Arizona football progress report: Grading the Cats through the first half of the season

In Ted Lasso-esque fashion, Arizona head coach Brent Brennan maintained a positive outlook on the Wildcats’ first six games of the season, even in the minutes after a gut-wrenching loss.

Arizona is 4-2 — matching its win total from last season — and the Wildcats’ only two setbacks of the season are against Top 20 opponents in Iowa State and BYU.

The Wildcats fell to the Cyclones in their Big 12 opener in Ames, Iowa, and lost to undefeated BYU in double overtime on Saturday.

“We just battled the first-place team in the Big 12 for four quarters and two overtimes and we never backed down,” Brennan said on Saturday. “We didn’t get the result we wanted, but those kids played their hearts out and that’s something to be excited about. The goal is to win, and I understand that. We’re a better football team. We’re halfway through the season and we have a lot work on, but we have a lot to feel good about.”

Even though Arizona clawed back from a two-touchdown deficit against BYU, the Wildcats frittered away a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. In two overtime periods, the Wildcats only scored a field goal, which Brennan called “incredibly disappointing.”

“The hard part is that at the end of the game, we had a chance to end it offensively and we had a chance to end it defensively — and neither side of the ball did,” Brennan said.

Added Brennan: “As disheartening as tonight was, to me there’s a lot of positives in that game, and we need to be excited about that, too. I want us to be pissed off about how that thing ended — we should be. We should also be excited that we stood toe-to-toe with one of the most physical teams in our conference and slugged it out into double-overtime.”

Now that Arizona is at the halfway point of the season, here’s a position-by-position breakdown of the Wildcats and how they grade — and compare to their previous grades at the conclusion of nonconference play — this season.

Quarterbacks

Grade: A-

Previous grade: A-

The rundown: Third-year starter Noah Fifita continues to ascend Arizona’s all-time passing categories.

Fifita recently passed Khalil Tate for the third-most career passing touchdowns (58) and trails Nick Foles and Willie Tuitama, who are both tied for the lead (67). Fifita is on pace to set Arizona’s career passing touchdowns this season.

Fifita is also fourth behind Foles, Tuitama and Tom Tunnicliffe for career passing yards (7,515). Fifita is 114 yards shy of passing Tunnicliffe.

In Big 12 play, Fifita has thrown for nine touchdowns and four interceptions. Fifita has a turnover in all three conference games this season. Backup quarterback Braedyn Locke threw a pick-six against Oklahoma State, the only touchdown the Cowboys scored against the Wildcats.

Fifita’s top performance of the season is a 376-yard, five-touchdown outing in a 41-13 win over Oklahoma State, which earned him Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors — the first of his career. Fifita also has more rushing yards this season than the previous two seasons combined — and thrice as many rushing touchdowns.

“At the end of the day, the biggest thing is to win,” Fifita said. “We’ve had our glimpses, as well. A lot of inconsistencies on our side of the ball, a lot of ups and downs, so we have to be able to find that consistency and be able to grow with each other and grow within the scheme. We’ve taken steps, but I don’t think we’re close to the potential of this offense.”

Running backs

Grade: B-

Previous grade: B

The rundown: Health is the sole reason this group has taken a dip on the progress report.

Arizona junior running back Kedrick Reescano was sidelined for three games with a leg injury and was limited in the win over Oklahoma State. Since his breakout 125-yard, one-touchdown performance in the season opener against Hawaii, the banged-up Quincy Craig has a combined 21 carries for 82 yards in the last five games; he’s been more involved in the passing game with six receptions for 41 yards.

Following a mild performance, Ismail Mahdi has emerged as the Wildcats’ leading rusher with 71 carries for 403 yards and two touchdowns. Mahdi was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week after recording 221 all-purpose yards against Kansas State.

Reescano led the Wildcats on Saturday with a career-high 90 rushing yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Reescano’s 36-yard touchdown is his longest run since Arizona’s win over Northern Arizona last season.

“Ked has been sidelined with some injury stuff, but it was great to see him run the ball with physicality and the playmaking we think he’s capable of,” Brennan added.

The Wildcats are 11th in the Big 12 in rushing offense, averaging 147.2 yards per game. A healthier stable of running backs could improve that.

Wide receivers/tight ends

Grade: B-

Previous grade: C+

The rundown: Arizona’s pass catchers went into the Oklahoma State game with a combined 11 drops this season, according to Pro Football Focus. Since then, the Wildcats have only one drop in the last two games, per PFF.

That one drop could’ve potentially won the game for Arizona on Saturday. In the second overtime period, Fifita threw a pass to the corner of the end zone to Javin Whatley for the final play of the game, but the ball went off his fingertips.

“We just need to complete the ball,” Brennan said.

Whatley leads the Wildcats in receiving with 25 catches, 328 yards and three touchdowns. Kris Hutson had a breakout game against BYU with nine receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown, and is now behind Whatley as the second-most productive receiver.

“Kris Hutson, it was great to see him get going,” Brennan said. “He’s also had some injury stuff that slowed him during training camp and throughout this season. Tonight is the night where I was like, ‘Whoa, there he is. That’s the playmaker we know you to be.’ I expect more from Kris Hutson going forward.”

Chris Hunter, Arizona’s leading returner, has a combined seven catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns in the last two games. Hunter hauled in a 35-yard over-the-shoulder touchdown against BYU.

Whatley, Hutson, Hunter and Luke Wysong are Arizona’s top pass catchers. Big-bodied receiver Tre Spivey leads the Wildcats with nine receptions for four touchdowns. The Wildcats have also seen flashes of promise from freshmen Gio Richardson and Isaiah Mizell.

The Wildcats don’t have a headliner in the room, like Tetairoa McMillan last season, but the steady rotation of receivers keeps that group “fast and fresh,” Brennan said last week.

