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The two go way back.

Luke, the former Arizona running back who’s now starring for Fresno State, started playing football when he was about 6½ years old. His introduction to the game came via the , a nonprofit that Snoop founded in Southern California to give inner-city children a chance to participate in football and cheer.

Luke played for the Cali Cowboys. Snoop coached the Pomona Steelers. They’d compete against each other on the field. Afterward, it was all love.

“After the games, we always hugged, took pictures, talked,� Luke said. “It was always a family thing.�

Snoop Dogg wasn’t a celebrity who just attached his name to a charity for PR purposes. He genuinely cared about the kids.

To Luke, he was “Uncle Snoop.� And should Luke’s Fresno State teammates get to meet him before, during or after Saturday’s Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop, they’ll have that same experience.

“When we go down there,� Luke said, “he’s gonna be like, ‘Man, call me Uncle Snoop.’ That’s just the type of person and the guy he is.�

For Luke, the Arizona Bowl represents a full-circle moment on multiple fronts. Not only is he set to play in the bowl game sponsored by the man who provided his first pathway to football, but Luke again will step foot in the stadium where he began his college career.

“It’s crazy,� said Luke, whose Bulldogs will face Miami (Ohio) in the 10th playing of the Arizona Bowl at 2:30 p.m. at Casino Del Sol Stadium.

Luke came to the UA as part of the . He was the second-highest-rated player to sign with Arizona behind wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who would become the Wildcats’ all-time leader in receiving yards and a first-round pick of the Carolina Panthers.

While McMillan is deep into his rookie year in the NFL, Luke’s football career is just gaining traction. For the player known as “Speedy,� it didn’t happen fast.

Betting on himself

For most of his two-plus seasons at Arizona, Luke played sparingly. He was banged up at times — including an ankle injury suffered during his freshman year against North Dakota State, which was coached by Matt Entz ... who’s now Fresno State’s head coach.

Luke was always the third or fourth running back in the rotation. Two coaching staffs could never quite figure out how best to utilize him. He had more than five touches in only one game, Arizona’s blowout win at Washington State in 2023.

Four games into the 2024 season, with his workload still minimal, Luke and his family made a decision about his future. He would sit out the remainder of the season to preserve a redshirt year. It wasn’t an easy call.

“Who wants to not play a football season when you love the game? No one likes to be out. It sucks,� Luke said. “But sometimes you have to bet on yourself. Sometimes it’s business decisions. Sometimes it's things that are truly better for you.

“So I don't regret making that decision. It all makes sense looking back at it now.�

Luke couldn’t predict how that decision would play out, but he did have a vision for himself. Luke knew he could produce if given the opportunity. Entz and his newly assembled Fresno State staff felt the same way.

Under Entz, offensive coordinator Josh Davis and running backs coach Aaron Prier, Luke finally has a defined role. Multiple roles, actually.

Luke has 108 carries, 36 receptions and 16 kickoff returns. He has accumulated 1,257 all-purpose yards and has scored eight touchdowns. He averages 6.4 yards per touch from scrimmage — virtually the same as in his UA days (6.3).

Luke has lined up in the backfield 249 times, in the slot 18 times and out wide 25 times, per Pro Football Focus. He even has covered a handful of punts.

“All I needed was a coaching staff to believe in me,� Luke said. “The sky's the limit now.�

Luke leads Fresno State in rushing yards, total touchdowns and in ways that can’t be easily quantified.

“Speedy’s been unbelievable as far as the locker room goes, practice,� Entz said. “(He) has all the skill sets that you're looking for. We can use him on third down. We can use him on early downs. ... He can be a returner, as well.

“He's got breakaway speed. He's explosive. He can turn what maybe any of us would think would be a 3- or 4-yard run into an explosive play.

“And I just love the way he goes about his business — very matter-of-fact, very grounded, very humble. It's all about the process for him. I think that's part of the reason why he's transitioned so well and hit the ground running so well with the Bulldogs.�

Girl dad

Luke has matured a great deal since he arrived on the UA campus in the summer of 2022. Fatherhood will do that to you.

Luke’s daughter, Ra’myia, is 2½ years old. She was born in Tucson, which is one of the reasons the city “holds a special place in my heart,� Luke said.

Being a girl dad has changed the way Luke sees the world and approaches his day-to-day.

“You have to grow up a little bit faster just because now you are taking care of somebody else,� Luke said. “You have somebody else looking up to you. I learned how to be patient. You can't look at things in the moment. You gotta worry about the future.�

Ra’myia likes to play hide-and-seek. “She counts all the way to 10,� her dad beamed.

She just learned how to play duck, duck, goose. She’s taking a ballet class.

“It’s a lot, but I'm very grateful,� Luke said. “It's helping me through tough times. It helps me through good times. When you have a kid, you never know what will happen.�

That applies to football, too.

Luke’s journey hasn’t gone exactly how he planned it. But he likes where he is right now. And he’s excited about what lies ahead.

Luke has one more year of eligibility. His goal is to become the latest in a long line of Snoop League alums to make it to the NFL.

“I’m very grateful (for) the people I've met, the people I've come across, everybody that had a touch on my success or a touch on me getting this far,� Luke said. “And I still got a lot to achieve. I'm still going. I'm barely at the beginning. I can't wait to truly get to the destination that I've always been dreaming of since I was 6½, 7 years old.