TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Arizona senior running back Michael Wiley had a brutally honest assessment of how his Wildcat football career started, back in 2019.
“It was a sh-tshow in the beginning,” he said.
Since then, he’s run through two head coaches, three running backs coaches, a winless season and a one-win season with the Wildcats.
He says his Arizona football journey has been defined by “perseverance.”
“I’m not really the kind of person to just get up and leave,” he said. “One thing my dad told me before I got to college that really stuck with me, was ‘As a man, sometimes you might not make the best decisions, but you’re defined on how you can make it work.’”
Wiley made it work: racking up nearly 3,000 career combined rushing and receiving yards and 28 touchdowns.
“Try to do what I can whenever there’s a big game,” he said.
His final game as a Wildcat could be his biggest.
Arizona is playing for 10 wins and a top-10 ranking at the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, about a three-hour drive from Wiley’s hometown of Houston.
As the Wildcats move to the Big 12 next year, they’ll find themselves playing and recruiting in the Lone Star State even more often.
“There’s some smaller cities in Texas where literally when the high school team is playing, that’s all they’re doing, is watching that,” he explained. “That’s just how we take it serious down there.”
Before Wiley eyes the next step of going pro, it’s fitting that his last run with the Wildcats will be deep in the heart of Texas.
“It’s time to go to work, man,” he said. “That’s pretty much what’s always on my mind.”
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