'Very smart and very direct' Lyle Moevao settling in as Arizona's running backs coach

The only major change to Arizona's coaching staff this offseason didn't require an extensive coaching search.

Arizona head coach Brent Brennan didn't have to look too far for a new running backs coach. He just looked down the hallway in the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility.

After former Arizona running backs coach Alonzo Carter, who coached with Brennan from 2017-25 at San Jose State and UA, became the head coach of Sacramento State, the Wildcats promoted offensive assistant Lyle Moevao, who worked under Carter during Arizona's 9-4 season in 2025. 

In the one season working together, Moevao learned "Coach Carter is a real people person," he said.

"He's able to understand the personalities, especially the different type of personalities with these young guys," Moevao said. 

Moevao leading the running backs has "been a fun transition." The biggest difference? The "recruiting part of it, being able to get out on the road, seeing guys, having conversations with parents, talking to coaches when we're recruiting on the road," he said. 

The hiring of Moevao "was a relief for us," said Arizona senior running back Kedrick Reescano.

"We've put in all this time with him already, extra meetings, drawing up offensive plays," Reescano said. "We've already spent that time with him, so him coming in and filling that role was a no-switch transition. It was seamless."

Running back roots

Moevao's roots are with the running backs. The 39-year-old Moevao played quarterback at Oregon State from 2006-09 and passed for 3,410 yards and 21 touchdowns. After playing professionally in France and Japan, Moevao started his coaching career. 

From 2013-16, he was a graduate assistant coach at Oregon State under Mike Riley and Gary Andersen, while Brennan was the Beavers’ wide receivers coach. Moevao worked with the OSU running backs in his first season. He was an analyst under Brennan at San Jose State for the last three seasons before coming to Arizona.

Between his time at Oregon State and San Jose State, Moevao coached running backs with the AAF's (Alliance of American Football) San Antonio Commanders and then Northern Colorado at the FCS level.

How does a quarterback become a running backs coach? Moevao said, "seeing the big picture has been the greatest thing at having that background at both positions," even though "it's two different worlds, man."

"Quarterbacks, a lot of the times, you're talking about coaching coverages and being able to see the (defensive) secondary and obviously there's a lot of involvement in the box as far as quarterbacks identifying what's going on," Moevao said. "As you get into the world of running backs, now you're understanding blocking schemes, understanding protections and how all that works."

Since Moevao hails from a quarterback background, "he's very smart and very direct in what he does. He also brings that family aspect into it, as well," said redshirt senior running back Quincy Craig.

Moevao still preaches the Carter-isms such as "No block, no rock" and "FVP: fast, violent, physical." Moevao added some of his own flavor to the mix: "Start fast, finish violent." 

"We want to be able to be familiar with the term violence, but be comfortable saying it, doing it, living it," Moevao said. "That's one thing we take pride in. This is the one sport that you can get away with violence as long as it's within the rules and the whistle. But it's welcomed and you get paid big money for it. That's something we want to be familiar and comfortable with. We're looking forward to embracing the violence, delivering the violence and not running away."

Raising the standard

After losing leading rusher Ismail Mahdi, Reescano and Craig return as the leaders of Arizona's running backs group. The duo combined for 760 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns last season. 

Craig's 24-yard touchdown in Arizona's 24-20 win over Kansas lifted the Wildcats to bowl eligibility; he also caught a touchdown in the first half, which moved Fifita to a tie for the most career passing touchdowns. The following week, Reescano had a 50-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter of Arizona's upset win over No. 25 Cincinnati. 

Reescano led the Wildcats with nine rushing touchdowns, the most by a UA running back since Zach Green in 2017. Seven of Reescano's touchdowns were inside the red zone.

"His ability run through guys is something that has been a part of his identity since high school," Moevao said of Reescano. 

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Arizona's rushing attack hit a midseason lull in 2025, and the Wildcats were outrushed seven times and had fewer than 100 rushing yards collectively in two games. Moevao cited injuries as the reason behind the lull, "so you have to be really creative." In the second half of the season, Arizona had 13 rushing touchdowns, including four in the home finale against Baylor. 

