Arizona Wildcats storylines: On Bryce Wolma's role, exacting revenge and handling the noise

Bryce Wolma’s second season as an Arizona Wildcat has been “a little different,” the sophomore tight end said.

That’s an understatement.

While receivers such as Shun Brown and Shawn Poindexter have had more passes come their way, Wolma has endured the opposite experience. After totaling 28 receptions as a freshman, Wolma has only three catches through 10 games — and just one in seven Pac-12 games.

Game No. 8 is Saturday night at Washington State. Arizona remains alive in the South Division title race entering the day.

Would Wolma like to be more involved in the passing game? Of course. But he’s not going to complain about it. He’s an important cog in the second-ranked offense in the conference.

“I just embrace what the coaching staff gives me,” said Wolma, whose position coach is the head coach, Kevin Sumlin. “You’ve just gotta keep grinding, keep your head down and keep working for the right opportunities. Whatever the coaches want me to do, I’m gonna do. That’s my job.”

This year, that has meant more blocking than pass-catching. Wolma entered the season determined to become a better, more physical blocker.

Although he remains inconsistent in that area, Wolma has improved considerably since last season.

“Even from the beginning of the year,” Wolma said. “The BYU game (Week 1) was OK; I struggled in some spots. Since then, Coach Sumlin and Coach (Noel) Mazzone, I’ve been working with them a lot on getting more physical and getting my hat in the right place, hand placement, that kind of stuff. Week to week, I feel like I’ve grown a lot in that aspect.”

Wolma has paid particular attention to two basic fundamentals: taking the correct first step and playing with low pad level. Although he has packed on about 13 pounds of muscle since last year, Wolma still faces defensive ends who are bigger than he is. Leverage is a key to winning those battles.

Just like the linemen whose sole job is blocking, Wolma takes pride in the success of J.J. Taylor and the UA rushing attack. Taylor ranks fourth in the nation with 1,221 rushing yards. Arizona ranks first in the Pac-12.

“We’re definitely involved in that, making holes for J.J., allowing him to do what he does best,” Wolma said. “It’s cool.”

Wolma played regularly and contributed significantly to last year’s offense, which was more prolific and, ironically, more run-oriented. His 28 receptions, which ranked third on the team, represented a long-awaited breakthrough for a tight end under then-coach Rich Rodriguez, whose offense largely had ignored the position in the passing game.

Not even the brief ascent to the starting lineup of Rodriguez’s son, Rhett, who also happens to be Wolma’s best buddy, could get him back on the stat sheet. Wolma was targeted just once in Rodriguez’s six-plus quarters at quarterback against Utah and UCLA.

“It’s all right,” Wolma said. “That’s not really his choice. That’s play-calling, strategy, the defense.”

Khalil Tate returned to the lineup against Oregon and Colorado. In the first quarter against the Buffaloes, Tate threw a bootleg pass to Wolma, who gained 17 yards. Wolma was wide open in the right flat. He was probably the last player Colorado expected to get the ball. Was Wolma expecting it?

“I was one of the two primary receivers. I wouldn’t say I was surprised,” he said. “But I was ready, and it felt good to get the ball back in my hands.”

Cornerback Lorenzo Burns led Arizona with five interceptions last season. This year he has none.

That doesn’t mean he’s playing poorly.

Burns has a team-high 11 pass breakups in nine games. (He missed one because of injury.) He had seven in 13 games last year.

The lack of interceptions bothers Burns “a little bit,” he said. But the redshirt sophomore knows he’s doing his job.

“I have to work on my hands a little bit,” said Burns, who had two near-misses in the opener against BYU. “But I’ve gotta take the positives out of the situation. My pass breakups are higher than they were last year, so my coverage is tighter.”

Burns has been the lone constant in a secondary that’s been stuck on shuffle mode all season. His nine starts at boundary corner are the most of any UA defensive back. Safeties Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles and Scottie Young Jr. have eight apiece, but they have come at multiple positions.

Five players have started at field corner, including redshirt freshman Azizi Hearn and true freshmen McKenzie Barnes and Christian Young.

Burns remembers what that’s like. He became a full-time starter as a redshirt freshman last year.

“It can be very difficult,” Burns said. “Coming into a stadium full of 60,000 people or even more than that can be shocking. For them to come in and do what they did is very good for us.”

Burns had to sit out the UCLA game because of a neck injury. Tim Hough, who had started six of the first seven games, left the team earlier in the week. With senior Jace Whittaker also out, Arizona started Barnes and Young. It was the first career start for both.

“We had a lot of young people play,” Burns said. “They went out there and played in the Rose Bowl against UCLA. No matter what their record was, it was still freshmen on the field. They performed.”

Burns returned the following week. After a one-point loss to the Bruins, the Wildcats have won their past two games. Arizona faces its toughest test yet at Washington State.

