It’s officially game week, which means a first look at the Arizona Wildcats’ depth chart.
Arizona released its Week 1 depth chart on Monday ahead of the No. 21-ranked Wildcats’ season opener against the New Mexico Lobos at Arizona Stadium on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of the released UA football depth chart:
Arizona QBs Cole Tannenbaum, left, Noah Fifita, middle, and Brayden Dorman, right, participate in throwing drills during a spring football practice on April 23 on the UA campus.
Quarterbacks
To no surprise, junior Noah Fifita will be QB1 entering the season. But the backup role to Fifita was among the most competitive position battles in fall training camp. Despite the additions of transfers Anthony Garcia (San Jose State) and Adam Damante (Northern Arizona) and the return of former four-star quarterback Brayden Dorman, walk-on Cole Tannenbaum is listed as the second-string quarterback behind Fifita.
Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said Tannenbaum, a 6-4, 201-pound redshirt sophomore from Los Angeles, “has done a really nice job” since “the spring and has continued to now.”
UA quarterbacks coach Lyle Moevao said Tannenbaum knows “where he’s going with the ball and understanding the defense, a lot of that stuff is starting to speed up pre-snap. Post-snap, he’s reacting and making decisions.”
Fifita noticed “a certain swagger and moxie you wouldn’t expect him to have” throughout training camp.
Considering the Wildcats are 30-point favorites to beat New Mexico and will host Northern Arizona on Sept. 7, Tannenbaum and the other quarterbacks should receive plenty of in-game reps over the next two weeks.
Arizona defensive back Marquis Groves-Killebrew, left, tracks down wide receiver Jeremiah Patterson during an Aug. 7 practice.
Wide receivers
Arizona’s starting receivers will be 2-4-5 again.
Arizona’s starting receiving trio, per the depth chart, will be preseason All-American Tetairoa McMillan, second-year starter Montana Lemonious-Craig and junior-college transfer slot receiver Jeremiah Patterson, who has taken over the No. 2 jersey left behind by San Francisco 49ers rookie Jacob Cowing.
Arizona receivers coach Bobby Wade said Patterson, who will also return punts this season, is “bringing exactly what I wanted him to bring to this offense.”
“I also feel like there’s gonna be more that I can give him sooner than later, which is great,” said Wade. “I think his learning curve is outstanding. He’s doing a great job of attaching himself to Noah and is trying to ask the right questions and get the knowledge and information that he needs to fit within the offense. I’m excited to see him play.”
Other receivers listed in Arizona’s rotation include redshirt freshman Devin Hyatt, Old Dominion transfer Reymello Murphy and sophomore Malachi Riley. The Wildcats are expected to open up the receiver rotation to six or seven players this season. Under former head coach Jedd Fisch, Arizona primarily played three receivers unless someone was injured.
Arizona tight end Keyan Burnett runs under a throw in the corner of the end zone in the team’s practice Friday.
Tight ends
As expected, the tight end pecking order is junior Keyan Burnett, who played behind Tanner McLachlan his first two seasons at the UA, along with fifth-year Germany native Roberto Miranda and San Jose State transfer Sam Olson.
Expect the Wildcats to deploy two-tight end sets with any of the aforementioned tight ends. Redshirt sophomore Tyler Powell and redshirt freshman Dorian Thomas ascended in training camp, too.
Running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt, left, executes a drill during an Arizona football practice at Arizona Stadium on Aug. 2. Croskey-Merritt will face his former team, New Mexico, in Week 1.
Running backs
The depth chart for running backs is “or” galore.
Arizona has four starters at running back with New Mexico transfer Jacory Croskey-Merritt, San Jose State transfer Quali Conley, Ole Miss transfer Kedrick Reescano and junior Rayshon “Speedy” Luke (in that order).
After losing its top three rushers from last season, the Wildcats are loaded at running back once again. Croskey-Merritt and Conley are projected to be the most productive running backs at Arizona this season, but Reescano, a powerful and explosive runner, and the uber-fast Luke will have their moments.
Arizona center Josh Baker, shown during the UA 2023 season opener against NAU last September, started all 13 games for the Wildcats last season.
Offensive line
Arizona still hasn’t decided on its right guard, which will be either San Jose State transfer Ryan Stewart or redshirt junior Leif Magnuson, who was injured most of training camp.
“When you go into the first game, the starting lineup is who they are, but it’s still up for negotiation,” Brennan said last week. “You either play well or you don’t. If you don’t play well, we’re going to play somebody else. But (Stewart has) done a really good job so far.”
