to move, throw but also for the most part have hung in the pocket. Dorian can hang in the pocket and throw. He is just electric fast."
On the keys to trying to slow down Thompson-Robinson
"We're going to have to play great team defense this week. We're going to have to have our best game on defense. We're going to have to limit their opportunities and recognize when they have those opportunities, they usually make the best of them. I think I saw when you correlate points scored and plays run, they have the least amount of plays run but the most amount of points scored. I think second or third in the country there. You are going to have to swarm tackle, you are going to have to run the ball and you are going to have to stay fresh. Oregon did a good job of stealing a possession. They brought out an onside kick and that was at Oregon, so we know the challenge this is going to be. We are going to have to play great team defense."
On describing Wendell Moe's recruitment as "unique"
"He was somebody that got on our radar very late. When he got on the radar, he was kind of a perfect storm in we were in need of one more offensive lineman. Coach Johnny [Nansen] and coach [Brennan] Carroll were at Long beach Poly and the opportunity presented itself that there was a under-recruited player that was signed to Morgan State. They brought him to my attention. They sent some video over that we were able to research and see why and what happened and some of the situations that occurred. That was a very unique story. Otherwise, he would have been recruited a lot heavier and when we were able to get him here on an official visit, we were able to talk to him, get to know him and his guidance counselor came with him and his brother and to be able to spend some time with his family, it was a no brainer to get him here. Now he has really embraced the program. He is a fantastic leader. Some videos of him I got to watch before we signed him of talking to his team, of him being a team caption was pretty awesome, pretty special and he'll be starting this week again."
On how that goes in line with recruiting players from winning programs and knowing how to lead
"I think it is that as well as just strictly, great programs and then guys who show those leadership qualities and then also have skills. He has got really good skills, really powerful fit for what we were looking for but he was exactly who we wanted in regards to his background and his ability to take a program, lead a program and be a voice of Long Beach Poly."
On the status of Jacob Cowing
"We are going to continue to evaluate. He has been taking some of the reps in practice so we're hopeful."
On how many reps Cowing has taken
"I think he has been more in the limited range."
On who would fill-in for Cowing if he is sidelined
"Kevin Green and Anthony Simpson."
On what he likes about Green's potential
"I love everything about his potential. He is going to be a very special slot receiver for us in the future. He has got a really good knack to get open which is first and foremost what you look for with guys who play on the inside. He is really determined to do things right, very coachable player. The more coachable they are, the better they grow, the faster they can grow, the more willing they will be able to do what they are asking. He is willing to do everything, so we need to stick to the weight room and keep getting him bigger this offseason and bigger, stronger, faster all usually work together. Kevin Green is going to be a very good player for us in the future."
On how the pass game and run game set up each other
"We throw when we feel like it is the best time to throw and we run when we feel like it is the best time to run. The score dictates a lot of things that occur in games. The defense dictates a lot of those things that occur in games. I think we have a pretty good balance in terms of our run and pass. We throw the ball for 330 yards a game. We run the ball for 140 yards a game or 130 yards a game. We have had a couple of bad running days, but for the most part we're getting better running the football. I don't think of it as one sets up the other. I think it's a marriage between run and pass. I think you got to make sure your run game and pass game have similar formations, similar personnel groupings that you can do with all the same players in the game, that you can take from both under center and in shot gun and then a lot of times you have to look what is going on in the game. Most of the time when you have three elite wide receivers and a top-10 quarterback in the country, you're going to throw the ball more than you run it."
On what he has seen from Green and Simpson in practice this week
"They both have a very good week of practice. I would expect all of them to be ready to go, any of the three or certainly those two will be ready for the game. They are going to be guys who are willing to block, be willing to run routes when they're contested. They are able to beat press coverage which is important and also when you play in the slot, you're going to have to know how to see zone holes and what I think both Simpson and KG have done is they have good vision and be able to understand the safeties and where the safeties are located."
On using Jamarye Joiner in the wildcat early in the season and if there is a role for him
"I don't think we'll get into much wildcat offense. Not that I'm opposed to it. I think there is a place for it. I think you can see it really across the country, across the leagues. I study it, I look at it but in the end, our runners are running at a much higher level than they were a year ago. I think we have a boatload of backs right now that for us, there would really be no reason to direct snap it. Also, early in the season Jayden [de Laura] wasn't running. Now that Jayden has been more willing to use his feet, it has given us more of an opportunity."
On if the progression of UCLA's program under Chip Kelly being a lesson for staying patient
"I think you look at what Chip has done. The six years before Chip arrived, UCLA played in five bowl games. The year before Chip arrived, we were 6-6, 6-0 at home, 0-6 on the road and then lost to Kansas State in the bowl game. Chip then made a determination on how he wanted to run his program. What he did was say I'm going to run it the way I want to run it, I'm going to build it the way I want to build it and he took the program that was 3-9 then 4-8 then 4-5 then 8-4 and now sitting here with a fantastic football team. He started freshman his first year. He started Dorian Thompson-Robinson as a freshman... For the most part if you look at what he has done, it is exactly what we hope to. It's the ability to say we're going to build the program a special way with the players we want to build it with, with the guys that are willing to commit and take that very serious. He did it with a quarterback and then he got Kyle Phillips, Chase Cota and all the great receivers he had and he stayed with it, stayed the course and never deviated. You can see how that is paying huge dividends for UCLA football."
On how UCLA's edge rushers compare to Washington and Oregon
"Those would be the guys I would compare them to. I told our offense that you look at No. 52 from Washington, you look at No. 32 from Oregon and they are very similar to No. 15 from UCLA but they got really good edge rushers. They know what they're doing over there. They got a really good scheme. Bill McGovern has done a really nice job, Kenny Norton is doing a really great job over there and they're able to utilize different personnel groups. They're able to slide on defense, they're able to bring their [defensive] ends and put them inside, give you speed against your guards and centers. Then, you're able to deal with edge rushers that can cause a lot of conflict so we've got our work cut out for us. I'd say they compare very favorably to the guys that we played so far this season and we recognize the importance of having to handle that group.
On the plan for recruiting in LA
"I think we'll try to get to a game or two, maybe a coach or two. Our focus for this week where we are in the season and where are with our commits, maybe we'll send one or two coaches out but everyone else should be in the building."
> DISCUSS the article with other Arizona fans as the Wildcats continue Building The Tradition
> WATCH the latest videos from GOAZCATS.com and subscribe to our YouTube channel
> FOLLOW us on Twitter (@goazcatscom, @MattRMoreno, @THutch1995, @RyanYoungRivals)
> FOLLOW us on Instagram (@goazcats)
> LIKE us on Facebook
> SUBSCRIBE for all the latest Arizona Wildcats team and recruiting news (subscribe now)
