Texas-bred freshmen shining for Arizona football in training camp

Brent Brennan has prerequisites to play football for him at Arizona.

Are you tough? Do you love football? Do you want to be at the UA?

“If we do a good job of evaluating those things and bringing in players that can answer ‘yes’ to those questions,” said the Arizona head coach, “we’re going to like what we look like on the field.”

Perhaps no state in the U.S. personifies the first two questions more than Texas, which is a breeding ground for football players.

Last year, the NFL had over 300 Texas-born players in the league, the most of any state.

“Usually in Texas, it’s faith, family and football,” said Arizona freshman running back and Houston-area native Wesley Yarbrough. “Sometimes high school football goes over the family. It’s really about football there. People live it and breathe it there.”

Yarbrough is one of those people and has played football since he was 4 years old. The 5-10, 211-pound Yarbrough is one of nine players from Texas in Arizona’s 2025 recruiting class, which is the most for the Wildcats since 2005, when the UA prioritized recruiting the state under former head coach Mike Stoops.

Through the first two weeks of training camp, Arizona is seeing the benefits of recruiting players from Texas. Some of the freshman standouts in training camp hail from the Lone Star State, including Yarbrough.

Yarbrough is one of four Texas products in Arizona’s backfield, along with junior Kedrick Reescano, senior and Texas State transfer Ismail Mahdi and freshman Cornelius Warren III, a Dallas-area product who recently led North Crowley to a Class 6A state championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Yarbrough rushed for 2,767 yards and 32 touchdowns in three seasons at Crosby High School. Yarbrough and Warren combined for 6,108 yards and 80 touchdowns in their high school careers.

The powerful-running Yarbrough has shown the ability to shed and bulldoze defenders in training camp, while also bursting for long touchdown runs.

“I feel like I’m looking in the mirror when I look at him,” said the 6-foot, 214-pound Reescano.

Yarbrough has positioned himself as the fourth option in Arizona’s backfield behind Mahdi, Reescano and Portland State transfer Quincy Craig.

“He’s going to be a very good football player, but right now we’re just making sure he’s up to speed with those other three guys,” said Arizona running backs coach Alonzo Carter. “Those other three guys are special. They do some things that are very unselfish and they work with the younger guys, so it’s exciting to see what Wesley will be in the future.”

If Arizona’s running backs maintain their health this season, it’s possible Yarbrough plays in four games — five, if the Wildcats go to the postseason — and redshirts as a freshman. However, things happen. Arizona wasn’t anticipating New Mexico transfer Jacory Croskey-Merritt to have eligibility issues and Rayshon “Speedy” Luke redshirting after four games, which elevated the roles of Quali Conley and Reescano.

“We just want to make sure that if we need him to go, he’s prepared to go,” Carter said. “I’m very excited of the potential and what he brings to the table. So far, he’s been exactly what I want. ... Right now, his role is to be a good teammate, learn the offense and learn special teams stuff. So far, so good.”

Yarbrough said contributing on special teams as a freshman is “a priority” to him.

“Getting to the next level, getting to the (NFL), all the guys play special teams,” he said. “No running back doesn’t play special teams. Doing that, I take every single rep seriously.”

Yarbrough is also adapting well to offensive coordinator Seth Doege’s offense that will feature Arizona’s running backs as pass-catchers. Yarbrough said he did “a lot of receiving” in high school due to opposing defenses stacking the box to limit the powerful running back. To counter those defenses, Yarbrough would motion out of the backfield pre-snap and line up as a slot receiver, “so I know how to run routes and get there,” he said.

“I’ve been comfortable, just knowing the playbook, knowing what I got and using my route to get other people open,” Yarbrough said.

Other standout newcomers from Texas include defensive backs Coleman Patmon, Swayde Griffin and Gianni Edwards, who is the lightest player on Arizona’s roster at 158 pounds, but the Dallas-area cornerback is fearless against veteran wide receivers. The 6-2, 207-pound Patmon, a Del Valle, Texas native, has earned reps as a safety in Arizona’s second unit.

