Grading Arizona's Alonzo Carter Through Seven Games of the Season

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."

With the Wildcats heading into the bye week, they will have plenty of time to correct any blemishes they have had so far.

Alonzo Carter preparing for Arizona's season opener against Hawaii | Arizona Athletics

Through the first seven games, no group has looked more impressive than the revamped running back room that Alonzo Carter coaches.

Carter joined Brennan's staff in January of 2024 and is serving as the running backs coach for the second season. He spent the past seven seasons at San Jose State and was even an assistant head coach in 2021.

A stellar group

The Wildcats almost entirely rehauled the running back room after a handful of players left through the transfer portal or chased their dreams of making it on an NFL roster.

Ismail Mahdi from Texas State and Quincy Craig from Portland State were the two biggest names to join the Wildcats after Brennan stated that the room needed to be rebuilt because the Wildcats didn't run the ball well enough in 2024. High school recruits Wesley Yarbrough and Cornelius Warren have also joined the team after being pursued by Brennan and staff.

Both Mahdi and Craig are joined by the only running back to have on-field experience from the 2024 year, Kedrick Reescano. Together, they form a dangerous rushing trio that brings a different set of skills to the field.

Sets of skills

Ish — Arizona Wildcats running back Ismail Mahdi (21)runs with the ball against Iowa state during the first quarter in the Big-12 conference showdown on Sept. 27, 2025, at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Carter has done an exceptional job coaching his new group of running backs in the offseason, finding their own strengths and using them to the offense's advantage on game day.

Reescano is Arizona's most physical back who can lower his shoulder and gain extra yards by dragging defenders behind him.

Craig can zoom past defenders with his breakaway speed and has the potential to turn normal runs into big gains.

Mahdi possesses a healthy mix of both top-end speed and physicality. He is also the group's most versatile weapon out of the back field, which makes him highly valuable to the offense.

Grade: A-

Oct 11, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats running back Kedrick Reescano (3) runs a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the game against the Brigham Young Cougars at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

Carter receives an A- for his ability to coach the new group of rushers, find their unique talents, and use them to make the offense a much better one in the 2025 season.

There is still a long way to go before the Arizona rushing attack is one of the most dangerous ones in the Big 12, as it sits at No. 13 in that category. That is still a big jump from finishing at No. 15 in 2024.

So far, Arizona has amassed 995 yards of offense on the ground with nine touchdowns, with five more games to go. That is a huge improvement over last year's rushing attack, which finished with 1279 yards and 11 touchdowns.

What must improve

Ish — Oct 11, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Brigham Young Cougars safety Raider Damuni (3) tackles Arizona Wildcats running back Ismail Mahdi (21) during the first quarter of the game at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

What prevents Carter from receiving a higher grade is that the rushing attack has been slightly exposed in the last three games.

The Arizona rushing offense was held to just 45 yards by the Cowboys' loaded box. BYU held Arizona to 164 rushing yards and Houston yielded 112.

Now that the Wildcats' running back room is back to full health, along with the bye week approaching, Carter has more than enough time to improve the skills of his rushers so they are even more potent for when they travel to Boulder to take on the Colorado Buffaloes.

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