Brent Brennan: Arizona Wildcats 'trading punches' in spring

To conclude its third week of the spring football practice schedule, the Arizona Wildcats hosted “Desert Night Lights” on Saturday at Arizona Stadium.

With former UA star receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Saturday, in attendance, Arizona kicked off the second half of the spring football schedule with the only night practice until the Red-Blue Spring Showcase on April 19.

Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said Saturday’s practice “was just an awesome environment (and) it was fun to change it up a little bit and give our guys a little different feel for the practice environment.”

“It was great to be in the stadium at night time and just (feel) the energy from the players and what they brought to the practice environment,” Brennan said. “I think we’re making great progress in our effort to constantly be living the redline (mentality). ... I love the momentum we’ve got with this football team. ... We’ve got a lot of work to do, but I love where this team is at.”

Saturday was the first time Arizona played under the lights of Arizona Stadium in nearly five months. After practicing under the sun for nearly three weeks, some of Arizona’s receivers, including Jeremiah Patterson and early enrollee Isaiah Mizell, lost sight of the football in the lights on deep passes. When Brennan was asked about the dropped passes, he pulled out a note card from the thigh pocket of his compression shorts.

“Three times on deep balls, we couldn’t find that,” said Brennan after reading the note card. “Like, what is that? ... Every football stadium they’ve ever played in has lights, right? I think. That’s something we’re going to talk about.”

There were other notable moments from Saturday night at Arizona Stadium.

Wildcats ‘really trading punches’

If there was a scoreboard for noteworthy plays in team periods, Arizona’s defense is ahead of the offense this spring, which isn’t a surprising development.

Although both sides of the ball have new coordinators, the defense under new play-caller Danny Gonzales isn’t a stark contrast to Arizona’s defense in 2024. Brennan noted “the usual suspects” in safety Genesis Smith, defensive end Tre Smith and safety Dalton Johnson as consistent disruptors on defense.

Arizona’s offense under Seth Doege was ripped down to the studs between scheme, verbiage and personnel.

Growing pains were expected, but the offense found a spark on Saturday, when quarterback Noah Fifita connected with New Mexico transfer slot receiver Luke Wysong on a slant to pick up a first down on third and 14. Fifita subsequently threw a 43-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline to tight end Sam Olson.

Chattanooga transfer wide receiver Javin Whatley is arguably Arizona’s fastest player and won essentially every rep in a one-on-one drill against Johnson.

In the second team period, Wisconsin transfer and potential backup Braedyn Locke avoided pressure, stepped into the pocket and launched a 47-yard touchdown pass over the middle to Mizell.

To end practice, Portland State transfer running back Quincy Craig caught a pass down the sideline to pick up a first a down and set up a 34-yard field goal by kicker Michael Salgado-Medina.

“When you’re in spring practice, if it’s too lopsided one way or the other, that normally doesn’t bode well for the fall,” Brennan said. “But the exciting thing we’re seeing right now, is players are competing so hard on both sides of the ball. Obviously, there’s a lot to learn. ... The offense has made some real progress in the last three practices. There were some moments in the earlier practices, but everything is so new. There’s also a lot of new pieces. It’s not just. a new scheme, it’s 34 new players on the roster. I love what Coach Doege is doing.

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“The energy, the aggressiveness of the scheme and how the players are leaning into that, that’s been a lot of fun. Watching Coach Gonzales and what the defensive staff are doing, it’s really good. We’re really trading punches. ... The offense is taking turns putting together a good series and good drives and sustaining, then there’s also lots of good defensive plays being made, whether it’s people in the backfield or sacks. I like where we’re at.”

Kicker, punter ‘a work in progress’

The competition for Arizona’s starting kicker and punter roles are still up for grabs and “a work in progress,” said Brennan.

Salgado-Medina and redshirt senior Cash Peterman swapped field goal reps in the first special teams period. Salgado-Medina made his first attempt from 32 yards on the right hash mark; he also made a 38-yarder down the middle. Peterman missed his 35-yarder from the right hash, but made his 44-yard attempt down the middle.

Salgado-Medina started at punter as a true freshman last season, but Phoenix native and walk-on Jordan Forbes is making a strong case this spring with several punts in the 45-50-yard range.

“Where we’re at with the punt game, that thing continues to evolve,” Brennan said. “Obviously, Michael did it for us a year ago. They’ve been going back-and-forth in that battle and we haven’t decided yet where we’re at with that punter situation.”

‘Junior Day’ brings over 100 recruits to campus

Arizona held its “Junior Day” on Saturday, a recruiting event that most colleges host to get potential recruits on campus.

The Wildcats hosted over 100 recruits, with most of them hailing from Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas.

Notable 2026 recruits include Las Vegas offensive tackle Dominic Harris, Phoenix Brophy College Prep receiver Daylen Sharper, Los Angeles-area tight end and wide receiver Andre Nickerson, Queen Creek tight end Bear Fisher and L.A.-area running back Victor Santino, among others. The 6-7, 335-pound Harris also has offers from Washington, Arizona State, Arkansas, Utah and Auburn, among others.

Notable 2027 recruits in attendance were Gilbert Perry quarterback Kael Snyder, Oceanside, California offensive lineman Lincoln Mageo, Houston-area linebacker Cade Haug and Inglewood, California defensive tackles Myels Smith and Eli Harmon. Experiencing a college football team atmosphere, “to get a feel of what it feels like to be in our building, that’s a critical piece of it,” said Brennan.

“Give them an idea of what I’m all about and give them a chance to be around our players and give them a chance to be around our staff,” added Brennan. “I think that’s a huge opportunity for us to aggressively be in the hunt with a lot of these high-profile players.”

Utah transfer out for season

Utah transfer running back Mike Mitchell is expected to miss the 2025 season due to a leg injury he suffered at the start of spring practices in March.

The 6-foot, 213-pound Mitchell signed with Arizona after two seasons at Utah. The Orange Park, Florida native redshirted his first season with the Utes, then had 47 carries for 158 yards and a touchdown in 2024.

With Mitchell out, Arizona’s running back rotation is redshirt sophomore Kedrick Reescano, Texas State transfer Ismail Mahdi, Craig and true freshmen Cornelius Warren III and Wesley Yarbrough.

Redshirt senior offensive lineman Jordan Brown, 6-5, 323-pound transfer from Georgia Tech, is expected to miss the season opener with an undisclosed injury, but the Wildcats are hopeful to bring him back during the season. Brown was among the players rotating at left guard this spring.