The 6-foot, 217-pound Reescano and the 5-10, 189-pound Craig combined for 207 offensive snaps last season. They've combined for just under 1,500 combined offensive snaps in their college careers. 

"We've got a great group of men and leaders," Moevao said. "When you've got guys that are experienced and are veteran guys that have played a lot of college football and really taking on that role. It's like having two assistant coaches in the room. The expectations aren't just from me, it's also from the guys in the room. I think that raises the level of competition, it raises the level of expectations, as well as the standard." 

Both Reescano and Craig are limited in the spring for offseason procedures following injuries suffered in 2025. Craig had a shoulder injury, and Reescano battled a foot injury last season; both had surgery in the offseason. 

Rehabbing the injuries has "definitely been a grind," Craig said, but "how can we be valuable to the team through our own injury and our own circumstance right now?" That's a task Moevao handed to Craig this spring.

Moevao said: "'OK, you know you're a great player, but can you be a great teammate? Can you be a great leader?' I think there's still parts to his game that we can maximize as we get him back out there again. The biggest part is, 'Yeah, you know all the answers, but can you help these guys figure it out to know it just as well as you do?'

"That's been my biggest challenge to those returning guys, because they've been through the fire, they've seen the live bullets, and they know the correct way and the incorrect way of doing it." 

Learning day-to-day

The absence of Craig and Reescano has allowed second-year running backs Wesley Yarbrough and Cornelius Warren III, and Marshall transfer running back Antwan Roberts to carry the load at running back this spring. 

Yarbrough, a 5-10, 210-pound Houston-area native, rushed for 77 yards on 21 carries last season. Warren, a 5-9, 177-pound Dallas-area product, had seven carries for 32 yards and a fumble late in Arizona's blowout win over Colorado in Boulder. Both Yarbrough and Warren are in line for elevated roles this season.

"It's exciting to see them flourish (this spring)," Reescano said. They didn't have that opportunity last year. Seeing them break long runs or catch passes or understanding how to pick up protection, it's amazing to see." 

Roberts is the newest — and only — addition to the room this season. 

The 6-foot, 204-pound Roberts reunites with Arizona offensive coordinator Seth Doege, who was Marshall's offensive play-caller in 2024. Roberts didn't play in 2024 due to injury. 

"He was an unbelievable teammate," Doege said of Roberts. "This guy is one of the most liked guys on the team right now. I knew that. The reason I felt OK about taking him is I knew that. Two, right before he got hurt at Marshall, I remember telling our running backs coach Telly Lockette, 'Hey, man, this guy might have something.' I saw him four or five days into camp and he was starting to flash, then all of a sudden he gets hurt, so I never saw him truly develop into what he is.

"He's a big back that has some athletic ability and can run. Like I said, he's smart, tough and he's an unbelievable teammate. Whatever role it is, whether it be the starter or the third back, he's going to come in and be a part of what we're trying to do." 

In 2025, the Nashville native had 90 rushes for 512 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Roberts joined Marshall in 2023 after starting his collegiate career at Independence Community College in Kansas. 

Roberts "has been a great addition to the room and to the program overall" and is a "natural-born leader."  

"It's as if he's been for three years in a row as far as the chemistry they've built in the short time," Moevao said.

Added Reescano: "He's picking up the offense really fast. He's getting all the small details and running routes the right way. There's just a lot of things that go into it." 

The verbiage and responsibilities under Moevao are similar in comparison to Carter, but "there's so much we're learning day-to-day as a position group, especially those three guys (Roberts, Warren and Yarbrough)," said Arizona's running backs coach.

"It's been awesome," Moevao added. "You can see it, too, they're leading by example and doing what Ked and Quincy have done. ... They know what the standard is as a running back at Arizona, because those guys did it this past year. It's cool and every now and then, you'll see one of those young guys take charge. It's a proud moment for me, because now I know they're starting to feel that confidence."