Arizona Wildcats Training Camp Observations
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Arizona football is officially BACK in action and the long offseason is finally coming to an end as the Wildcats have opened up their 2025 training camp to get things geared up for the season with the team set to face Hawaii on Aug. 30 at home at 7:30 p.m. (MST) on TNT.
After an underwhelming 2024 season under Brent Brennan where Arizona went 4-8 after starting the year in the preseason AP Poll at No. 21 and ending the year losing 7 out of its last 8 games, the Wildcats made changes to the roster and their coaching staff.
Brennan revamped his coaching staff by hiring Seth Doege as the offensive coordinator and promoting Danny Gonzales to the defensive coordinating job. Plus, he was able to bring in defensive line coach Joe Salave’a, who is regarded as one of the top recruiters in the nation and a former Wildcat as well.
“When we go through a tough season like we did a year ago, you got to find a way to fix what was broken, fix what wasn’t working and put those pieces together,” Brennan said. “And part of those pieces are how we’re going to do things in terms of how we’re going to coach, what we’re going to do schematically and the other part is who are the players that are going to play those roles.”
The energy at practice was high, loud and the pace of play was a complete 180 from the previous season and matches the mindset and mentality that the coaching staff wasn’t to bring to the 2025 season.
Three Observations
Max Harris
- One of the transfers Arizona landed on the defensive side of the ball was Texas State transfer linebacker Max Harris, who played for the Bobcats alongside running back Ismail Mahdi where they helped guide the team to 8-5 record and a 30-28 win over North Texas in the First Responder Bowl.
- In training camp, Harris has been one of the top linebacking options for Gonzales and his defense alongside Taye Brown with the duo causing issues for the offensive unit. He has been in the backfield creating chaos in the running game and stopping plays before they take off.
- His coverage has been solid but Harris does need to improve in man-to-man situations when guarding tight ends, or running backs.
Jordan Brown
- One of the offensive lineman that Arizona welcomed in from the transfer portal was Georgia Tech transfer Jordan Brown, who played in 11 games and started in five games in one season with the program.
- During spring ball, Brown got injured and Brennan said that he was working his way back for the 2025 season. Now, Brown is ahead of schedule and is slowly starting to go through drills and seems to be on the right track.
Julian Savaiinaea
- Since stepping foot on campus defensive tackle Julian Savaiinaea has been working hard to develop his body and skills with two different coaching staffs and even saw some time on the field due to injuries last season for Arizona.
- Now, Savaiinaea is a rotational defensive lineman that has a frame of 6-foot-3, 280 pounds making him a stronger player in the middle of the defensive line. He has been able to get in the backfield and has forced the quarterbacks to move out of the pocket.
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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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