Arizona Offensive Guard Playing For More Than Just Football
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The Arizona Wildcats have seen a tremendous amount of success in the first three games of the season, but none quite like their game against Kansas State, when Ismail Mahdi gained 221 all-purpose yards and the line won the Big 12's Beef of the Week award.
That was largely due to an offensive line that was aggressive in the run game and hell bent on protecting quarterback Noah Fifita on passing plays.
One of those linemen was Chubba Ma'ae, the left guard who transitioned from the defensive tackle spot over the offseason and has shown his value on the interior ever since.
From second to first
Ma'ae won the starting role over Michael Wooten during practice reps in preparation for K-State when head coach Brent Brennan and other members of the coaching staff had them both competing for the job.
"Everything in the practice environment is about competition," Head coach Brent Brennan said. "That thing kind of went back and forth all week and we initially were going to let them play two series and switch two. And then we went with the hot hand and that was really how it played out."
Ma'ae displayed his elite-level skills on the interior by opening lanes for Mahdi to burst through and keep Fifita protected to the best of his ability.
"Transitioning to an O-line in that short of a period of time, like yeah, he's had the spring, the summer, but he's really never been the guy," Offensive coordinator Seth Doege said. "For him to come into that room and be able to pick it up and then against K-State to play at the level that he played at was very impressive. He's still got a lot to prove, but on that Friday night against K State, he proved that he belonged and he helped and he was a major reason why we were able to run the football. So, I was really proud of him."
Moving from defense to offense
Ma'ae has been listed as a defensive tackle on the Arizona roster since he became a part of the program in 2024, though he only played four games due to injury. Before that, he was making tackles and disrupting the offensive line at UC Davis for four seasons.
In his debut season in the fall with the Aggies, Ma'ae won Co-Freshman of the Year with 12 tackles, two of those for loss and was Second-Team All Big Sky. In 2022, he was third-team All-Big Sky. In 2023, he was named Second Team All-Big Sky again.
The transition for Ma'ae seemed to be a smooth one through camp and he proved that against K-State.
"It's a lot different because defense, you can have more of an individual impact, but on offense, you have to work more as a group, especially on the O line, you have to work as a group," Ma'ae said. "You have to be selfless. Just do your job like nothing more, nothing less. As long as you do your job, everybody does what Doege calls up, then it's a victory at the end of the day."
A fan favorite on and off the field
Ma'ae has become a fan favorite with his segment on the Arizona Wildcats YouTube channel, 'Chowing Down with Chubba', a show where he travels to different restaurants around Tucson to try all the different types of food the diverse town has to offer.
"It started off as a joke, really," Ma'ae said. "I remember I had mentioned when I was younger, I used to be on a diet. One of my dreams was to be Man Versus Food or like Guy Fieri."
Ma'ae isn't just a favorite to the fans, but to his teammates as well. Chase Kennedy talked about how his presence in the locker room makes everyone a better player.
"Chubba's impact is so great in the locker room, just because of the person he is, how he carries himself," Kennedy said. "The nicest human being I've ever met. Go out his way, do whatever for anybody, a great leader. I really go on and on about Chubba. His impact is great and is known around all Tucson."
Something bigger than football
During fall camp, Ma'ae had to endure one of the hardest things anyone could go through. His father, James, passed away and the Wildcat family gave him the time to go home and grieve with his family.
"He was my hero growing up," Ma'ae said. "The guy I looked up to and he was a man of very few words, but his actions spoke loudly. He was a big guy, but he never talked much. I think just my dad, he was one of my main motivators in this football stuff; he didn't know much about football. He didn't know much about sports in general, but all he knew was I had to work hard and that's all he did."
Ma'ae will have the opportunity to make his father proud, as he always has when he takes the field against the Cyclones this Saturday
"Every time I do strap on the helmet, put on the shoulder pads, the first thing I see is his face," Ma'ae said. "I could just hear him in the back of my head just to cheer me on, telling me like, 'Let's go.'"
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Nathaniel Martinez and a set of shoulder pads at 7 years old. He later graduated from Pima Community College in 2023, where he began writing for the Pima Post. He is working to achieve a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication and Media Studies.