Arizona learning 'teams value' from new special teams coordinator Craig Naivar

If there's one thing Arizona special teams coordinator Craig Naivar loves more than coaching "teams" or, as many other coaches call it, "the kicking game," it's barbecue.  

Naivar was "born and raised in the barbecue capital of Texas" in Taylor, Texas, just, outside of Austin and claims to be a "wanna-be pitmaster." When he's not coaching football or watching baseball, he's barbecuing.  

"I think I'm pretty damn good at it, but I'm probably not," Naivar said. "It's good therapy when you just kind of relax and invest in something — and you can compete against yourself. It's a hell of a way to compete. 'How good was your brisket versus that one? How were your ribs compared to the last one?' It's competitive in that way, too.

"If I win the lottery, I'm opening up a barbecue joint without a doubt, but I need someone to run it." 

Arizona punter and kicker Michael Salgado-Medina hasn't tried Naivar's barbecue, "but I'm looking forward to it," he said.

"I heard that man can cook, so I'm excited for him to have us over," Salgado-Medina said. 

Arizona receiver and returner Luke Wysong added, "I didn't even know (Naivar) barbecued, but I'm gonna have to try that out."

Naivar grew up around barbecue in Texas, but his passion for barbecuing and smoking meats stemmed from his football coaching journey that started at his alma mater Hardin-Simmons and has included stops at Texas, Houston, Kentucky, Sam Houston State, Texas State, Rice, Southern Illinois, USC, SMU and Coastal Carolina. Naivar often invited players over for a home-cooked dinner.  

"When you have players come over, sometimes I would see coaches catering food," Naivar said. "I'm like, 'Why are you catering food? This is a home-cooked meal. Let's feed the players.' I would have the entire defense come eat and, well, that's a lot of food. So, I started smoking briskets, ribs, chicken, sausage, all that stuff as a way to feed the masses, for lack of a better term." 

Naivar's passion for special teams comes from his playing days at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. It was his "pathway to get on the football field," Naivar said. 

"Loved it, just the energy and excitement," he added. "You get to run around and do things you can't legally do in public. Running around and hitting people and doing those things was appealing. More importantly, it drew me to my teammates on both sides of the ball, because you brought value to the team. It was an opportunity for me to play, but more importantly, help our football team win games." 

Naivar, who is Arizona's first full-time special teams coordinator since 2020, said "the buy-in, the effort level of those guys has been really well" this spring. Wysong said the "well-rounded" Naivar is "a great guy and he really knows what he's talking about all the time." 

Arizona is balancing "fundamentals and scheme" this spring, according to Naivar. A major point of emphasis: field position.  

"We have to let them understand what (field position) can do for wins and losses," Naivar said. "How are we gaining yardage over the course of the football game to obviously lengthen drives and shorten our drives? Punts inside the (10-yard line) are explosive plays. That's no different than a 40-yard pass completion."

Salgado-Medina said, "Field position wins games."

"He wants me to pin (punts) deep," said Arizona's punter and kicker. "If I can do that, it makes it hard for the opponent."

Wysong is among the mix of players at punt returner, including Washington State transfer wide receiver Kris Hutson, redshirt senior receiver Jeremiah Patterson and Chattanooga transfer receiver Javin Whatley — who all have returning experience. Patterson was Arizona's starting punt returner last season. Texas State running back transfer Ismail Mahdi "was a big weapon" at returner for the Bobcats, Naivar said.  

"I'm excited about what they're doing right now and some of the weapons within that," Naivar said.

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Wysong, who returned two punts for touchdowns in his four-year career at New Mexico, said "being a returner is one of the hardest jobs in football, honestly, especially punt return, because you can really change the game if you mess up, but you can also change the game in a good way."

"I just like to be free back there," he added. "Whenever I'm back there, I just feel like me, I feel loose. It's really just catch the ball and run around. I try not to put pressure on myself back there. It's something I've done since I was in pee-wee football." 

Naivar has preached to all of his returners "to be aggressive, but savvy at the same," Wysong said.

"He doesn't want us forcing anything," Wysong said. "Whenever we have an opportunity, let's capitalize on it."

Wysong also played "gunner" on punt coverage at New Mexico, which is usually reserved for cornerbacks or defensive backs, "and I honestly loved it," he said.

"Going out there to play multiple positions will help you out and give you the best opportunity possible," Wysong said. 

Special teams was how Wysong ascended to starting at receiver at New Mexico and now a role with Arizona. It's a vehicle for younger players to mature and grow when they're not playing offense or defense. 

For players looking to play in the NFL, which only has 53-man rosters during the season, "if you want to do this on Sundays, unless you're really special and drafted in the first or second round, you're going to have to have 'teams value,'" Naivar said.

"You're going to have to go into an NFL training camp, execute special teams drills and if it's the first time you really bought into it and done it, you're going to turn your playbook in pretty quickly," Naivar said. "It keeps guys' careers alive. ... It's our job to send that message to the players to where it's also a way for them to help their resume when they're looking to extend their careers."

Extra points

– Naivar, on head coach Brent Brennan: "I cannot say enough great things about Coach Brennan. The players love him. ... I've done this for a long time and I've seen good and bad, and I've seen good culture, poor culture, guys that do it for themselves, guys that do it for their teammates. He's doing the right stuff and that excites the heck out of me. In doing my research for this job, that was something I was looking for, as well."  

– Naivar said redshirt freshmen linebackers Jabari Mann and Stacy Bey are "two guys who have jumped out as really good competitors" for Arizona's special teams units. Added Naivar: "Those guys are doing a great job, flying around. I could give you 20 names, but those two are under-the-radar guys and guys that have jumped out."

– Arizona concluded its last practice of the spring on Thursday at the Dick Tomey Practice Fields and Cole and Jeannie Davis Sports Center.

– Arizona's punters worked on pinning opponents inside the 10-yard line. Salgado-Medina had arguably one of his best punts of the spring in terms of hang time and spiral of the ball, which landed the punt just inside the 10-yard line. Salgado-Medina also had a punt bounce out of bounds inside the 5-yard line.

– Mann had an interception during a 7-on-7 period. The following play, safety Genesis Smith grabbed an interception following a tipped pass. Cornerback Marquis Groves-Killebrew had a pass breakup in the same period.

– Walk-on quarterback Mason Bray completed a pass to wide receiver Tre Spivey for his first pass attempt this spring. Bray is the son of the late Heath Bray, a former special teams captain, defensive back and quarterback for the Wildcats under Dick Tomey. The younger Bray was a standout quarterback for Scottsdale Saguaro High School. Bray threw for 2,897 yards, 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions in two seasons at Saguaro and quarterbacked the Sabercats to a Class 6A state championship in 2023.

– NFL-bound wide receiver and projected first-round pick Tetairoa McMillan attended the final periods of Thursday's practice.