Arizona Coordinator Receives National Recognition
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Arizona wanted to get back on the right track after an underwhelming first season under Brent Brennan where the team finished 4-8 and missed a bowl game despite preseason high expectations.
Well, after changes were made to the coaching staff and the roster, Brennan seems to have the Wildcats moving in the right direction with the team starting the year with 3-straight impressive wins over Hawaii, Weber State and Kansas State.
A major part of the Wildcats’ turnaround up to this point has been the coaching changes that Brennan made during the offseason by naming Seth Doege as the new offensive coordinator and promoting Danny Gonzales to the defensive coordinating job.
Arizona has seen an improvement on the offensive side of the ball with the team averaging 37 PPG, which is an increase of 16.2 in comparison to the 2024 season.
Meanwhile, on the defensive side of the ball Arizona has been able to create chaos in the backfield and have sacked the quarterback eight times ranking 35th nationally and have totaled 25 tackles for loss putting the Wildcats 16th nationally.
Due to the chaos created in the backfield, Arizona has managed to rack up eight turnovers placing them No. 1 nationally with three fumbles and five interceptions.
Meanwhile, the defensive front has been able to slow down the running attack of opponents and ranks 32 nationally giving up 96 yards per game.
Against Kansas State, Arizona allowed 105 rushing yards with 75 of those yards coming on one play that opened up the second half. Plus, UA forced quarterback Avery Johnson into (-16) yards rushing.
In comparison, Johnson rushed for 110 yards against Arizona a season ago, which led to a KSU 31-7 win over UA.
Our @CBSSports conference coordinators of the week: pic.twitter.com/zrlrmNz7Yp
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) September 15, 2025
The turnaround is starting to get national attention despite the team not being ranked in the latest polls. CBS Sports announced their coordinators of the week for each conference and Arizona’s Danny Gonzales was listed as Co-coordinator of the week along with Utah’s Slade Nagle according to college football senior reporter Matt Zenitz.
Arizona is heading into the bye-week with No. 12 Iowa State slated as the fourth game of the season. The Wildcats will have a chance to get players back from injuries, adjust errors that have been made on the field and add new crinkles to the scheme on both sides of the ball.
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Troy Hutchison grew up attending Arizona athletic events, which gave him a unique perspective and knowledge of the athletic department's rich history. He attended UA and began covering the Wildcats in 2018. As the Arizona Wildcats Beat Writer on SI, he is set to deliver wall-to-wall coverage to give fans an in-depth perspective.
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