You never know how a transfer class will come together. But if those players have accumulated a decent number of college snaps, you can at least make an educated guess.
The Arizona football staff again targeted experience this offseason. As such, many of the newcomers acquired via the portal have amassed data that we can analyze.
That’s exactly what we’ll do in this special offseason edition of “Cats Stats.” Tapping into the vast database at Pro Football Focus, we examined relevant advanced stats for 15 of Arizona’s 22 portal pickups.
What positions did they play? What are they best at? Where can they stand to improve?
Let's take a closer look (players listed in alphabetical order).
DB Daylen Austin (Oregon)
If you’re looking for someone to succeed Treydan Stukes at the “F Kat” position — nickel corner — Austin might be your guy. Austin played 148 defensive snaps for Oregon last season, with 98 of those coming in the slot. He was targeted 13 times and allowed only five receptions, an impressive 46.6% completion rate. Overall, Austin allowed just six catches in 16 targets (37.5%).
Former Georgetown edge rusher Cooper Blomstrom is one of 22 members of Arizona's 2026 transfer-portal class.
DE Cooper Blomstrom (Georgetown)
You might see Blomstrom labeled as a linebacker, but make no mistake — he’s an edge rusher. Out of 448 defensive snaps last season, Blomstrom lined up in a position that PFF classified as “defensive line” 429 times. He rushed the passer 212 times while playing in coverage on only 25 snaps. He’s here to complement Chase Kennedy and Tre Smith as a pass rusher after accumulating 65 QB pressures over the past two seasons.
CB Dwight Bootle II (Charlotte)
Bootle got his most extensive action last season at Charlotte after spending his first two seasons at Nebraska. He mostly played zone coverage (68.5% of coverage snaps) but showed promise while playing man, allowing only one reception in four targets. His 70.3 man-coverage grade was third best in the American Conference. Arizona played man and zone about equally last season, per PFF’s tracking.
CB Tyrese Boss (Wyoming)
Like Bootle, Boss mostly played outside corner this past season at Wyoming. He posted a respectable 57.4% completion rate against (27 of 47). More impressive was Boss’ ability to limit damage. Pass catchers averaged just 8.8 yards per reception against him, the fourth-lowest figure among Mountain West Conference cornerbacks (minimum 109 coverage snaps).
Northern Colorado safety Cam Chapa committed to the Arizona Wildcats following two highly productive seasons in the Big Sky.
S Cam Chapa (Northern Colorado)
We have two main takeaways from Chapa’s 2025 campaign at Northern Colorado. The first is that he played 666 of 781 defensive snaps at free safety — the position previously occupied by Genesis Smith, who left Arizona after his junior season to enter the NFL Draft. The other is that Chapa improved markedly as a tackler. He lowered his missed-tackle rate from 12.7% in 2024 to 4.1% in '25.
WR Rodney Gallagher III (West Virginia)
Gallagher is a true slot receiver. He played 503 offensive snaps last season at West Virginia — with all but 10 coming in the slot. Gallagher wasn’t targeted very far downfield; his ADOT (average depth of target) of 5.7 yards was second lowest among Big 12 receivers with at least 28 slot targets. Gallagher also could stand to improve on contested catches after snagging just 1 of 7 contested targets in 2025.
OT Nate Hale (San Jose State)
Hale played all 670 of his snaps at right tackle for San Jose State last season. The Wildcats welcome back Tristan Bounds, who got an extra year of eligibility, but he’s rehabbing from a season-ending lower-leg injury suffered in November. Consider Hale an insurance policy. PFF didn’t charge him with a sack last season, but Hale did yield 23 QB pressures. He was more effective as a pass blocker (59.9 PFF grade) than run blocker (45.2).
Nebraska defensive back Malcolm Hartzog runs after making an interception against Ohio State, Oct. 26, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio.
S Malcolm Hartzog (Nebraska)
Hartzog brings experience and versatility to Tucson. He played 1,700 defensive snaps over three-plus seasons at Nebraska. Over his first two seasons, Hartzog mostly played outside cornerback, with 73.2% of his snaps coming at wide corner. That changed the past two seasons, as Hartzog increasingly covered the slot (49.9%). Hartzog struggled to complete tackles in 2024, his last full season, finishing with a 25.4% missed-tackle rate. It was 8.5% over his first two seasons.
C Zachary Henning (Washington)
Henning played a handful of snaps at guard and as a blocking tight end at Washington, but he’s coming here to play center. Henning played 317 of 333 snaps at the pivot last season. He performed especially well as a pass blocker, yielding only three pressures and zero sacks in 183 pass-blocking snaps. PFF gave Henning a 99.1 pass-blocking efficiency mark, tied for third best among Big Ten centers.
S Lee Molette III (UConn)
Molette played 440 of 739 snaps (59.5%) at free safety for UConn last season, but wasn’t limited to center field. He also played 186 “box” snaps (safety/linebacker near the line of scrimmage) and 96 at slot corner. Two shaky performances down the stretch skewed some of Molette’s stats. He allowed seven receptions in eight targets on Nov. 22 at FAU; in all other games, he held pass catchers to a 50% completion rate (7 of 14). He then had a season-high four missed tackles in the Fenway Bowl vs. Army, raising his missed-tackle rate to 16.5%.
Georgia linebackers Chris Cole (9) and Gabe Harris Jr. (0) tackle Marshall running back Antwan Roberts (44) during the second half Aug. 30, 2025, in Athens, Ga.
RB Antwan Roberts (Marshall)
Roberts’ profile suggests he could be moved around the formation. Out of 300 total offensive snaps last season at Marshall, Roberts lined up in the slot 21 times and out wide six times. Roberts wasn’t great at breaking tackles (3.06 yards after contact per attempt) but is a big-play threat if given a crease (51.9% of his rushing yardage came on runs of 15-plus yards, second highest among Sun Belt tailbacks).
WR Jordan Ross (Colorado State)
Ross had just a 50% reception rate (26 of 52) in two seasons at Colorado State, but expect that number to tick up with improved quarterback play. Ross had only two dropped passes and a 7.1% drop rate on on-target throws. The drop rate for UA receivers with at least 10 targets last season ranged from 4.8% (Kris Hutson) to 14.8% (Tre Spivey).
LB Everett Roussaw Jr. (Memphis)
Memphis often used Roussaw as a pass rusher; he came after the quarterback on 34.3% of passing snaps, the highest rate for off-ball linebackers in the American Conference. But Roussaw was not particularly effective, managing just a 0.8% win rate, lowest in that subset of linebackers. Roussaw did accumulate 21 pressures and six QB hits.
Illinois tight end Cole Rusk runs the ball against Washington safety Makell Esteen during the first half Oct. 25, 2025, in Seattle.
TE Cole Rusk (Illinois)
Rusk didn’t have a ton of receiving opportunities last season at Illinois, but he made the most of them. Rusk’s 82.6% reception rate ranked fourth among Big Ten tight ends (minimum 18 targets). No one in the top 10 had an ADOT as high as Rusk’s 9.0 yards, which ranked second in the conference. Rusk did not drop a pass last season and had just one drop in 54 targets in 2023 at Murray State.
CB Zuri Watson (Howard)
Watson showed great promise as a cover corner against lower-level competition. He allowed a reception rate of 51.5% (17 of 33) last season at Howard while primarily playing on the outside (554 of 591 snaps). Watson also played on multiple special-teams units, totaling 85 snaps in the kicking game.
