Arizona Wildcats Insider Podcast: Big 12 Media Day Talk

Arizona and Brent Brennan will be at Big 12 Media Day talking about he upcoming season and how the program is turning things around after a rough first season in the conference.

Nov 15, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats defensive back Genesis Smith (12) intercepts the ball during the second quarter against the Houston Cougars at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

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 prospective sports there will be moments where he will take a deep dive into the Cats excelling outside of Tucson.

To watch today's episode, view below.

Big 12 Media Day is under way with Arizona going on Wednesday as the first team to take the stage. The event is being televised on ESPNU and can be streamed on ESPN+ for any UA fans wanting to see what head coach Brent Brennan and players have to say about the upcoming season.

The Wildcats finished 4-8 on the year and ended the season on a two-game losing streak and lost seven of the last eight games.

Arizona didn’t have a single player listed on the preseason All-Big-12 teams  and didn’t have any preseason awad picks, as well.

Along with Brennan, Arizona is sending defensive backs Genesis Smith, Dalton Johnson, Treydan Stukes along with defensive and offensive linemen Tre Smith and Rhino Tapa’atoutai and Fitifa to represent the program in Frisco.

Two of the players in Stukes and Tapa’atoutai had their seasons come to an end due to injuries, However, their leadership on the roster has earned them a spot from the staff to go to media day to talk about the upcoming season.

Fifita will be the player to watch as he had his ups and downs last year in the Big 12 with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions to go along with his 28 sacks on the year. Still, he is the face of the team and has been a great ambassador for the program.

In the podcast, Hutchison goes over his thoughts on Arizona being snubbed a spot on the All-Big-12 team and what fuel to the fire it could add for the team. 

Plus, he makes his preseason Big 12 standings given that the conference decided to forgo a media poll for the 2025 season.

Please let us know what you think about Arizona being left off the conference preseason team and your thoughts on Troy Hutchison’s Big-12 rankings. To do so, follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.