The Wildcats’ other offensive line spots were chalk, with left tackle Rhino Tapa’atoutai, left guard Wendell Moe, center Josh Baker and star right tackle Jonah Savaiinaea.
The backups: Oregon transfer left tackle Michael Wooten, Northwestern transfer left guard Alexander Doost, center Grayson Stovall, redshirt sophomore Grayson Stovall and freshman right tackle Matthew Lado. Chandler native and walk-on left tackle Zarius Wells and New Mexico transfer guard Shancco Matautia are other offensive linemen to play this season.
Arizona defensive linemen Chubba Ma’ae, left, and Isaiah Johnson head for their next station while running drills during the the Wildcats’ evening practice on Aug. 9 at Arizona Stadium.
Defensive line
The only “or” on Arizona’s defensive depth chart is at defensive end and defensive tackle.
Junior Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei and redshirt sophomore Sterling Lane II are listed as co-starters at defensive end, with Utah transfer Chase Kennedy and freshman Eduwa Okundaye as backups.
USC transfer Stanley Ta’ufo’ou, Syracuse transfer Kevon Darton and Memphis transfer Jarra Anderson are co-starters at defensive tackle, alongside other interior starter Isaiah Johnson. UC Davis transfer Chubba Ma’ae is listed as Johnson’s backup but will likely start on Saturday. Redshirt junior Keanu Mailoto and redshirt freshman Julian Savaiinaea (Jonah’s younger brother) are reserve interior defensive linemen on the depth chart.
San Jose State transfer Tre Smith, who led the Spartans in sacks last year, is a projected starter for Saturday, with redshirt freshman Dominic Lolesio and junior college transfer Cyrus Durham as backups. Stanford transfer defensive end Lance Keneley wasn’t included on the depth chart, but earned reps with Arizona’s first- and second-team defense.
Brennan and defensive coordinator Duane Akina said the defensive line was “one of the nice surprises” in camp.
“I think there’s a lot of talent there,” Brennan said on Monday. “We’ve got a good mix of speed and edge presence with some physicality (on the) interior. It’s going to be fun to see what that looks like when we start playing.”
Jacob Manu and Arizona could be high on the Holiday Bowl’s wish list if the Wildcats produce another strong season in 2024.
Linebackers
Preseason All-Big 12 linebacker Jacob Manu is now the “Mike” linebacker, after spending the last two seasons at “Will” linebacker. Sophomore Kamuela Ka’aihue and redshirt junior Justin Flowe are co-backups.
Sophomore Taye Brown, who was anointed starter at the start of training camp, will be the “Will” linebacker. Tulane transfer and eighth-year linebacker Jared Small is listed as Brown’s backup.
Defensive back Marquis Groves-Killebrew waits for the signal to run a drill during a Wildcats’ practice session. “The acceleration in his development, that’s been really exciting,” said UA coach Brent Brennan.
Defensive backs
Four starters are back in Arizona’s secondary with cornerback Tacario Davis, nickel back Treydan Stukes, strong safety Dalton Johnson and free safety Gunner Maldonado. Louisville transfer Marquis Groves-Killebrew will start at cornerback, with Miami transfer Demetrius Freeney and redshirt sophomore Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine as co-backups.
Sophomore nickel back Genesis Smith and Colgate safety transfer Owen Goss are listed as backups but will have an integral role in the Wildcats’ seven-defensive back “dollar” package.
Redshirt freshman cornerback Emmanuel Karnley, Tennessee safety transfer Jack Luttrell and redshirt freshman safety Gavin Hunter are also on Arizona’s depth chart.
Arizona punter Michael Salgado-Medina (19) takes a snap as the special teams unit runs a few plays during the team’s preseason practice session at Arizona Stadium on Aug. 17.
Special teams
Arizona kicker Tyler Loop will enter his third season as the starting kicker. For the first time in Loop’s tenure as the starter, he’ll have a new long snapper and holder. Ohio transfer snapper Justin Holloway and freshman punter and holder Michael Salgado-Medina will replace Seth MacKellar and Kyle Ostendorp.
Salgado-Medina edged walk-on Jordan Forbes and Australian Lachlan Bruce for the starting punter job — and the successor to Ostendorp, a former All-Pac-12 selection.
Patterson and Luke, arguably the two fastest players on the team, are projected kick returners. Patterson and Luttrell are co-starters at punt return, but Patterson will most likely start on Saturday.
Here’s another look at the Arizona football depth chart:
