Arizona Wildcats spring football preview, Part II: Defense

Leading up to Arizona’s spring football practice schedule, which begins on Tuesday and ends with the Red-Blue Spring Showcase on April 19, the Star is previewing how the Wildcats look heading into the second season under head coach Brent Brennan. Up next: Defense.

Defensive line

Coach: Joe Salave’a

Key returners (year): Defensive end Tre Smith (R-Sr.), defensive tackle Chubba Ma’ae (R-Sr.), defensive end Chase Kennedy (R-Jr.), defensive tackle Isaiah Johnson (R-Jr.), defensive end Sterling Lane II (R-Jr.), defensive end Dominic Lolesio (R-So.), defensive tackle Julian Savaiinaea (R-So.), defensive tackle Jarra Anderson (R-So.), defensive end Eduwa Okundaye (R-Fr.)

Key departures: Defensive end Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei, defensive tackle Stanley Ta’ufo’ou, defensive tackle Kevon Darton, defensive end Lance Keneley, defensive tackle Keanu Mailoto

Key additions (previous school): Defensive tackle Tiaoalii Savea (Texas), defensive end Malachi Bailey (Alcorn State), defensive end Chancellor Owens (Northwestern State), Leroy Palu (Cerritos College)

The rundown: Arizona’s run-stopping defensive line in 2023 played a pivotal role in the program’s turnaround and historic 10-win season.

The UA defensive line also played a role in the Wildcats’ 2024 4-8 season, where it had the second-worst rushing defense in the Big 12 and allowed 175.3 rushing yards per game. The Wildcats allowed five opponents to rush for more than 200 yards, including a 308-yard outing against UCF, as it endured injuries throughout the season.

Despite returning a lion’s share of its rotation from last season, including Smith, the team leader in sacks (4.5), Arizona signed 10 defensive linemen for its 2025 recruiting class — a potpourri of high school players and transfers from the FBS, FCS and junior college levels. The Wildcats also hired Salave’a, a “Desert Swarm” member and renowned defensive line coach, who replaced Joe Seumalo.

Arizona will be fully loaded at defensive line in the summer, but the depth and rotation of returners and newcomers under Salave’a’s direction will be among the most noteworthy storylines of the spring and training camp.

Salave’a said Arizona’s defensive line is “going to learn how to master fundamentals that equate to great technique.”

“Physicality, running to the ball and everyone being accountable, taking care of their responsibility up front, are some of the things you’ll see from this group,” said Salave’a. “I think we have enough in this room to give us a chance. It’s easier said than done but I’m excited for that reason going into spring ball.

“The system is one thing but you have to reprogram and reboot the mentality. That’s one thing we’re going to work hard at in the defensive line room, our mentality and approach to the game. Injuries, those things happen, but we have to build depth and by doing that, we have to create and elevate the competition. ... I’m excited for the opportunity to prove people wrong. We’ve had history of successful defensive units and we’re excited about getting back to that phase of the program and put together a product that people are proud of.”

Linebackers

Coach: Josh Bringuel, defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales, defensive assistant Ronnie Palmer

Key returners (year): Taye Brown (Jr.), Justin Flowe (R-Sr.), Leviticus Su’a (R-So.), Stacy Bey (R-Fr.), Jabari Mann (R-Fr.)

Key departures: Jacob Manu, Kamuela Ka’aihue, Jared Small

Key additions (previous school): Blake Gotcher (Northwestern State), Max Harris (Texas State), Riley Wilson (Montana), Carter Jones (Crean Luthern High School in Irvine, California)

The rundown: The Wildcats are without their ring leader in Manu, who suffered a season-ending injury against Colorado and transferred to Washington to reunite with head coach Jedd Fisch.

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Brown became a mainstay in Arizona’s defense as a sophomore and had 69 tackles and 2.5 sacks as a starter last season.