Arizona’s tight ends are in a similar situation as the UA running backs last season: unexpected injuries and redshirt decisions have thinned out the group. Redshirt junior Tyler Powell suffered a season-ending leg injury on the first play from scrimmage this season, and senior Keyan Burnett opted to medically redshirt after playing in just four games and has stepped away from the program.

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Sixth-year senior Sam Olson and Mercyhurst transfer Cameron Barmore, who made a key block in Reescano’s touchdown run on Saturday, are shouldering the load at tight end and have a combined 13 catches for 81 yards and a touchdown.

Offensive line

Grade: B

Previous grade: C+

The rundown: The position group with the most questions entering the season has emerged as a cohesive unit in Big 12 play.

Arizona’s lineup of left tackle Ty Buchanan, left guard Chubba Maae, center Ka’ena Decambra, right guard Alexander Doost and right tackle Tristan Bounds — with tackle Rhino Tapa’atoutai and guard Michael Wooten as reserves — has improved in pass protection. In Big 12 play, the Wildcats have only surrendered three sacks — none against BYU.

Since allowing six quarterback pressures and a sack against Hawaii, Bounds has only given up two quarterback pressures and no sacks in the last five games.

The Wildcats have the eighth-best pass-blocking and run-blocking PFF grades in the Big 12 this season.

Defensive line

Grade: B+

Previous grade: B

The rundown: One of the most improved areas on Arizona’s roster is the interior defensive line with the additions of Deshawn McKnight, Tiaoalii Savea and Leroy Palu, who have a combined 46 tackles and 11 stops for loss. Redshirt sophomore Julian Savaiinaea has 10 tackles, a sack and forced fumble as a three-technique defensive tackle.

The Wildcats will likely add to the interior defensive line depth and implement junior college transfer Zac Siulepa, a 6-6, 389-pound New Zealand native, who was added just before the season and wasn’t expected to carve out a role until midseason.

Arizona lost defensive captain and edge rusher Tre Smith to a season-ending injury, opening up an opportunity for Malachi Bailey to become a starter on the other side of Dominic Lolesio. Bailey has the fourth-most tackles for loss (3.5) by a Wildcat this season. Freshman Mays Pese has played 111 defensive snaps this season and could become a mainstay with Smith out.

Linebackers

Grade: A-

Previous grade: A-

The rundown: To help with Arizona’s defensive line, the Wildcats have used four-linebacker lineups with Riley Wilson and Chase Kennedy, who both hail from edge-rushing backgrounds.

Wilson cited mental health struggles as the reason for his absence in training camp and the early parts of the season, but now that he’s in a better headspace, Wilson has been one of the Wildcats’ most impactful linebackers with 19 tackles and three sacks in four games.

Arizona’s two anchors at linebacker are Taye Brown and Max Harris, who have the third- and fourth-most tackles for the Wildcats behind defensive backs Genesis Smith and Dalton Johnson. Brown had a career-high 14 tackles against BYU.

Defensive backs

Grade: A

Previous grade: A

The rundown: Wilson referred to the veteran trio of Smith, Johnson and Treydan Stukes as “the three-headed monster.”

All three defensive backs have at least one interception this season after Johnson grabbed his first interception of the season against BYU — his first pick since the 2023 Territorial Cup. Stukes and cornerback Jay’Vion Cole lead the Wildcats with two interceptions apiece.

The Wildcats have nine interceptions this season, which bests their season total from last year — in half as many games. Smith and cornerback Ayden Garnes have the most pass breakups (5), with cornerback Michael Dansby (4) in second. Garnes, Dansby, Cole and Marquis Groves-Killebrew have exchanged reps and give the Wildcats a legitimate two-deep depth chart at cornerback.

With the return of Stukes, who has fully recovered from the knee injury he suffered last season, Gavin Hunter’s production has tapered off, but the redshirt sophomore is tied with Stukes and Johnson with two pass breakups.

BYU’s 75-yard touchdown was the first — and only — passing touchdown Arizona has allowed this season. The Wildcats entered Saturday as the only team in college football to not allow a passing touchdown. The Wildcats have the best passing defense in the Big 12 and the 10th-best passing defense nationally, allowing 151.3 yards per game. Arizona is 15th in college football in total defense.

“For us, I know we’ve had some good games, we’ve had some games where we gave up more yards than we wanted to,” Stukes said on Saturday. “At the end of the day, it’s about holding the other team to one less point than we score. We’re just going to go back to the drawing board, keep trusting our coaches and trusting the people on the field and I think we’ve shown flashes that we can be a dominant defense. We just need to keep executing at a high level to get there.”

Special teams

Grade: C

Previous grade: D+

The rundown: Arizona’s special teams are still the weak link of the Wildcats this season, but it’s improving. Long snapper Avery Salerno hasn’t had a poor field-goal snap since the UA’s loss to Iowa State, and since missing a 46-yard attempt in the first half against Oklahoma State, kicker Michael Salgado-Medina has made four straight field goals, including a career-high 57-yarder.

Australia native Isaac Lovison has taken over starting duties at punter in Big 12 play and is averaging 43.5 yards per punt, with five punts landing inside the 20-yard line. Lovison’s tackle in the fourth quarter against BYU almost saved the Wildcats, but the Cougars’ rushing attack powered them down the field for a touchdown to send the game into overtime.

Wysong and Jeremiah Patterson have been Arizona’s punt returners and are both averaging 9 yards per return. Mahdi has been Arizona’s kick returner with four returns for 82 yards. Wysong, Patterson and Mahdi all have fumbles this season, however, Wysong recovered the muffed punt and Mahdi was ruled down on the opening kickoff against Iowa State. Groves-Killebrew bumped into Patterson, causing the fumble against Kansas State.