Reconstructing UA's defense could position Cats to 'make the leap' in 2023

Prioritizing offense led Arizona to make a pretty substantial jump from the inaugural season of the Jedd Fisch era to this past season.

The additions of quarterback Jayden de Laura, wide receiver Jacob Cowing and tight end Tanner McLachlan through the transfer portal — coupled with star receiver Tetairoa McMillan (the highest-rated high school signee in UA history) and offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea from the high school ranks — catapulted the Wildcats from the No. 71-ranked passing offense in FBS to the sixth best, averaging 318.4 yards per game.

All of the aforementioned players, along with other standouts such as left tackle Jordan Morgan — whom Fisch dubbed a “first-round draft pick” during his National Signing Day news conference — and running back Michael Wiley, are all returning for the 2023 season with hopes of leading the Wildcats to a bowl game for the first time in six years.

Long story short: Shoring up the offense wasn’t as high on Arizona’s to-do list this offseason; defense was. That side surrendered an average of 467.7 yards per game in 2022, ranking 11th in the Pac-12, despite the Wildcats nearly tripling their takeaway total from 2021.

Between recruiting and the transfer portal, the Wildcats inked 20 scholarship defensive players for ‘23.

Arizona lost its top five tacklers — six of the top seven — from 2022 to either the transfer portal or NFL draft. Soon-to-be second-year linebacker Jacob Manu, who emerged from scout-team superstar to playmaker under defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen, is Arizona’s top returning tackler (54).

Manu will have new company — or competition — when Arizona begins preparation for its third season with Fisch at the helm. Arizona signed linebackers Justin Flowe (Oregon), Daniel Heimuli (Washington) and Orin Patu (Cal) via the transfer portal. The Wildcats also added four-star Mater Dei High School captain Leviticus Su’a, Chandler product Taye Brown and Kamuela Ka’aihue from Hawaii.

“We’ve really added depth and competition to our linebacking corps,” Fisch said. “Now we’re talking about six to eight guys that can give you reps rather than a few.”

Manu wasn’t the only impactful freshman on defense for the Wildcats. Defensive linemen Russell Davis II, Sterling Lane II, Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei and Jacob Kongaika at multiple points in the second half of the season formed an all-freshman defensive line. When the Wildcats rolled out their “dollar package,” which featured seven defensive backs, freshmen Ephesians Prysock and Tacario Davis earned reps in their first season at the UA.

Add returnees such as defensive tackle Tia Savea (who blocked a field goal in Arizona’s win over UCLA) and safeties DJ Warnell (a special-teams standout and spot starter) and Isaiah Taylor (who came on late in the season) to the influx of newbies, and the defense might be ready to take flight this year.

“I’d love to see our defense take a big step forward,” Fisch said.

Easier said than done, especially in a conference littered with star quarterbacks.

“The Pac-12 is an interesting league. If you look at the Pac-12 statistically, I believe we have six of the top-20 offenses in the country,” Fisch said. “I don’t think we have any top-20 defenses in the country.

“I don’t know if that’s the chicken or the egg. Is that based upon quarterback play in the Pac-12, or is that based upon not getting our defenses to that same level? .

“You have quarterback after quarterback after quarterback that can really tear you apart in the passing game. You have a ton of speed on the field where you have to figure out ways to tackle, and then you have really, really good coaches — good offensive coaches.

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“So, it’s a great challenge. I don’t know if you can see the same jumps as we got on offense. I don’t know, maybe we can, that’ll be great. You have to sustain success on offense. We have to make a good jump on defense. We have to take the ball away more; we took it away 15 times (this past season). We gotta take it away 20 or more (in 2023). We gotta get a few more red-zone stops; that was a big issue for us last year, we didn’t get that.”

Oh, and stop the run. The Wildcats were 124th in FBS in rushing yards allowed (209.1 ypg) and allowed six opponents to rush for at least 200 yards, including a trio of 300-plus-yard games against Cal, Oregon and Utah.

“We should be better against the run,” Fisch said.

“If we do that, then we’ll have the opportunity to make the leap necessary to continue the build we’ve talked about so often.”

A Rushing homecoming

The newest addition for the Wildcats through the transfer portal is Tucson native and former Salpointe Catholic defensive back Cruz Rushing.

Rushing joined Florida as a walk-on this past season, playing for his father George Rushing’s alma mater. The older Rushing, who played tight end for the Gators, was a part of legendary coach Steve Spurrier’s first-ever recruiting class at Florida.

After entering his name in the transfer portal, Rushing received a full-ride scholarship from the Wildcats.

“A program like Florida, I have a lot of love for them,” Rushing told ESPN Tucson. “I’m really thankful for what Coach (Billy) Napier and his staff were able to do over there. I learned a lot of great lessons and saw a lot of great competition, especially at that level. I’ll always have love for the Gators.

“But the last few weeks, I ended up putting my name into the transfer portal and ended up in contact with a few different schools, U of A being one of them. … I made a family decision to go back home and be a hometown guy. I’m a lot closer to home, and it ended up being a great move and great opportunity altogether.”

With the addition of Rushing, Arizona has positioned itself to potentially land his younger brother, Elijah Rushing, a 6-6, 245-pound five-star 2024 edge rusher at Salpointe. The younger Rushing is rated by 247Sports.com as the top edge rusher for the class of ‘24.

“I do hope we get to play together, but ultimately he’s gotta make the best decision for himself,” Cruz Rushing said. “Wherever he sees himself being the best fit, I want him to be the best he can be.”

Extra points

Fisch is attending the Super Bowl in Glendale to support Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, who was Fisch’s college roommate at the University of Florida. Roseman was the Eagles’ GM for the 2017 Super Bowl run, when ex-Wildcat and Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles quarterbacked Philadelphia to its lone championship.

Former Arizona soccer player Autumn Lockwood is set to become the first-ever Black woman to coach in the Super Bowl. Lockwood, who last played for the Wildcats in 2013, is an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Eagles. She’s the fourth woman to coach in the Super Bowl.