FB position preview

[Little George]

The OL is critical to any and all offensive production. We know we have a rebuilt OL coming into Fall Camp. What we don't know is how good that line will be. Last year our OL was hampered with injuries all year long. So coming this year we will look at the depth and health of the OL.

 I believe De Cambra will hold down the C spot.
Doost is a lock at one G spot. The other G spot is open for now. I think Ma'ae is leading for it.
Buchanan will start at OT, but which is dependent upon Ta'apatoutai. If Rhino is all good to start the opener then Buchanan will be the RT. If not, look for him to cover the LT position and protect Noah's blind side.
Bounds will likely start opposite of Buchanan if Rhino is out the to start the season. Overall the OL looks ok, but the game time delivery is what matters.
Over it looks like good depth , Brown could be a big plus when he gets healthy.  There is depth as well.

[Little George]

www.azdesertswarm.com/2025/7/25/24473319/arizona-wildcats-football-preseason-training-camp-defensive-line-savea-tre-lolesio-mcknight-salavea

[Little George]

Let's talk DL

Savea is a solid piece in the middle. Everyone is really impressed with McKnight.
Anderson was impressive early on until the injury ended his season. Paul looks like a decent fit as well. Savaiinaea was strong as an ox when he came in. He has added some to that. Not huge front for sure, but keeping these guys fresh and avoiding injury, will likely get us a little better front than we had last year.
Two more in the mix are Bailey and Owens. We won't know until the games start how well these two will make.
Notice I left off the two starters on the outside.
Lolesip and Smith make a pretty good pair on the outside. Factor in a couple of the LBs that will drop down and become rush ends on the outside at times and it is not all gloom and doom. Kennedy comes to mind.
This appears to be the weak spot on D.

[Little George]

LBs

https://www.azdesertswarm.com/football/2025/7/26/24474559/arizona-wildcats-football-linebackers-position-preview-preseason-camp-brown-kennedy-wilson-harris

zonazealots.com/riley-wilson-pff-2nd-highest-graded-big-xii-returning-linebacker


To me this could be a position of real strength. Our system was so that the DL would eat blocks and the LBs would make plays. Manu really thrived and the D improved drastically two years ago. Last year there was a critical change when the DL began to play independently rather than collectively as a unit. They no longer ate the blocks allowing the clean blocks on our LBs. Add that Manu had added a little weight and lost a step in quickness, and the D looked weak overall.

Manu is gone and hopefully the scheme is as well. Either way, we have a better group collectively of LBs this year much like our WR room.

Kennedy will be on the outside, often down as a rush end. He has improved a lot since arriving here.
Brown looks every bit the part of a P4 starting LB. He is hungry and finds a way to make plays.
Harris and Wilson both bring something new to the D.
We have some young talent sitting the wings as well. Mann, Bey, and Robinson come to mind immediately. Carter Jones wasn't rated very high, but had a solid list of offers. We will have to see how that plays out.
Su'a has been as much of a let down as Justin Flowe as far as seeing the field and being an impact player. Goes to show the ratings are not always what they are made out to be.
Gotcher hasn't done much and you have your walk-in guys like Hanger and Craddock.

Look for a solid rotation at LB to keep the players fresh on the field.

[Little George]

https://www.azdesertswarm.com/football/2025/7/27/24475039/arizona-wildcats-football-training-camp-preview-defensive-backs-stukes-genesis-dalton-2025-big12

[Little George]

DBs are certainly the strength of the D!

Without question we have some really solid DBs returning. Genesis Smith will play the hybrid position and he is best suited of the DBs to handle the run support.
Treydan Stukes returns from injury and brings great experience and talent back to our backfield. His leadership will be very valuable.
Dalton Johnson is another very experienced and talented DB that will shine for us again this season.
Those three alone are likely the most experienced of the Safety group in the B12.
Marquis Groves-Killebrew saw his game improve a lot as the season wore on last year. He lost a lot through several years of medical issues stemming  from an injury his senor year of HS. The medical staff found and corrected an issue that had lingered that prior medical staffs had missed. He looks to return at full speed and should shine this year.
Cole, Dansby, and Garnes are all pretty good CBs and should all see PT this year giving us good depth at the Corner position. It appears that Cole may be the starter, but I do not think that will keep the others off the field.
Jack Luttrell is starter material at S and should rotate in a lot to keep our DBs fresh. I love the addition of this young man from Tennessee.
Jshawn Frausto-Ramos is another experienced S that transferred in that should bolster our S position group and depth as he had PT at Stanford.
Gavin Hunter is another that provides depth that just hasn't seen the field at Arizona enough yet.
Johno Price is still with the team as well, but I have no real updates on his game readiness.
Then there are the freshmen DBs coming in: Hinton, Patton, Edwards, Griffin, and Brown will most likely find a way to RS this year and be ready to compete next year. Some of them look to be really solid recruits and should find a way into the rotation next year.
There are also some walk-on guys that are used in our practice team situations. Dunn, Taliauli, and Olson.

Overall we have a talented group of starters that work very well together and a good amount of depth behind them especially if we can avoid the injuries this year.

[Little George]

https://www.azdesertswarm.com/football/2025/7/28/24475541/arizona-wildcats-football-training-camp-preview-special-teams-craig-naivar-michael-salgado-medina


Special Teams:

Looks good initially, time will tell on how good we actually are. Potential is there with LS, K, P, and multiple return guys. Having a real solid ST coach should play dividends as well.

[Little George]

Still five commits that are not on campus or the roster. Some we really need for depth in critical positions.

Two OL guys: Peter Langi and Losipini Tupou
Three DL guys: Kaleb Jones, Zac Siulepa, and Ezra Funa.

That is a lot of beef missing and the depth is small if we do not get these guys on board.

[Little George]

[Little George]