Pac-12 Player Profile: UA’s Christian Roland-Wallace

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Arizona’s Christian Roland-Wallace

POSITION: Defensive Back
HEIGHT: 5-11
WEIGHT: 202
CLASS: Sophomore
HOME TOWN: Palmdale, Calif.
HIGH SCHOOL: William J. Knight H.S.

When several members of the Arizona secondary opted out due to COVID, and others entered the transfer portal following Kevin Sumlin’s dismissal, Christian Roland-Wallace stayed put.

Confident he was in the right place—and that the coaching situation would be worked out—the sophomore cornerback from Palmdale, Calif., made the best of the unusual pandemic-shortened season.

It would have been easy to follow his teammates out the door. As a three-star high school recruit, Roland-Wallace chose Arizona over USC, only to struggle at times as a freshman in 2019.

Then, in what would have been a game-altering play in the 2020 season-opener, a potential pick slipped through his fingers against the Trojans, allowing USC to overcome a three-point lead with less than two minutes left.

Roland-Wallace shook it off, finishing 2020 strong with 26 tackles and three passes defended, earning PFF’s fifth-best rating among all Pac-12 returning cornerbacks.

Now with new head coach Jedd Fisch’s pressure defense in place, he and Notre Dame-transfer Isaiah Rutherford are in ideal positions to shine at the corners.