Leading up to Arizonaโs preseason training camp, which begins on Wednesday, the Star is previewing where the Wildcats stand heading into Jedd Fischโs third year. Last up: Defense.
What if Arizona had a better rushing defense last season? How much better would the Wildcats have been compared to their 5-7 campaign in 2022?
Is a better rushing defense really worth one game?
With a high-powered offense and a stable special teams unit both back again this year, it shouldnโt take long into the 2023 season โ a schedule that begins Sept. 2 at Arizona Stadium โ to learn the answers to each of those defensive-centric questions.
In 2022, Arizona finished 10th in the Pac-12 in rushing defense, allowing 209.1 rushing yards per game. The Wildcats have only finished in the top half of the Pac-12 in rushing defense once since 2012.
Last season, Arizona surrendered more than 300 rushing yards in three games: Cal, Oregon and Utah โ except one of those was unlike the other two.
The Wildcats led Cal in the second half of their game in Berkeley before Golden Bears freshman running back Jadyn Ott did his best Bo Jackson-Tecmo Bowl impression, rushing for 274 yards and three touchdowns; Cal had 354 yards on the ground as a team. Arizona also had 86 missed tackles last season stopping the run, according to Pro Football Focus; thatโs an average of 7.2 per game โ and again, thatโs stopping a rush.
The good news for Arizona is that the Wildcatsโ high-level offense, which finished sixth in FBS in passing, drew enough attention to attract the pieces on defense the UA needs to put it in bowl contention. To go along with its cast of returning underclassmen, Arizona dove into the transfer portal and signed inside linebackers Justin Flowe (Oregon) and Daniel Heimuli (Washington), edge rushers Orin Patu (Cal) and Taylor Upshaw (Colorado), and defensive tackles Tyler Manoa (UCLA), Bill Norton (Georgia) and Sio Nofoagatotoโa (Indiana). Arizona also signed four-star middle linebacker and Mater Dei High School star Leviticus Suโa, who was the Trinity League Conference MVP last year.
โFor us, it was a matter of saying, โOK, now that the offense is in a good place, what can we do defensively?โ UA coach Jedd Fisch said at Pac-12 Media Day in Las Vegas.
โIn that case, what we did was we committed to both the portal and playing young. ... I think that will make a huge difference in our defense.โ
Key returners: Linebacker Jacob Manu, cornerback Ephesians Prysock, defensive tackle Tiaoalii Savea, defensive lineman Taโitaโi Uiagalelei, safety Isaiah Taylor, defensive end Russell Davis II, safety DJ Warnell
Key departures: Defensive end Jalen Harris, safety Christian Young, defensive end Hunter Echols, cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace, defensive tackle Kyon Barrs, defensive lineman Paris Shand, safety Jaxen Turner, cornerback Isaiah Rutherford
The numbers game: 12 (fumble recoveries in โ22), 4 (interceptions in โ22, worst in the Pac-12), 16 (hurries by Manu, which was second on the team, according to Pro Football Focus), 21 (scholarship defensive players Arizona signed in โ23).
The rundown: Fisch said earlier in the month that โthe most important thing (the Wildcats) can do is have continuity.โ He cited the stable staffs at Utah under the direction of Kyle Whittingham, Florida with Steve Spurrier, and the New England Patriots dynasty under Bill Belichick.
For the first time since 2019, the Wildcats will have a returning defensive coordinator with Johnny Nansen.
โWeโre going to have Coach Nansen for his second year in a row, and our defense is really going to benefit from that,โ Fisch said.
Cornerback-converted-nickel back Treydan Stukes said, โit feels really nice to be in the same (4-2-5) system again.โ
โI feel very comfortable, even having to switch position recently,โ said Stukes. โThat continuity can only benefit us as a defensive unit.โ
Stukes is among one of the mainstays in Arizonaโs secondary, along with Prysock, Taylor, cornerback Tacario Davis, Warnell, strong safety Gunner Maldonado, true freshman safety and Chandler native Genesis Smith, junior-college transfer Charles Yates Jr. and former UCLA safety Martell Irby. Taylor was among the top interceptors for the Wildcats during spring ball.
Arizonaโs defensive line featured four true freshmen in pinches last season and was bolstered in size and experience in the offseason, especially the interior line with Manoa, Norton and Nofoagatotoโa โ who all weigh over 300 pounds. Patu, who registered a sack against Arizona last season at Cal, and Upshaw, the son of former NFL defensive lineman Regan Upshaw, will contribute to the Wildcatsโ edge-rushing group.
Manu started his UA career by matching up against the offensive starters in practice, then he ascended Arizonaโs depth chart last season and replaced Kolbe Cage as the Wildcatsโ starting โWillโ linebacker. Manu, a one-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week recipient last season, helped Arizonaโs defense in wins over No. 12 UCLA and Arizona State. In the Territorial Cup victory, Manu (who changed his jersey number from 59 to five this year) pressured ASU quarterback and Marana native Trenton Bourguet, forcing him to fumble, which was recovered by Savea. During ASUโs final possession, Manu knocked Bourguetโs arm on a pass that was intercepted by Taylor to seal the win.
Manu will lead Arizonaโs defense alongside Flowe, a former five-star inside linebacker from Chino Hills, California who played the last three seasons at Oregon โ and arguably the most impactful transfer of the group Arizona signed in โ23.
โItโs our best team,โ Fisch said. โWeโre not going to shy away from that. I donโt know what that means in regards to wins, but I do know what it means in regards to the type of players we have, the quality of players we have, the talent we have.
โOur guys are going to go out there and play at a very, very high level. If they play at the level that I think weโre going to play at, I think weโre going to win a lot of games this year.โ