Arizona football 'made a real effort to connect' with fanbase in spring showcase

The Arizona Wildcats put a bow on their spring practice schedule in festival-esque fashion with the Red-Blue Spring Showcase Saturday night at Arizona Stadium.

The north side of the field at Arizona Stadium was a designated area for the roughly 1,500 fans in attendance for the showcase. In coordination with “Dusk Music Festival,” Sophia Rankin & The Sound, an alternative folk-rock band from Tucson, performed during the two-hour practice on a stage adjacent to the beer garden in the northwest corner of Arizona Stadium.

Members of the Arizona volleyball, swim and dive and gymnastics teams assisted in games and activities for kids, and several fans participated in skills challenges.

Under the lights of Arizona Stadium in 61-degree weather, capped by a showing of the movie “Cars” on the video board, Saturday was a celebratory day for Arizona to punctuate the five-week spring schedule.

Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said earlier this week the “spring game has definitely changed because of the poaching of players through back channels and shady dealings, and then also the investment in the players” to ensure they’re healthy for the fall. Instead of canceling the spring game, like other Power 4 football programs, “giving the fans an opportunity to do something they haven’t done before” was a high priority for Arizona — and that stems back to January, when players held autograph sessions preceding other UA athletic events.

“I thought it was critical that we made a real effort to connect with our fanbase, to connect with our donors and give them unique access that they don’t normally get,” Brennan said.

Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita “thought it was awesome” to take part in the interactive showcase.

“Our athletic department did a fantastic job having that vision and bringing it to fruition,” Fifita said.

As far as the product on the field, there were plenty of highlight moments, including Kansas State transfer wide receiver Tre Spivey III elevating and high-pointing a catch over San Jose State transfer cornerback Michael Dansby, safety Genesis Smith intercepting quarterback Noah Fifita on a deep pass near the sideline, freshman running back Cornelius Warren III breaking out for a 43-yard touchdown, multiple runs of 10-plus yards by Portland State running back Quincy Craig and junior college transfer cornerback Elijah Brown strip-sacking freshman quarterback Sawyer Anderson and returning the fumble for a touchdown.

Brown and other UA players celebrated the score with fans on the field and were flagged for excessive celebration.

“It was an outstanding night,” said Brennan. “At the end of spring practice, I think we’re moving in a great direction. I love where we’re at. I love the energy and the vibe of this team, just how committed they are to each other. ... This is a fun football team to coach and they’re really attacking the work every single day in our meetings, in the weight room. In the classroom, they’re crushing it. There’s so much good stuff happening with this football team and we want to keep that momentum going.”

Portal window hits home stretch

Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales revealed the worst-kept secret in college football: NIL collectives from other schools, in coordination with agents, are contacting players to enter the transfer portal. Gonzales said Arizona’s players “are getting hit up by everybody.”

Fifita said, “That’s just the nature of college football now.”

“It seems like it’s an ongoing thing,” added the Arizona quarterback. “At the end of the day, just making sure everyone knows they’re loved and wanted here and make sure everyone knows they can be themselves. We have all the pieces in this room right now to do what we want to do. We made sure that point got across throughout the week. We’ll continue to hammer that all the way through.”

With the spring transfer portal window closing for new entries on Friday, Arizona safety Dalton Johnson’s focus is “to keep the guys connected.”

“We talk about our ‘Bear Down Brotherhood’ all the time and that’s just something that has to come into effect,” Johnson said. “We try to hang out outside of football and try to pick each other’s brains on that, if they’re not liking it here or what the case may be. We’re just going to show them love and let them understand that this is the right place to be. But at the end of the day, it’s a personal decision.”

Player retention “is something you work at every day,” Brennan said.

Even though Gonzales said he’s confident in Arizona’s “Top 15” players on defense, the Wildcats will monitor the transfer portal for potential needs.

Arizona offensive coordinator Seth Doege said Arizona’s needs in the transfer portal include an interior offensive lineman, especially after Georgia Tech transfer Jordan Brown suffered an upper-body injury that will sideline him for most of the season.

