Scheme
Interior run defense remains the question
The 3-3-5 structure plays light boxes by design. Against physical downhill run teams this has been the recurring pressure point.
BIG 12 FOOTBALL COMPANION GUIDE • ALPHABETICAL 1 OF 16
ARIZONA WILDCATS
2026 Season Snapshot • Tucson, Arizona
7-6 (4-5 Big 12)
BIG 12
2026 Schedule
Live schedule, lines and results for Arizona.
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HEAD COACH
HANDICAPPING PROFILEHEAD COACH
Brent Brennan — 3rd season at Arizona
LIFETIME COACHING RECORD
47–60 (11 seasons, San Jose State & Arizona)
Delivered a Mountain West title at San Jose State (2020) before taking over a downtrodden Arizona program in 2024. Followed a rough 4-8 debut with a 9-4 breakthrough in 2025 (Holiday Bowl berth, No. 17 final CFP ranking) — the most wins by a 2nd-year Arizona coach in decades, earning him a contract extension through 2030 just weeks later.
ARIZONA ATS RECORD
No single published career ATS figure
2025 finished 9-4, more than doubling Brennan's first-year win total and tying for 4th in the Big 12. Arizona closed the regular season on a 5-game winning streak before a 24-19 Holiday Bowl loss to SMU — real, rapid improvement in year two.
HEAD COACH SALARY (2026)
$4.7M
TEAM NIL VALUATION (EST.)
$13M+ (est.)
PRIMARY NIL COLLECTIVE
Desert Takeover
Coach salary per Arizona's released term sheet (extension through 2030, $3.8M base + $500K additional duties + $400K from Arizona Sports Enterprises). NIL figure is an industry estimate from Opendorse (2025); Arizona has not disclosed an official team NIL figure. Desert Takeover, run by Blueprint Sports, is the program's primary football- focused collective.
HANDICAPPING NOTES
- Real, fast turnaround validated with real money: Brennan's salary jumped from $2.6M to $4.7M and the assistant pool from $4.25M to $6M immediately after a 9-4 season — the school is betting heavily that 2025 was the new baseline, not a peak.
- Elite QB continuity is the anchor: Noah Fifita returns for a fifth year and enters as the active national leader in career touchdown passes, in the same system under OC Seth Doege for a second straight year — genuinely rare stability at the sport's most important position.
- Receiving corps needs to be rebuilt again: Arizona must replace its top two 2025 pass-catchers (Kris Hutson, Javin Whatley — 101 combined catches, 1,254 yards, 9 TD); real turnover around an elite, proven quarterback.
COORDINATORS & SCHEME
OFFENSE / DEFENSEOFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Seth Doege — 2nd season • Air raid
Extended through 2028 after a huge first season: Arizona's scoring jumped from 21.8 to 31.5 ppg (3rd in the Big 12) and Fifita set the school's single- season TD passing record (29). Same system, same quarterback for the first time in Fifita's career — a real continuity advantage.
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Danny Gonzales • 2nd season • Multiple
Also extended through 2028 after molding one of the Big 12's top passing defenses in year one. Arizona's sixth defensive coordinator since 2019, but the first to get a multi-year runway to build on early success.
2025 SEASON RECAP
RECORD & VENUE NOTES2025 RECORD
9–4 (Big 12)
Holiday Bowl: L 24-19 vs. SMU. Tied for 4th in the Big 12, reached No. 17 in the final CFP rankings, and won 9 games for just the 8th time in program history — one of the best single-season jumps in the country.
HOME FIELD
Arizona Stadium
Artificial turf (FieldTurf), Tucson. A program with real momentum after its best season in years, opening 2026 at nearby Casino Del Sol Stadium against NAU before returning to a re-energized home venue.
PRIMARY SKILL PLAYERS
2026 PROJECTED STARTERS| SLOT | PLAYER | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB1 | Noah Fifita | RS-Sr | ★★★★★ | Three-star signee out of Servite HS (Anaheim, Calif.); set the school's single-season TD passing record in 2025 (3,228 yds, 29 TD, 6 INT). Enters 2026 as the active national leader in career touchdown passes and Arizona's first First-Team All-Conference QB in 50 years. |
| RB1 | Kedrick Reescano | Sr | ★★★★★ | Four-star signee (New Caney HS, Texas; top-250 nationally, No. 13 RB in the 2023 class). Positioned as the lead back entering fall camp in a running back room that returns real experience alongside Portland State transfer Quincy Craig. |
| WR1 | Tré Spivey | Jr | ★★★★★ | TOP TRANSFER Three-star signee (Hamilton HS, Chandler, Ariz.). Kansas State transfer and a 2026 preseason All-Big 12 selection; the clear top returning target as Arizona replaces its top two 2025 pass-catchers. |
| WR2 | Chris Hunter | RS-Sr | ★★★★★ | Returning senior receiver (27 catches, 372 yds in 2025) giving Fifita a proven, experienced complement to Spivey in the retooled receiving corps; a lightly-recruited New Orleans product who developed into a starter at Arizona. |
QB1Noah FifitaRS-Sr★★★★★
Three-star signee out of Servite HS (Anaheim, Calif.); set the school's single-season TD passing record in 2025 (3,228 yds, 29 TD, 6 INT). Enters 2026 as the active national leader in career touchdown passes and Arizona's first First-Team All-Conference QB in 50 years.
