Arizona football: On Traveler, champion sighting, wannabe Gronk

Traveler! 

We’ve been compared to a horse’s hindquarters before. Saturday, we nearly ran into one.

Traveler VII, USC’s horse mascot, spends its pregame just outside the Los Angeles Coliseum gates. The horse poses (as much as a horse can pose) for pictures with fans, rests up for its runs and — because it’s 2015 and this is LA — minds the merch tent. There, fans can buy framed photos with “USC” spelled out in horseshoes or, if they don’t feel like lugging a wall-hanging around the stadium, pop for a small stuffed horse.

Traveler VII is a Spanish Andalusian horse and, like all of the Travelers before him, all white. 

Champion in the house 

Arizona has always recruited Los Angeles and Orange County well and, as a result, former Wildcats and their families turn out in big numbers every time the UA returns to SoCal.

College World Series hero Kurt Heyer took in Saturday’s game with his brother Nolan, a former UA football player. Heyer, who led the Wildcats to a 2012 title in Omaha, just finished his third full season in the St. Louis Cardinals’ farm system. The right-handed pitcher advanced all the way to Triple-A Memphis. Heyer hails from Huntington Beach. 

Isn't that... 

USC’s starting tight end wears No. 48, stands 6 feet 5 inches tall, weighs 245 pounds and, well, looks like one of the greatest Arizona Wildcats of all time.

Taylor McNamara wanted to be the next Rob Gronkowski, too.

But life, as they say, got in the way. McNamara committed to the UA in June 2011 with hopes of following in Gronk’s footsteps. But Mike Stoops was fired that October, and any hopes McNamara had of starring at tight end were dashed when Rich Rodriguez — a coach that rarely uses a tight end — was named as his replacement a month later. McNamara followed Stoops to Oklahoma, and played for the Sooners from 2012-14 before moving on to USC as a graduate transfer. He is seeking a degree in master’s degree in communication management.

McNamara never played a down at the UA, but is still a part of Wildcats lore. Stoops was on his way to visit McNamara at his suburban San Diego home when the coach was summoned to back to Tucson, and then fired. 

Big number 

10,352: Miles from the Los Angeles Coliseum to UA offensive lineman Gerhard de Beer’s hometown of Pretoria, South Africa. De Beer made his first career start Saturday, playing right guard. 

Delayed gratification 

Just when former USC legend-turned-goat Mike Garrett thought he was getting a measure of redemption after the first quarter, the Pac-12 referees had to go and put the breaks on it. The former Trojans star running back, who lost some of his maroon and gold luster when he was ousted in the face of massive sanctions in 2010, was to be feted for the 50th anniversary of his 1965 Heisman Trophy award.

After a USC holding penalty on Iman Marshall set the Wildcats at the 4-yard line, both teams ran down the field as the presentation setup was underway, only to be called back for an untimed down, which went for one yard for Arizona.

It was delayed gratification for the Wildcats, too, though. After Garrett was given a standing ovation, Arizona came out for the first play of the second quarter, and Anu Solomon found David Richards for a 3-yard touchdown pass. 

Keeping it real? 

You can set a clock to it: USC has a coaching change, and the Trojan faithful start seeing visions of sugar plums and championships, of coaches willing to leave cushy jobs for the pomp and circumstance of Troy.

Of course, we know where that’s gone before, and no, Jon Gruden has never been hired at USC.

Heading up a cramped press box elevator as the game was about to start, a group of USC fans starting tossing out their favorites.

“Man, I hope Chip Kelly gets fired. I’d love him!” said a man in a large No. 10 jersey.

“John Harbaugh, man, he’s the one,” another fan responded.

“Nah, Kirby Smart,” a third chimed in.

Hmm, a pair of NFL head coaches and the defensive coordinator of Alabama.

You know, reasonable expectations. 

The (smaller, but still impressive) number 

193-8: De Beer’s discus toss in feet at the 2015 Pac-12 championships, tops in the conference. He attends the UA on a track and field scholarship.