Jayden de Laura status remains up in the air ahead of Arizona-Washington State
Jayden de Laura is once again a game-time decision for Arizona.
The Wildcats’ starting quarterback has not played since the Stanford game back on September 23, when he suffered a lower-leg injury. In de Laura’s place, Noah Fifita has impressed. The freshman quarterback has thrown for 535 yards with 8 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in relief of de Laura.
At his press conference on Thursday, head coach Jedd Fisch said de Laura is making progress and will dress for Saturday’s game regardless of whether he starts.
“Getting better every day. Practiced yesterday, practiced the day before, continuing to evolve and get a lot of work. Moving around pretty good,” Fisch said. “He’ll be a gametime decision, as it’s been, but (he’s) certainly closer than he’s been. He’s been practicing in full pads the last two days.
“I fully expect Jayden to dress this week. Even if he’s at 90%, he’ll dress and be the backup. If he’s at 100%, he’ll dress and start. He will be in full pads, ready to go, and if not starting, hope he’ll be healthy enough to be an emergency situation.”
The Wildcats (3-3, 1-2 Pac-12) will kick off against No. 19 Washington State (4-1, 1-1 Pac-12 at 4 p.m. PT on Saturday.
It’ll be the first trip back to Pullman for de Laura since transferring to Arizona before the 2022 season, and it figures to be more than just another game for him. There’s history there, and Wazzu coach Jake Dickert said earlier this week he would roll with Fifita based on recent play.