Brent Brennan Explains Potential Impact of Arizona Newcomers

While plenty of attention is being placed on Arizona’s men’s basketball team and its run to the Sweet 16, the university’s football team began its spring practice season this week, with many new faces joining the team this season.

After a strong 2025 season that saw the Wildcats go 9-4, be ranked in the AP Poll a handful of times, and earn a trip to the Holiday Bowl, where they’d lose to SMU, Arizona has high expectations in Brent Brennan’s third season as head coach.

Nov 28, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita (1) after defeating the Arizona State Sun Devils in the 99th Territorial Cup at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Arizona Is Retaining Key Talent

The Wildcats are retaining plenty of their top talent from last season, the most notable of those being quarterback Noah Fifita. In four seasons with the team, three as their starter, Fifita has thrown for 9,183 yards, 73 touchdowns, and 24 interceptions. Last season, he threw for 3,228 yards with 29 touchdowns to just six interceptions. Fifita also added three touchdowns on the ground last season.

Nov 28, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Brent Brennan is doused with Powerade after defeating the Arizona State Sun Devils during the 99th Territorial Cup at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

New Faces in New Places

Along with their returners, the Wildcats have also brought in a ton of new faces this offseason. Combined between high school recruits, and transfer portal additions, 43 new players are making their way to Tucson. They’ll all look to have an immediate impact on a Wildcats team that is aiming to compete for a Big 12 title in 2026.

After the first day of spring practice, Brennan talked about the impact the new additions, along with the returners who have decided to come back, could have on the team in the 2026 season.

“We had great senior leadership last year,” Brennan said. “There’s guys that are coming back on this football team that are also really good leaders that were part of our leadership a year ago. We’re going to lean heavily on them.”

“A year ago, we added I think 63 new players,” he added. “This year, it’s probably going to be 20 less than that, maybe a little more than 20 less. The good news is, the bulk of our team that is returning, they understand exactly what the expectations are from me as the head coach, from our coordinators in all three phases, and from the position coaches who are all roughly the same people."

Jan 2, 2026; San Diego, CA, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Brent Brennan reacts against the SMU Mustangs in the first half during the Holiday Bowl at Snapdragon Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"I feel good about that going forward because that have joined us, they have played a lot of football, but part of our evaluation isn’t just that football, what kind of young man, what kind of person are we bringing into this football family tree here?”