RB1Kedrick ReescanoSr★★★★★
Four-star signee (New Caney HS, Texas; top-250 nationally, No. 13 RB in the 2023 class). Positioned as the lead back entering fall camp in a running back room that returns real experience alongside Portland State transfer Quincy Craig.
WR1Tré SpiveyJr★★★★★
TOP TRANSFER
Three-star signee (Hamilton HS, Chandler, Ariz.). Kansas State transfer and a 2026 preseason All-Big 12 selection; the clear top returning target as Arizona replaces its top two 2025 pass-catchers.
WR2Chris HunterRS-Sr★★★★★
Returning senior receiver (27 catches, 372 yds in 2025) giving Fifita a proven, experienced complement to Spivey in the retooled receiving corps; a lightly-recruited New Orleans product who developed into a starter at Arizona.
OFFENSIVE LINE
2026 PROJECTED| PLAYER | POS | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Doost | RG | — | ★★★★★ | Has started 22 straight games for Arizona, the clear anchor of a retooled offensive line entering 2026. |
| Ty Buchanan | LT | — | ★★★★★ | Texas Tech transfer brought in to anchor the left tackle spot after Rhino Tapa'atoutai's season-ending injury limited him in 2025. |
| Line under Brennan investment | OL | — | ★★★★★ | Part of the program-wide financial commitment following 2025's breakthrough; specific 2026 starters to be confirmed closer to Week 1. |
Alexander DoostRG—★★★★★
Has started 22 straight games for Arizona, the clear anchor of a retooled offensive line entering 2026.
Ty BuchananLT—★★★★★
Texas Tech transfer brought in to anchor the left tackle spot after Rhino Tapa'atoutai's season-ending injury limited him in 2025.
Line under Brennan investmentOL—★★★★★
Part of the program-wide financial commitment following 2025's breakthrough; specific 2026 starters to be confirmed closer to Week 1.
HANDICAPPING NOTE — O-LINE
- Protecting a fifth-year, record-setting QB behind real financial investment is a strong baseline — worth tracking early pass-protection numbers as Doege's second year in the same system should show up here first.
DEFENSIVE LINE
2026 PROJECTED| PLAYER | POS | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Front seven retooled | DL | Part of a defense that took a real step forward under DC Danny Gonzales in year one; specific 2026 starters to be confirmed closer to Week 1. |
Front seven retooledDL
Part of a defense that took a real step forward under DC Danny Gonzales in year one; specific 2026 starters to be confirmed closer to Week 1.
LINEBACKERS
2026 PROJECTED- Taye Brown and Everett Roussaw Jr. lead a linebacker corps with real returning experience, part of a defense that ranked among the Big 12's better pass- defense units in Danny Gonzales' first season.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
2026 PROJECTED| PLAYER | POS | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jay'Vion Cole | CB | ★★★★★ | Texas transfer and the lone returning member of Arizona's 2025 secondary; led the way with 4 INT (including a pick-six) and 8 PBU in a part-time role, now the unquestioned starter after Stukes, Johnson, Smith, Dansby, and Groves-Killebrew all departed. |
| Malcolm Hartzog | S | ★★★★★ | Nebraska transfer brought in to help replace a secondary that lost all three starting safeties/nickels to the portal or NFL Draft this offseason. |
Jay'Vion ColeCB★★★★★
Texas transfer and the lone returning member of Arizona's 2025 secondary; led the way with 4 INT (including a pick-six) and 8 PBU in a part-time role, now the unquestioned starter after Stukes, Johnson, Smith, Dansby, and Groves-Killebrew all departed.
Malcolm HartzogS★★★★★
Nebraska transfer brought in to help replace a secondary that lost all three starting safeties/nickels to the portal or NFL Draft this offseason.
SPECIAL TEAMS
KICKING, PUNTING & RETURN GAME- Overall: No major specialist storylines flagged for 2026. Arizona's program-wide financial investment (assistant pool nearly tripled since 2024) reflects a well- resourced operation across every phase of the roster heading into a pivotal third season under Brennan.
Notes
Saved Just J research for Arizona.
Program Context
Program investment not publicly disclosed
Arizona's roster valuation is not publicly reported at a reliable level. Treat any circulating figure as unverified.
Notes are maintained in the Admin area — no code changes required.