There arenβt too many current Arizona Wildcats who experienced arguably the darkest days in UA football history.
Kicker Tyler Loop, center Josh Baker, tight end Roberto Miranda and offensive lineman Leif Magnuson are the only players from Arizonaβs 2020 recruiting class still on the team; defensive back Treydan Stukes joined as a preferred walk-on.
After joining the Wildcats out of Lucas, Texas, a northwest suburb of Dallas, Loop said his freshman season, the pandemic-influenced year that ended with the Wildcats losing to Arizona State 70-7, βsucked.β
βThat was horrible,β Loop said. βDark, dark days for Arizona. I remember a lot of us didnβt even want to wear our gear. No one wanted to wear anything Arizona-related to class to avoid talking about us getting trounced.β
As a team, the Wildcats werenβt successful on the field in Loopβs first two seasons. Individually, Loop struggled overcoming adversity, too. After former head coach Kevin Sumlin was fired and replaced with Jedd Fisch, Loop, who punted for the Wildcats in 2020, was removed from punting duties and became the backup kicker to Lucas Havrisik in β21.
βThat was a shot to my pride,β Loop said. ββI donβt want to sit and not punt. I want to punt! Iβm really good at this!β There was a part to the mental game where I had to learn how to put the pride aside and just enjoy the game for what it is and learn to be thankful. I get to put on pads and play in front of 50,000 people. Not everyone gets to do that.ββ
Loop said the relationship with Havrisik βwas very competitive.β Havrisik owns the UA record for longest field goal (57 yards).
βNo doubt, at that time, Lucas had a bigger leg than me. Kickoffs were incredible, and he could kick the long ball. I had that, but I was light and didnβt have the weight-room strength. There was a little bit of competitive tension, but it was fun playing behind him and seeing how he worked.
βThere were a lot of habits that I picked up from him, like how he approaches getting his body ready, the weight room, because Lucas grinded in the offseason. I wanted to be how Lucas was for the team. ... Lucas and I are friends and hang out. Heβs someone I admire a lot. Now heβs got the expertise of the game.β
Havrisik, an NFL kicker on standby in Tucson, has shown Loop and the other Arizona kickers the βins and outs of the game.β
Loop βwas a very mature kid,β Havrisik said. But, like many young adults starting out college, Loop struggled with maturity. Loop recently graduated with a marketing major at Eller School of Management at the UA, but has plans of βgoing into some sort of ministryβ when heβs done playing football. Loop is grounded in his nondenominational Christian faith.
βMost of my time outside of football is spent serving that,β Loop said. βI like going out to do food distribution, hanging out with my friends or hanging out with guys on the team, helping them grow.β
One of Loopβs closest friends and mentors is former Arizona walk-on defensive back Blake Pfaff, who graduated from Lovejoy High School three years before Loop. Pfaff is also the son of former Arizona kicker Doug Pfaff, who kicked a pair of game-winning field goals to beat No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 11 Washington in 1989. The younger Pfaff took Loop under his wing at Arizona.
βI grew up going to church every Sunday, but my life didnβt reflect that. ... Got out here and was hanging out with Blake and he sat me down one day and say, βHey, dude, your life doesnβt reflect this.β I was like, βYeah, I know.β So he started helping me grow and help me understand what following Christ actually looks like,β Loop said. βMy sophomore year, I was like, βOh, I get it.ββ
Loopβs life βwas basically very work-spaced.β
βI wanted people to like me for kicking,β Loop said. βI wanted people to like me for social status or soccer or athletics. βIf I do all of this, then theyβll like me and Iβll have approval from these people.β Eventually, I realized that stuff doesnβt matter.β
Then kicking βbecame fun againβ for Loop.
βNow I know why I enjoy kicking,β he said. βI get to have a great relationship with my teammates and serve and love them, be a part of the team. That gave me a lot of freedom on the field.β
The mindset shift has positioned Loop as one of the top kickers in Arizona football history.
Loop is the only kicker in Arizona history to finish a season with a 100% field-goal rate with a minimum of 10 kicks; he was 12 for 12 in 2021. Loop currently sits 12th in college football history with an 86% field-goal rate, making 49 of 57 attempts in three seasons. If Loop maintains this rate, heβll finish ahead of Jason Bondzio (83.3%) for the UA career record.
Last season was a career year for Loop, who influenced several games in Arizonaβs 10-3 season. He made three field goals and three PATs in Arizonaβs 38-24 win over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl; his three field goals is tied for a bowl record by a Wildcat. Loop extended his range by making his first-ever 50-yard field goal in Arizonaβs 27-24 win over Oregon State. Loop made 2 of 4 field goals from at least 50 yards out.
His most memorable field goal was a 24-yarder in the final seconds to beat Colorado in Boulder, the Wildcatsβ first walk-off field goal since Casey Skowron against Washington in 2014.
βWe knew starting that drive that it was going to be a field goal,β Loop said.
Former UA running back Jonah Coleman broke out for two big runs before βFisch walked over and was like, βYeah, weβre winning this game,ββ Loop said.
βColorado fans were getting upset and started chirping at me before I even stepped on the field, because they knew it was coming,β Loop said. βIt was so much fun. Everyone on the sideline was like, βYeah, weβre winning this!β That was a good one to have.β
Nerves? Ice cold. After all, Loop, former punter and holder Kyle Ostendorp and long snapper Seth MacKellar βjust had a rhythm.β
βWith our operation, we were like, βHey, this is any other day and weβre walking out of here with a win.β ... Itβs just a comfort level. I knew what the snap was going to look like, what the hold was going to look like. Just had a lot of trust with those guys,β Loop said.
Loop was βsuper fortunate and luckyβ to have Ostendorp and MacKellar as the other staples to Arizonaβs field goal unit, but βnow we got two new guys who are awesomeβ in Ohio transfer long snapper Justin Holloway and freshman punter Michael Salgado-Medina, who could succeed Loop next season at kicker.
βDialing up that operation, itβs been fun, especially because Michael is a goofball and a very happy, go-lucky person,β Loop said.
As a fifth-year senior, Loop βis a big-time player,β said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan.
βHeβs an awesome leader on our team,β Brennan said. βIβve been really impressed with how he goes about his work and how dedicated he is. I think we can all expect big things from him.β
Another productive season from Loop could launch Loop into the NFL, said Havrisik, who voluntarily coached Loop and the other UA kickers during training camp.
βItβs really the battle between the minds, if youβre talented enough,β Havrisik said. βThereβs a bunch of people talented enough to kick in the league. Itβs about having the mental discipline and confidence to execute when itβs called. Heβs done it well in college so I think heβs given himself a good shot at having a good career in the NFL. Heβs done a great job growing up and mastering his craft.β
Between the multiple coaching staff changes and his rise to one of the top kickers in UA football history, Loop described his time at Arizona as βthe same dream achieved with a different journey.β
βNo one comes to college thinking, βOh, Iβm going to go through two different coaching staffs, three different head coaches, four different special teams coordinators and all of these people coming in and out of the room,ββ Loop said. βNo one ever comes to college thinking any of that is going to happen. ... We go through a coaching change, and youβre thinking, βWhat the heck? We had everything and it was supposed to be perfect, we were supposed to go to the national championship this β like, whatβs going on?β Then the whole team stays? You kidding me? You go from up and down, up and down, up and down, like you wouldnβt expect.
βThis last year is the most fun Iβve had in college. Friendships, relationships with teammates, coaches loves the players, stuff on the field is going great and Iβm feeling great physically, mentally, spiritually. The vibes around here are awesome, and the dream of going to play for a national championship hasnβt wavered at all.β