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Griffin, a 6-2, 185-pound Lago Vista, Texas native, has been receiving snaps at slot cornerback, a position played by sixth-year senior Treydan Stukes and redshirt sophomore Gavin Hunter.

Griffin is the son of former Texas defensive back Cedric Griffin, who played for ex-Arizona defensive coordinator Duane Akina at Texas. Griffin was a part of the national championship team that dethroned back-to-back champion USC at the Rose Bowl in 2006.

Both the younger Griffin and Patmon were recruited by Akina before he became Texas’ defensive backs coach. Considering the connection with Akina, was Arizona worried about potentially losing the two defensive backs to Texas?

“I would think there’s a worry for every player to leave every team in America every single day, especially since we’re carrying two transfer portals,” Brennan said.

Arizona cornerbacks coach Chip Viney “developed a great relationship with Swayde and his family — we all did,” Brennan said.

“We spent a lot of time them,” added Brennan. “I think Swayde felt comfortable and he’s really excited about going to school here and playing football here. ... Swayde is exactly where he should be, and I think he’s going to be a great player for us.”

It’s early, but the Wildcats are encouraged by their return on investment from the most recent recruiting cycle at the high school level, especially from the state of Texas.

“Any time a freshman gets an opportunity and takes advantage of it, that’s exciting, because you’re like, ‘Yeah, that’s why we recruited him. That’s we saw,’” Brennan said. “That being said, we all know no freshman is anywhere near what that thing is going to look like in two or three years. It’s not even close.”

Bailey settling in on D-Line

One of the more intriguing revelations in training camp is the rise of Alcorn State transfer defensive end Malachi Bailey, who transferred in the spring.

The 6-2, 278-pound Atlanta native didn’t hit the ground running in the spring like Arizona’s other additions from the FCS ranks, including linebacker Riley Wilson, wide receiver Javin Whatley, defensive tackle Deshawn McKnight and running back Craig.

In three seasons at Alcorn State, Bailey, who started his college career at Independence Community College (Kansas), recorded 128 tackles, 46.5 tackles for loss and 28 sacks. Bailey was named a First-Team All-SWAC selection the last two seasons.

After a quiet spring, Bailey has become one of the most improved defensive linemen for the Wildcats. In the last week, as a member of Arizona’s second-team defense, he recorded 3.5 sacks in team periods and batted down quarterback Noah Fifita’s pass attempt during Arizona’s first practice at Arizona Stadium Saturday night.

What changed for Bailey between April and August? He settled into his new lifestyle in Tucson, Brennan said.

“I think there’s a little bit of shell shock,” Brennan said. “It’s a totally new environment, totally different from where he’s from, he’s away from family and he’s on the other side of the country.”

Add learning a new defense, playing alongside new teammates, attending classes at a new university and living in a new apartment, “there’s so much new,” Brennan said.

“It’s been fun to see him settle in and start to make some plays in the practice environment over the last couple of days,” Brennan said of Bailey.

Extra points

– Arizona held its 10th training camp practice on Monday. UA wide receiver and Kansas State transfer Tre Spivey III had arguably the best catch of training camp. Near the left sideline, Spivey elevated and high-pointed a pass — in Tetairoa McMillan-esque fashion — from quarterback Braedyn Locke over reserve cornerback Johno Price. Whatley called it “one of the best catches I’ve ever seen.” Added Whatley: “It looked like we were playing basketball on the football field.”

– College of San Mateo defensive tackle transfer Ezra Funa is officially with Arizona, but will likely redshirt this season. Garden City Community College transfer Zac Siulepa, a 6-7, 365-pound defensive tackle from New Zealand, is still expected to join the team before the season.

– The preseason Associated Press Top 25 Poll was released on Monday, and the 11th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils are the highest-ranked team from the Big 12. Other teams ranked from the Big 12 are No. 17 Kansas State, No. 22 Iowa State and No. 23 Texas Tech. Arizona currently has three ranked opponents on its 2025 schedule: ASU, Kansas State and Iowa State. ASU’s preseason ranking is the highest since 1998. Texas, Penn State, Ohio State, Clemson and Georgia are the five highest-ranked teams in the AP Poll.