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Doege said tight end Tyler Powell is “probably the most improved player on the entire offensive unit” this spring and noted returner Sam Olson and Mercyhurst transfer Cameron Barmore as worthy players, but the Wildcats will evaluate tight end and explore the transfer portal.

“You get nervous only having three guys you feel really good about at the tight end position, because they get banged up so much,” Doege said.

Including walk-ons, Arizona has 93 players on its roster, which could change depending on players leaving the UA. The House vs. NCAA settlement will cap FBS football rosters at 105 spots, and Arizona has 19 junior college transfers and high school players that will be added in the summer. It’s possible some players get cut from the roster.

“The world is ever-changing,” Brennan said. “We’re still in the portal window. I don’t know how that’s going to play out. We still have incoming freshmen coming in, we’re still recruiting players right now. The easiest thing to say is the roster is not set as of today.”

Recruits in the house

In addition to hosting roughly 125 former players and alumni, Arizona had around 75 recruits on campus for the Red-Blue Spring Showcase, including several signees for the 2025 recruiting class: Los Angeles-area offensive lineman Sione Tohi, Phoenix-area offensive tackle Jaxon Griffin and junior college defensive tackle Ezra Funa.

Damien High School (La Verne, California) linebacker Iona Uiagalelei, son of former Arizona defensive line coach Iona Uiagalelei, attended the Red-Blue Spring Showcase. The older Uiagalelei was Arizona’s defensive line coach under former head coach Kevin Sumlin. The younger Uiagalelei has offers from the UA, Arizona State and Michigan State, among others.

Arizona 2026 commits in linebacker Dash Fifita and in-state safety Hamisi Juma were in attendance. Fifita, a Trinity League Defensive MVP and standout at Santa Margarita in Southern California, is the younger brother of Arizona’s quarterback.

Three-star 2026 cornerback Josh Holland, a standout at St. John Bosco (California), and Mater Dei defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui also attended; both are USC commits.

Three-star TE Gabalis commits to Arizona

In the hours leading up to Arizona’s Red-Blue Spring Showcase on Saturday, the Wildcats landed a commitment from three-star 2026 tight end Henry Gabalis.

Gabalis, a 6-4, 215-pound tight end from Archbishop Murphy High School in Everett, Washington, pledged to the Wildcats over Oregon State, Washington State, Sacramento State, Idaho, Montana and Montana State, among others.

Gabalis is the first tight end commit for first-year tight ends coach Josh Miller. and the fifth commit of Arizona’s 2026 class.

Extra points

Arizona’s starting offense on Saturday was Fifita, running back Kedrick Reescano, Spivey, wide receivers Javin “Nunu” Whatley and Kris Hutson, tight end Tyler Powell, Texas Tech transfer left tackle Ty Buchanan, left guard Chubba Ma’ae, Hawaii transfer center Ka’ena Decambra, right guard Alexander Doost and right tackle Michael Wooten.

Arizona’s second unit on offensive line had left tackle Matthew Lado, left guard Zarius Wells, center Ise Matautia, Portland State transfer right guard Isaac Perez and Michigan transfer right tackle Tristan Bounds.

UT Martin transfer defensive tackle Deshawn McKnight, who was one of Arizona’s biggest surprises in the spring, didn’t participate and stood on the sidelines during the showcase. Texas transfer Tiaoalii Savea and junior college transfer Leroy Palu were Arizona’s starting defensive tackles, with Dominic Lolesio and Tre Smith as edge rushers. Savea and McKnight “have been a pleasant surprise” this spring, Gonzales said. Added Gonzales: “They’re better than what I thought they were.”

Arizona men’s basketball signee and highly touted recruit Koa Peat attended the showcase. Peat’s brother, offensive lineman Keona Peat, recently entered the transfer portal after two seasons at Arizona State.

NFL-bound wide receiver and projected first-round pick Tetairoa McMillan, wearing a chocolate-colored tracksuit, and kicker Tyler Loop attended the showcase on Saturday.

Photos: Arizona wraps their spring season with a showcase at Arizona Stadium