Brent Brennan's challenge for Javin Whatley leads to breakout game for Arizona receiver

The Wednesday before Arizona routed Weber State in Tucson, UA head coach Brent Brennan challenged wide receiver Javin Whatley.

Brennan “was on his head … about playing faster,” said the Arizona coach.

“He was basically telling me that fast guys don’t play slow or run slow,” Whatley added. “I took that with me (Saturday).”

Challenge accepted.

In Arizona’s 48-3 win over Weber State on Saturday, the receiver nicknamed “Nunu” led the Wildcats in receiving with five catches for 168 yards and two touchdowns.

Whatley became the first Arizona receiver not named Tetairoa McMillan to have 150-plus receiving yards in a game since Dorian Singer against Washington State in 2022. It’s the most receiving yards for Whatley since his 10-catch, 168-yard performance against Furman in his last season at Chattanooga. Whatley’s career-high is 11 catches for 231 yards and four touchdowns in Chattanooga’s 52-50 loss to Western Carolina in 2023.

Whatley’s first touchdown as a Wildcat was a 31-yard post route in the end zone, leaving the Weber State defender five yards behind him. On Arizona’s following possession, Whatley ran a fade route and caught a pass from quarterback Noah Fifita in stride for an 85-yard touchdown to give the UA a 14-0 lead. Whatley went untouched on both touchdown catches.

“We were practicing that all week in practice,” Whatley said. “It just clicked when we had the time to do it ... We’ve seen (Weber State) do a lot of cover 3 and cover 1, so we just wanted to spread them out and get (isolated) with our receivers.”

Whatley received a 93.3 offensive grade on Pro Football Focus this week for his performance on Saturday, which is the highest among FBS receivers for Week 2. Whatley’s top speed on Saturday was tracked at a team-best 21.7 miles per hour, according to Arizona.

Whatley’s speed “showed up tonight,” Brennan said on Saturday. “I think Noah threw him some great balls. To make those long throws and complete them in stride, where the receiver doesn’t have to slow down, is really impressive. Those balls were on the money and Nunu was able to finish them, which was really, really exciting.”

Through two games, Whatley is Arizona’s leader in both receptions (eight), receiving yards (206) and receiving touchdowns (two).

Resting starters, playing others ‘a win-win’

Excluding the score, Arizona’s blowout win over Weber State was similar to an NFL preseason game for the UA.

Starters played in the first half and the early parts of the second half until Arizona was comfortable enough to take out starters and install backups, freshmen and scout-team players. Arizona’s offense and defense had 33 players apiece log snaps on Saturday.

Considering Arizona’s highly anticipated battle with Kansas State on Friday, “there’s a benefit to” resting starters in the second half against Weber State.

“Also, I think it’s good for our football team,” Brennan said. “It’s good for those guys to get some live reps and get a feel for the speed of the game and get an opportunity to play. Those guys work every day and just as hard as everybody else. When you do get an opportunity like that, it’s great to get those guys out there.

“It’s a win-win. It’s a win for our football team in terms of the next opponent (and) getting a little bit of rest, and it’s also a win for those players that work their tails off every day and don’t always get a chance to play.”

Montana transfer linebacker Riley Wilson made his Arizona debut and played in the second half against Weber State. Wilson tied linebacker Taye Brown for the second-most tackles (six) on Saturday. Wilson had Arizona’s best tackling grade (81.5) on PFF.

The edge-rushing experience of Wilson and converted defensive end Chase Kennedy is expected to add a different dimension to Arizona’s defense, which could use a 3-3-5 defense against Kansas State and other teams this season.

“We have high expectations for Riley,” Brennan said. “He was unavailable for some of training camp because of injury, but we’re glad he’s back now. Everyone is going to love watching that guy play. He plays with crazy redline, has physicality to him, has a nose for the football. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

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Saturday was also the season debut of offensive tackle Rhino Tapa’atoutai, who started in place of redshirt senior Tristan Bounds. It was Tapa’atoutai’s first game in nearly a year, after the third-year offensive lineman suffered a season-ending knee injury against Colorado in October.

