Arizona is one win away from being bowl eligible. It would be the first time for Brent Brennan in his time in Tucson.
What might it take for the Wildcats to achieve this? It’s going to take plays being made from the under the radar guys like junior defensive lineman Leroy Palu or even one of the new faces like freshman wide receiver Gio Richardson.
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Against Colorado it took both Palu and Richardson only one play to make an impact. Palu had an early fumble recovery to set up the offense with a short field. Richardson later had a catch and run from 60 yards out.
When the players who don’t usually get into the spotlight on Arizona’s roster can go out and make plays like that, the opportunities for the Wildcats to be in a winning position can come more often than not.
Palu joined the Wildcats during the offseason after transferring from the junior college level. When he entered the transfer portal he had initially intended to go somewhere else. Then he got in contact with the Arizona defensive coaches.
“As much Coach Danny don’t like me for this. at first I was committed to West Virginia,” said Palu. “I took my trip up there, I really liked it, and then I got a call from Joe Salave’a. He called me right after my trip. It was a big surprise, but he let me know he’s hopping on the Arizona train and said he would love for me to hop on with him.”
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Palu may have only had three tackles against Colorado, that’s all defensive line coach Joe Salave’a and the defensive staff ask of him. They just want him to keep doing his part in the cause, and up to this point he has, which is why he made his first career start last week.
“He’s the one that we thought showed tremendous toughness, not flashy, but he’s been reliable and steady,” said Salave’a. “We look at the film every time we’re grading, and he keeps showing up and he’s starting to gain confidence in understanding concepts.”
Being along guys like Tia Savea and Deshawn McKnight gives Palu the opportunity to perfect his craft behind seasoned veterans.
“We don’t have a set depth chart,” said Salave’a. “We have an organizational chart, and those are earned every week, every day, and we’re always discussing that leading up to the end of the week to see who’s been consistent and Tia, Leroy, Deshawn, those are all starters. They just can’t be on the field at the same time.”
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While Palu has had time during junior college days to improve on his technique, Richardson has had to try and do it in a shorter amount of time up to this point.
Coming in from Chandler, he has been put in many positions this season to make plays. Early in the season, he was unable to come down with some tough catches. It was well worth the wait for Richardson when he was able to show off his speed on his 60 yard touchdown catch.
“I had caught that and then it really was just like, well, run fast,” said Richardson. “At that point, Coach B had been on me about that all week, about just playing fast, using my ability to the best that I can. So that’s what I did. Just ran fast and got to the end zone.”
Wide receivers coach Bobby Wade was never worried about Richardson’s development, even with the dropped balls. He knew that his play making would show eventually this season.
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“He is a true freshman, there’s going to be mistakes made,” said Wade. “So you just come back to work. Gio has been great about bringing the same energy, being consistent every single day, and putting the work in the classroom. Being able to take the learning from the room and apply it onto the football field.”
With it being homecoming this week, both Wade and Salava’e want it to be molded into the minds of Palu, Richardson, and the rest of the Wildcats that the ultimate goal is to win on Saturday.
“Homecoming is just more of a fanfare but we know what the important piece of it all is and for our guys, it’s just to prepare our hearts out to make sure that we can take the field and do a great job of playing and competing to the best of our abilities,” said Salave’a.
Seeing Palu and Richardson starting to make plays may just start the domino effect of other Arizona players being able to make plays. If this happens, the Wildcats will be in a position to earn a homecoming win this Saturday.