The Cougars are ranked eighth in the country, and they have the nation’s top-ranked passing attack. WSU throws the ball more than any team in college football. Burns looks forward to the challenge — and the chance to get his first pick of 2018.

“It’s more opportunities,” he said. “I’m excited.”

Arizona’s last visit to Pullman, Washington, is one the Wildcats would rather forget.

The Cougars embarrassed the Wildcats 69-7 in November 2016. It was the worst loss of the Rich Rodriguez era and one of the worst in UA history.

Arizona exacted revenge with a 58-37 win over then-No 15 Washington State last year in Tucson. The Wildcats felt great about that outcome, of course. But it didn’t fully ease the pain from the previous season.

The players who participated in that game still remember how it felt. With a return visit on the docket Saturday night, those memories are bubbling to the surface.

“You never really forget an experience like that,” redshirt-junior guard Cody Creason said, “getting beat the way we did.”

In the midst of a frustrating, injury-filled season, Arizona barely showed a pulse in the Palouse. By late in the second quarter, WSU led 38-0. Quarterbacks Luke Falk and Tyler Hilinski combined to complete 47 of 52 passes. Nine of the Cougars’ 13 drives ended in touchdowns.

“The way we lost leaves a sour taste in my mouth,” senior safety Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles said, “and is definitely something that keeps me hungry going forward.”

Entering the home stretch of his Arizona career, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles is still motivated by the Wildcats’ 69-7 loss to Wazzu in 2016. pic.twitter.com/ECoFbd69Tu

— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) November 13, 2018

The UA offense was equally inept. The Wildcats turned the ball over three times, managed just 286 yards of offense, had only 14 first downs and converted only 2 of 10 third downs.

“I don’t like talking about it,” senior receiver Shawn Poindexter said. “We for sure owe them something, going back into Pullman. No doubt.”

In the second quarter against Oregon on Oct. 27, Arizona starting right guard Bryson Cain injured his knee and had to leave the game. Michael Eletise took his place, and the offensive line continued to function at a high level.

That probably wouldn’t have happened a month earlier. When left tackle Layth Friekh was struggling to play through an ankle injury, the line struggled along with him. The unit — which was greener than the turf at Arizona Stadium at the start of the season — has come a long way.

“I think (it’s) just the experience,” left guard Cody Creason said. “What is it, 10 games under our belt now? Now they can step in and feel comfortable playing any position.”

When the season began, Creason was the only available offensive lineman with starting experience in Division I. He had seven career starts.

The likely first five for Washington State has 80 career starts. That includes 41 by Friekh, who had to sit out the first two games because of an NCAA ruling.

Friekh and center Josh McCauley are the only members of the group who have started at the same position every game. Creason has started at left guard and right tackle. Eletise has started at both guard spots. Freshman Donovan Laie has started at both tackle spots.

Washington State has had the same starting five for every game.

“I’ve never had to do it, but it’s hard,” Friekh said of shifting from one side of the line to the other. “You’ve really gotta flip your whole brain around.”

Creason has been impressed with the way the younger players have adapted. Eletise, Laie and McCauley had zero career starts entering this season.

“Especially Josh,” Creason said. “He’s done a really good job communicating. He’s the one who tells us who to block.”

McCauley will play a particularly important role this week. Oregon had all sorts of trouble just getting the ball snapped when it visited Martin Stadium on Oct. 20. On their first series, the Ducks had a fumbled snap, a false start and a delay-of-game penalty. They fell behind 27-0 and lost 34-20.

ESPN’s “College GameDay” visited Pullman that day, so the crowd was especially frenzied. It won’t be quite at that level Saturday night, but it’ll still be loud at the Pac-12’s most intimate venue. The Wildcats tried to simulate the conditions during practice.

“During team periods we’ll turn the music up really loud so it’s hard for us to communicate,” tight end Bryce Wolma said. “That helps us out when we get into game-time situations.”

It’s going to be cold in Pullman when Arizona kicks off against Washington State … and the Wildcats seem to be looking forward to it.

“I’m from Michigan,” sophomore tight end Bryce Wolma said. “It’s going to be like playing in my backyard for me.”

That won’t be the case for defensive end JB Brown, who’s from Long Beach, California. The sophomore said he has never seen snow. There’s none in the forecast for Pullman. But a guy can dream, right?

“It’d be a fun experience for me,” Brown said. “I’m ready for whatever. I’ll probably go out there with no shirt on in warmups.”

Layers will be the protocol for most. The temperature at kickoff will be about 29 degrees — 19 degrees colder than the kickoff temperature at Utah (48) earlier this season. The coldest temperature at kickoff for Arizona last season was 45 degrees at Oregon.

This week’s “cold” front in Tucson — overnight temperatures dipped into the 40s! — provided something of a sneak preview. A brisk wind Tuesday had players and coaches bundling up.

“Guys are wearing their long sleeves to practice,” receiver Shawn Poindexter said. “That way when we get in the game, it’s not something new that we haven’t been working with.”