Tapa’atoutai, who started at left tackle last season, played 25 snaps in the first half at right tackle and was replaced by Bounds. Arizona’s starting offensive line was left tackle Ty Buchanan, left guard Michael Wooten, center Ka’ena Decambra, right guard Alexander Doost and Tapa’atoutai.

Tapa’atoutai allowed four quarterback pressures and had a 3.7 pass-blocking grade on PFF — by far the worst of his career. Tapa’atoutai’s previous low was a 33.9 pass-blocking grade against Kansas State in Manhattan last season, albeit he responded with a 76.5 grade the following week against 10th-ranked Utah and second-team All-Big 12 defensive end Van Fillinger — one of four games Tapa’atoutai didn’t surrender a sack last season.

Tapa’atoutai’s holding penalty in the first half against Weber State also led to Fifita’s 10-yard rushing touchdown getting called back. Arizona ended the drive with a 32-yard field goal by kicker Michael Salgado-Medina.

Tapa’atoutai is also working into game shape after not playing in a game for 322 days.

On the second offensive series on Saturday, Brennan noted Tapa’atoutai trailing the other offensive linemen down the field when the Wildcats played uptempo and were quickly lining up to the ball.

“He hadn’t played in a year, so he was gassed,” Brennan said with a chuckle. “But I thought he did some really good stuff. We’re all excited for him. As you guys know, when you have an injury like that, it’s a long road back. There’s some long days, some lonely days and some hard moments. Rhino is the kid that doesn’t go home for Christmas break or go home for spring break, because that’s how committed he was (to rehab).

“We’re excited to get him back in the fold. Hopefully, as he continues to build his conditioning level, he’ll be able to contribute in more meaningful ways. We were all excited to have him out there.”

Rookie Wildcats shine in NFL debuts

The NFL officially kicked off its season, and the four players recently drafted from Arizona made their professional debuts.

Former UA wide receiver and first-round pick Tetairoa McMillan led the Carolina Panthers in receiving with five catches for 68 yards on nine targets, in a 26-10 loss to Jacksonville.

Second-round offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea played 47 snaps at left guard for the Dolphins and received a 51.7 overall offensive grade on PFF. Savaiinaea allowed two pressures, but no sacks.

Former Arizona kicker Tyler Loop, the successor to former Baltimore kicker Justin Tucker, played his first official snaps in the Ravens’ thrilling 41-40 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Orchard Park on Sunday Night Football. Loop made both of his field goal attempts, including a 52-yarder, but missed a PAT.

Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who only played one game for the Wildcats due to eligibility concerns, led Washington in rushing with 10 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown.

McMillan returns to Arizona on Sunday to face the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale. It’ll also be a homecoming for Salpointe Catholic graduate and rookie safety Lathan Ransom, who was drafted by Carolina in the fourth round. The Panthers-Cardinals game kicks off at State Farm Stadium at 1:05 p.m. on CBS.

Extra points

— Fifita’s efficiency and production drastically improved from the season opener against Hawaii to Saturday against Weber State. Fifita went from 13-for-23 passing (56.5%) for 161 yards and a touchdown against Hawaii to completing 17 of 22 passes (77.3%) for 373 yards and five touchdowns against Weber State. Brennan said Fifita’s most recent performance wasn’t “making up” for the first game, “but he just wants to play better.” Added Brennan: “He has such a high standard for himself, and we have a high standard for him. I thought it was great the way we executed the first half on offense.”

— Brennan didn’t have an injury update for running back Kedrick Reescano (leg) and defensive end Tre Smith (leg), who exited the Weber State game following Genesis Smith’s interception.

— The Fox broadcasters for the Arizona-Kansas State game are Jason Benetti (play-by-play), former NFL quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III (color analyst) and Alexa Landestoy (reporter).

— After initially opening as a 2.5-point underdog, Arizona is now a consensus favorite against Kansas State. Arizona is a 1.5-point favorite to beat KSU, according to Action Network.