Arizona Wildcats Wade, Bringuel Press Conference Takeaways
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Both the Arizona Wildcats' offense and defense showed out in a big way on Saturday's 41-13 win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys, matching their win total from last year and going 4-1 for the first time since 2019.
Two areas in particular that had huge performances were the wide receiving and line-backing corps, which were units that Arizona bolstered in the offseason with major signings through the transfer portal and the recruitment trail.
Wide receiving coach Bobby Wade and Linebacking coach Josh Bringuel are responsible for guiding their units to being the tough and physical ones that fans have seen on the field.
They both took to the podium earlier Tuesday to discuss the success their groups have had and what needs to be done to prepare for an important game against the BYU Cougars this week.
Here is a collection of what they had to say.
Bringuel on what has worked for the line backers this season
"What makes you great on defense is beyond having good players, but it's playing with red line, playing with effort. And I think that that's something from day one that from the top down, from Coach Brennan and Coach Gonzalez, what we wanted to establish as a team, a defense that plays with tremendous effort, uncommon effort. So you have to train that way. And that's why we challenge them in practice every single day to train that way, because then on game day, just trust your training and play the way you've trained all the time."
Wade on improving in the receiving room and yards after catch
"That's always going to be emphasis, rack and yack yards is extremely important. And it's just pretty much what you demand from them is what you're going to get. We just had to go in there and reestablish the fact that when we're catching the football, that we're knifing and getting upfield, you know, that's first and foremost. And trying to make big runs, and running laterally and things like that, it doesn't give us our best chance."
Wade on a high amount of WR's getting snaps and depth
"How they perform in practice determines their opportunity within the games. Naturally, when we're throwing the ball as much as we are, you want to be able to keep guys fresh. You want to be able to be able to sustain a full year and have a have a really good room, but it's all just based off of how they perform each and every week in practice. And they'll forever be fluid, and it's like that. That's the only way you can really have true competition within the room."
Bringuel on what BYU's offense brings to the table
"They do a phenomenal job, and they've done it for a long time. They've had a sustained success there for years now. And so the culture there that, you get a freshman quarterback coming in, he's stepping into a great culture, and that's what allows young players to have success when you have a great culture. And what they do is they use their players to the best of their ability. They have a good o-line that's physical, that moves people. They have an unbelievable running back who always falls forward."
Bringuel's philosophy on teaching LB's different positions
"When you teach everything from a conceptual level and from the top down, you have a great teaching progression, because coaches are just great teachers. And when you have a great teaching progression, then you can do these things and and for us, it's the same stuff. It's just excellent chalkboard in the body. So if you understand how it all comes together, you can do a lot of fun stuff. And then personnel wise, you have to understand your players as well. How much can your players take?"
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Nathaniel Martinez and a set of shoulder pads at 7 years old. He later graduated from Pima Community College in 2023, where he began writing for the Pima Post. He is working to achieve a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication and Media Studies.