Bye Week Grades for Josh Oglesby and Offensive Linemen
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The Arizona Wildcats are now 4-3 following a two-game skid, dropping heartbreaking one-possession matchups to BYU 33-27 in double overtime and Houston 31-28 on a walk-off field goal with seconds remaining.
With those losses comes the bitter pain of being so close to a win, but not doing enough to get the job done. Head coach Brent Brennan knows all too well what that feels like and will do whatever it takes to make sure his team does not feel that pain again for the remainder of the 2025 season.
- "When you lose two games that way and it's so hard and it's so challenging, the thing that we talk about with the players is what choice do you have," Brennan said. "
- "You want to choose to believe you can or you can't. And so with this team, this team believes they can. And that's the way they showed up for work yesterday and that's the way they'll show up for work tomorrow."
- ... Helping our players navigate that and doing those things the right way and continuing to live redline and continuing to dive into our process is what's given us a chance to play better football. And if we stay the course, we will get it. Keep We have to keep pounding the rock. Eventually, it's going to break."
Oglesby leading the way
One particular area that has progressed by a huge amount would be the offensive line, which has added depth, size, and speed that were desperately needed for the offense to succeed in any way in the 2025 season.
It is now Oglesby's second season with Arizona, as he was a part of Brennan's coaching staff at San Jose State from 2020-2023 before he followed him to Tucson.
Oglesby brings with him a plethora of experience from when he was once a player at Wisconsin to coaching at the professional level in the XFL.
The squad that Oglesby leads has gotten better with each game played, primarily due to his coaching ability and the players' constantly evolving.
Grade: B+
Oglesby receives a B+ because he has coached his new look unit to playing levels above how it played last season.
Although there is plenty of work to do before Arizona is considered to be among the top of the Big 12 contenders, the offensive line has improved the running game, going from 15th in 2024 to 11th this season.
In control in the trenches 😤#Big12FB | @OldTrapper pic.twitter.com/idSGw042d3
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) September 15, 2025
The passing game has also significantly benefited from the offensive line's improvement, as it is now the 4th best offense as compared to it being the seventh-best last season, thanks to Noah Fifita having much more time to look for his open receivers and get the ball downfield.
Arizona's depth at the o-line
Arizona struggled on offense due to a lack of depth, which was a major reason the run game was lackluster and the passing attack couldn't get rolling.
As the Wildcats got deeper into the season and key pieces of the offensive line were injured, the team seemed to perform worse.
Oglesby, along with Brennan, solved that problem and signed solidified starters and elite-level recruits to the program.
Tackles Ty Buchanan from Texas Tech and Tristan Bounds from Michigan have been stellar through seven games played. Center Ka'ena Decambra, out of Hawaii, has become a true leader of the line and is one of the most consistent players on the roster.
Otherwise, the Wildcats have 20 linemen, thanks to the recruiting work done by Oglesby, Brennan, and staff.
Tough decisions being made
Another major reason Oglesby has received such a high grade is his willingness to ensure his offensive line operates at its maximum potential by switching the starting rotation.
When the team needed a new look at left guard, a battle between Michael Wooten and former defensive tackle Chubba Ma'ae ensued. Ma'ae won the starting job and has been a wall ever since his first start against Kansas State.
Rhino Tapa'atoutai had been eased back into the lineup and was primed to get his starting spot back at right tackle, but Bounds seemed to be playing much better. After a rough outing against K-State, during which Tapa'atoutai was penalized several times, it was decided that Bounds would remain the starter.
Work to be done
As good as the offensive line has played all season, there have been some cracks that were exposed in the last three games.
Fifita was sacked 10 times in the last three games, six times against Oklahoma State and four times against Houston.
Furthermore, the Wildcats' offensive line must become a more disciplined group if the team wants to become bowl-eligible at the end of the season. In seven games, the Arizona o-line has been penalized about 30 times alone.
With five games remaining and the bye week coming up, Olgesby will make sure that those issues have been addressed and that Arizona is dominating in the trenches.
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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.