Arizona Wildcats DL Mays Pese Opens Up About Flipping from California

Mays Pese, who flipped from California to the Arizona Wildcats, opened up more about his decision.

Nov 25, 2022; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Detailed view of an Arizona Wildcats helmet on the field during the Territorial Cup at Arizona Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Wildcats were thrilled when they were able to flip defensive lineman Mays Pese from the California Golden Bears.

Pese, a three-star defensive lineman hailing from Santa Barbara, California, has the potential to be a key piece for the future of the Arizona defense.

Standing in at 6-foot-2 and 260 pounds, Pese has been ranked as the No. 116 defensive lineman in the 2025 recruiting class.

In a recent interview, Pese opened up more about his decision to flip from California to join the Wildcats. He's clearly very excited to get to work at Arizona.

A big part of his decision to flip was due to his visit to Arizona. He was impressed with everything that the Wildcats have to offer.

"The way they play their defensive lineman, the way the linebackers play off the defensive line and then they let their defensive linemen go, that was a big part of it. The official visit just blew me away."

Joe Seumalo, the Wildcats' defensive line coach, also was credited as part of the decision-making process for Pese.

"Coach Seumalo is a good guy and he stays true to himself and to his players."

Another key factor was Arizona new head caoch Brent Brennan. Pese is a big fan of him.

"Coach Brennan is a really nice guy and I wanted to be around him. The way he treated his players, he's comfortable around them.  The way so many guys stayed when he came in, that speaks a lot.  Those guys knew a good coach was coming in and they wanted to still be a part of the program."

One other major point was the Polynesian contingent at Arizona. That was a bonus for him.

"The Poly core, that was more helpful, I felt like home, being surrounded Poly players. I met Julian Savaiinaea and Jonah Savaiinaea on the visit and they made me feel at home.  I remember hanging out with Javian Goo too on the trip."

All of that being said, Pese sounds like he's going to be a perfect fit with the Wildcats.

Arizona was lucky to get him to flip. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact he can make for the team in the future.