After four games on Arizona’s special teams units, Flowe, a former highly-touted recruit, redshirted. Despite flashes of pass-rushing and run-stopping potential, Flowe didn’t play on defense in 2024.

Gotcher had 162 tackles, 10.5 stops for loss, 4.5 sacks, two fumbles and an interception in Northwestern State’s winless season (0-12) in 2024. Gotcher led FCS in tackles and tallied the fourth-most tackles in Northwestern State history.

Gotcher, Harris and Wilson, who was a back-to-back second-team All-Big Sky Conference selection, were Arizona’s additions at linebacker in the transfer portal. The Wildcats are also adding Texas linebacker Myron Robinson, who recently played in the Navy All-American Bowl in San Antonio, in the summer.

With Gonzales replacing Duane Akina, who’s now a defensive backs assistant at Texas, the Wildcats could potentially use a 3-3-5 defense, a scheme Gonzales used as a defensive play-caller at San Diego State and Arizona State. The UA uses a 4-2-5 scheme for its base defense.

Defensive backs

Coach: Chip Viney (cornerbacks), Brett Arce (safeties and nickel backs), Gonzales (safeties)

Key returners (year): Nickel back Treydan Stukes (R-Sr.), safety Dalton Johnson (R-Sr.), safety Genesis Smith (Jr.), cornerback Marquis Groves-Killebrew (R-Jr.), safety Jack Luttrell (R-So.), safety Gavin Hunter (R-So.)

Key departures: Cornerback Tacario Davis, safety Gunner Maldonado, safety Owen Goss, cornerback Emmanuel Karnley

Key additions (previous school): Cornerback Jay’Vion Cole (Texas), cornerback Michael Dansby (San Jose State), safety JShawn Frausto-Ramos (Stanford), cornerback Ayden Garnes (West Virginia), cornerback Dajon Hinton (Chandler Hamilton High School), cornerback Elijah Brown (El Camino College),

The rundown: The transfer portal didn’t gut Arizona’s defensive secondary, but it was close.

Davis (Washington) and Maldonado (Kansas State) were two-year starters who opted to spend their last year of college at different destinations. The current nucleus of Arizona’s defensive secondary — Johnson, Smith and Stukes, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury and preserved another year with a redshirt — entered the transfer portal, but returned for another season in Tucson.

“There were opportunities — for those three individuals specifically — financially better for them somewhere else,” Gonzales said of Stukes, Johnson and Smith. “They made the choice to come back here for what we’re building and what they’ve been a part of.”

Returning the aforementioned trio “is significant,” “because they have the experience (and) they have the talent,” Gonzales said.

“It doesn’t matter how good those guys are if (defensive linemen) can’t get to the quarterback and give them a chance to be great,” Gonzales said. “Now that I think we’ve combined both pieces, Genesis, Dalton and Treydan give us a significant advantage on the back end because of their language, communication and where we are. It’s not a wholesale change in what we’re doing, so that language is already there. Now we just make it go the direction to be elite.”

This upcoming season could be a breakout year for Smith, who replaced Stukes at nickel back following his injury. Luttrell played free safety in place of Smith and they both had the most interceptions (3) last season. Due to injuries in the secondary, Smith made starts at three positions in 2024: nickel back, free safety and strong safety.

The 6-2, 203-pound Smith was third on the team with 63 tackles. He was named Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Week for recording seven tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery in Arizona’s 27-3 win over Houston.

Smith and Johnson, who led the Wildcats in tackles (94) last season, could be Arizona’s one-two punch at safety this upcoming season, with Stukes at nickel back.

Cornerback will be among the top position battles. The Wildcats return Groves-Killebrew, who split starts with Karnley last season, but Arizona signed three cornerbacks with starting experience on the FBS level: Cole, Dansby and Garnes. Stukes also spent the first three seasons of his UA career at cornerback.

Arizona signed seven scholarship cornerbacks in its 2025 recruiting class. The Wildcats have 10 newcomer defensive backs for ’25.