Key Takeaways From Arizona’s Depth Chart Ahead of OSU Game
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Welcome! To another edition of the Arizona Wildcats Insiders Podcast featuring your host Troy Hutchison, who will be delivering a daily podcast discussing everything happening surrounding Arizona athletics, giving you an inside look at all the programs on campus.
Hutchison has been covering Arizona for the last seven years, with his coverage spanning all across UA’s campus from football and men’s basketball to Title IX sports. Plus, with so many former Wildcats playing at the next level in their respective sports, there will be moments where he will take a deep dive into the Cats' excelling outside of Tucson.
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.
However, the Wildcats hit a bump in the road and suffered their first loss of the season in an underwhelming 39-14 performance against No. 14 Iowa State.
On the first drive of the game, the Wildcats marched down the field looking for points, but missed a 46-yard field goal by kicker Michael Salgado-Medina, which seemed to set the tone of the game against Iowa State.
Arizona found itself in an early 22-0 hole against Iowa State due to missed opportunities, sloppy play and unforced errors. The Wildcats would score right before half, making it a 15-point game.
Arizona’s defense had been one of the better units nationally coming into the game, holding opponents to 8.7 PPG, which was tied for sixth in college football. But the Wildcats’ defense clearly hit a pump in the road against the Cyclones.
In the first three games of the season, Arizona had done a good job of eliminating explosive plays with the only one that really stood out being the 75-yard touchdown run by KSU.
Through the first three quarters against Iowa State, the Wildcats allowed SIX explosive plays with all of them coming through the air against Arizona’s secondary.
Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht was able to go 14 of 20 passing for 243 yards with most of his yardage coming on those six plays.
Now, although Becht was able to get the job done through the air, he did most of his scoring damage on the ground, scoring on the 1-yard line against the Wildcats’ defense three times.
Meanwhile, Arizona couldn’t get off the field when it needed it most as Iowa State went 6 of 12 on third down conversion. Plus, the Wildcats allowed the Cyclones to go 2-for-2 on fourth down conversions.
Everything seemed to spiral out of control for Arizona, which, unlike the Cyclones, struggled on third downs, going an underwhelming 4 of 13 for the game.
Things didn’t go Arizona’s way against Iowa State and the Wildcats will have things to clean up and improve upon which led to the loss against the Cyclones.
Now, the Wildcats will start to prepare for their game against Oklahoma State (1-3,0-1), which is entering the game with interim head coach Doug Meacham. In Meacham’s first game leading the charge for the Cowboys they fell 45-27 against Baylor.
With the Wildcats getting ready for Oklahoma State, the team had released their depth chart for the game with some changes that have come due to performance, injury and some mixing and matching.
We at Arizona Wildcats On SI have broken down the changes on the depth chart and some things that stand out to us as Arizona heads into its game against Oklahoma State.
Three Depth Chart Observations
Cornerbacks
- For most of the season, Arizona’s best position group has been the secondary, which is loaded with talent and hasn’t allowed a touchdown pass so far this year. However, against ISU, the Wildcats allowed six explosive plays through the air as Becht totaled 243 yards passing while completing 70% of his passes.
- One of the better cornerbacks Arizona has rolled out this season has been Jay’vion Cole, who transferred in from Texas. Cole has been able to have success on the field in three games this season for the Wildcats.
- Despite Cole’s solid play, he is listed as the third cornerback on one side of the field behind Marquis Groves-Killebrew and Ayden Garnes.
Kedrick Reescano
- Arizona has been able to run the ball this season with 567 yards, which averages out to 189 yards per game. That is the most the Wildcats have averaged since the 2018 season when Rich Roderiguez was the head coach.
- Over the last couple of games, Arizona has been missing running back Kedrick Reescano, who had 51 rushing yards against Hawaii in the first game of the season.
- Even with Reescano missing games, he is listed as the top back on the depth chart. He has been dealing with an unknown leg issue and seems to be getting closer to his full return.
Punting Game
- Through the course of the first four games of the season, Arizona’s special teams unit has had its issues and ranks 134 out of 136 in special teams efficiency.
- One thing that the Wildcats changed up trying to improve its special teams unit was switching punters after seeing Salgado-Medina working twice the work load as the main place kicker and punter. Against ISU, Arizona went with Isaac Lovison as the starting punter, who managed to average 44.5 yards per punt on four attempts.
- Now, as the Wildcats head into their game against Oklahoma State, Lovison is listed as the starting punter.
Please be sure to share your thoughts on the changes on the depth chart for Arizona heading into the game against OSU. To do so, follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.
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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