Mr. Wong's House of Sacks

Arizona Daily Wildcat Rebecca Roberts/Stanford Daily Stanford's Kailee Wong applies his helmet under the chin of Ryan Maas in Stanford's 58-49 win over Oregon. Wong is second in the Pac-10 conference with 5.5 sacks, UA's Joe Salave'a has seven.

Nothing about sacks.

Nothing about tackles.

Nothing about awards.

Instead, his thoughts were on helping the rest of his teammates.

"I did set some goals," Wong said. "I wanted to provide more leadership. I know I need to be more of a leader on and off the field. I need to show leadership through hustle.

"Also, I wanted to be bring more emotion to the team."

Don't expect Wong, however, to be the most vocal guy on the field. He claims that it's not his style. But if he is barking, you better listen to the 6-foot-3, 268-pound All-America candidate.

"I don't do a lot of yelling," Wong said. "But if I am yelling, its probably because I am pissed."

Wong does like to have fun, though.

"I like to jump and celebrate after a big play," Wong said. "It keeps me in the game."

The Lombardi Award finalist has had plenty of opportunities to celebrate. So far this season, Wong has a team high 5.5 sacks, second best in the Pacific 10 Conference. With a deadly combination of speed and strength, he has also recorded 10 tackles for losses for a total of 53 yards.

"He is an extremely physical player," UA senior guard Ryan Turley said. "Yet, he has excellent technique as well. He is a well-rounded athlete."

Wong also has a knack for the big play. In his last two games, against Oregon and Notre Dame, Wong sacked the quarterback in the end zone for a safety.

"He never stops coming at you," Turley said. "He's got a good feel for the game."

Football wasn't the game that Wong always thought he would be playing though.

"I grew up playing basketball," the three-time basketball letterman said. "I was very much into basketball."

Soon, he realized that football would be the right sport for him to pursue.

"I started to find that I was having a lot more success in football, because I was more of a dominant player. In basketball, I was just kind of a role player."

Wong, who was tied for second in the Pac-10 in sacks last year, seems to have made the right decision.

After playing running back in high school, Wong made the move to the defensive line.

"I miss carrying the rock," Wong said. "But, I am happy with my choice to move to the other side of the ball."

By wearing number 13, an unusual number for a lineman, Wong is able to carry some of his running back days with him.

"I wore number 3 in high school," Wong said. "When I got to Stanford, I wanted to be a fast guy with a single digit. I asked for 3."

They said no.

"I started to beg, asking for 6,9, or any single digit. They said that I was a lineman and that was not a number I should wear. Finally, they said I could have 13. I was like, 'Yes, I will show you.'"

Now, Wong has the challenge of stopping the top-ranked rushing offense in the Pac-10.

"They (Arizona ) have a great offense," Wong said. "I will have to do my job, which is stopping the run."

UA head coach Dick Tomey knows that Wong, along with teammate Carl Hanson, will give the offense a challenge.

"I would say that Hanson and Wong are two of the best defensive linemen we have played against," Tomey said. "They are outstanding players. We will have to be better, because they are real solid up front."