Three Surprising Standouts For Arizona After Seven Games
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Brent Brennan's second season in Tucson has shown signs of growth, but has been marred by two consecutive losses to some of the best in the Big 12 (BYU and Houston) and more struggles on the road.
Arizona is 4-3 with all three losses coming in conference play. They're all but out of contention for the conference crown, but that hasn't been the goal of this season. The goal is to make a bowl game and show that Brennan and this Arizona roster have what it takes to lay a foundation to build upon.
Noah Fifita has stepped up his game this season, throwing for 1,829 yards, 17 touchdowns and four interceptions. He's also developed a connection with several new receivers, like Kris Hutson, Javin Whatley, and Luke Wysong.
Arizona's defense has been one of the nation's best at forcing turnovers and negative plays, and a lot of that has come from some new faces and guys who have stepped into unexpected big roles.
The Wildcats have gotten big performances this season from unlikely places. Here are three Wildcats who have stood out this season.
Riley Wilson
Riley Wilson has had quite the journey to Tucson. After two seasons at Hawaii, where he switched from tight end to linebacker, Wilson went to Montana and earned several All-Big Sky honors over two seasons.
Now with the Wildcats, Wilson has become a hybrid linebacker who can float in the middle and come off the edge. He leads the team with three sacks and has also made 22 tackles and four tackles for loss. He and Chase Kennedy have been great on the edge against the run.
Wilson was expected to play a big role this season, but his performance alongside Arizona's returners inside in Max Harris and Taye Brown, has solidified the Arizona defense. This week against Colorado should be a big test for him, trying to contain Kaidon Salter, who likes to move and run out of structure.
Cameron Barmore
The tight end room in Tucson has been in flux this season. Junior Tyler Powell went down with an injury on the first play of the season, and Keyan Burnett decided to redshirt and is no longer with the program.
That left Sam Olson, who has been the biggest receiving threat from the position for the Wildcats, and Cameron Barmore. While Olson takes on more of the receiving duties, Barmore has been an excellent blocker in the run and screen games.
Barmore hasn't allowed any pressures as a pass blocker and has been used to lead the way on many stretch runs for Ismail Mahdi and Kedrick Reescano.
He's also thrown six passes for 53 yards this season. His opportunities as a pass-catcher will grow, but establishing himself as a serviceable blocker after Arizona lost its starting tight end for the year has been a great surprise.
Ayden Garnes
Ayden Garnes has been a steady presence on the boundary this season alongside Treydan Stukes in the slot. The West Virginia transfer was given the impossible task of replacing Tacario Davis after the former Arizona corner departed for Washington.
While he hasn't been as consistent or dominant as Davis was, Garnes is still an experienced player and has been a part of a secondary that has ruled the Big 12 this season. He's comfortable in Dany Gonzales' defense and the 3-3-5 look he rolls out often.
That package has allowed Garnes to limit responsibilities and easily identify different looks. In his first season as a Wildcat, Garnes has 17 tackles and five pass deflections. As long as he can stick in man coverage like he has so far, the success from the backend of the Wildcats
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Logan Brown is an alumnus of the prestigious Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He currently works as a General College Sports Reporter On SI. Logan has an extensive background in writing and has contributed to Cronkite Sports, PHNX Sports, and Motion Graphics.
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