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2024 Arizona Wildcats football team

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2024 Arizona Wildcats football
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
Record0–0 (0–0 Big 12)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDino Babers (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorDuane Akina (1st season)
Home stadiumArizona Stadium
Seasons
← 2023
2025 →
2024 Big 12 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Arizona   0 0     0 0  
Arizona State   0 0     0 0  
BYU   0 0     0 0  
Baylor   0 0     0 0  
Cincinnati   0 0     0 0  
Colorado   0 0     0 0  
Houston   0 0     0 0  
Iowa State   0 0     0 0  
Kansas   0 0     0 0  
Kansas State   0 0     0 0  
Oklahoma State   0 0     0 0  
TCU   0 0     0 0  
Texas Tech   0 0     0 0  
UCF   0 0     0 0  
Utah   0 0     0 0  
West Virginia   0 0     0 0  
Championship: December 7, 2024
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
As of June 6, 2024
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2024 Arizona Wildcats football team will represent the University of Arizona in the Big 12 Conference during the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Arizona will be led by first year head coach Brent Brennan.[1] They play at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona. The season will be the Wildcats' first year in the Big 12.

Offseason[edit]

Positions key
C Center CB Cornerback DB Defensive back DE Defensive end[a]
DL Defensive lineman DT Defensive tackle FB Fullback FS Free safety
G Guard[b] K Kicker[c] KR Kickoff returner LB Linebacker
LS Long snapper MLB Middle linebacker[d] OT Offensive tackle OL Offensive lineman
OLB Outside linebacker[a] NT Nose tackle P Punter PR Punt returner
QB Quarterback RS Return specialist RB Running back S Safety
SS Strong safety TE Tight end WR Wide receiver
  1. ^ a b May sometimes be referred to as an edge rusher (EDGE)
  2. ^ Also known as offensive guard (OG)
  3. ^ Also known as placekicker (PK)
  4. ^ Also known as inside linebacker (ILB)


Coaching staff changes[edit]

Name Position Reason Replacement
Jedd Fisch Head coach Accepted job at Washington Brent Brennan
Jimmie Dougherty Passing game coordinator/Quarterbacks coach Dino Babers
Brennan Carroll Offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Josh Oglesby
Jordan Paopao Tight end coach Matt Adkins
Scottie Graham Running backs coach Alonzo Carter
Jason Kaufusi Outside linebackers coach/Defensive line coach/Co-Special Teams coordinator Danny Gonzales
Kevin Cummings Wide receivers coach Bobby Wade
Johnny Nansen Defensive coordinator Accepted job at Texas Duane Akina

Team departures[edit]

Over the course of the off-season, Arizona lost 32 total players. 6 players graduated, 10 declared for the NFL Draft, while the other 16 entered the transfer portal.

2024 Arizona offseason departures
Name Pos. Height/Weight Hometown Year Reason
D.J. Williams RB 6'0, 225 Lake Placid, FL Graduated Student Graduated
Martell Irby DB 5'9, 200 San Diego, CA Senior Graduated
Kyle Ostendorp P 6’2, 215 Phoenix, AZ
Redshirt
Redshirt
Senior
Graduated
Jeremy Mercier LB 6’3, 245 Chandler, AZ Senior Graduated
Sam Langi OL 6’5, 320 San Francisco, CA Senior Graduated
Seth MacKellar LS 6’0, 235 San Juan Capistrano, CA Senior Graduated

Entered NFL draft[edit]

Player Position
Taylor Upshaw LB
Tyler Manoa DL
Sio Nofoagatoto'a DL
Tanner McLachlan TE
Jordan Morgan OL
Jacob Cowing WR
Dylan Wyatt CB
Michael Wiley RB
Nazar Bombata RB
Jayden de Laura QB

Transfer portal[edit]

Twenty-six Arizona players elected to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal during or after the 2023 season. Over the off-season, Arizona added twenty-six players from the transfer portal. According to 247 Sports, Arizona had the No. 37 ranked transfer class in the country.[2]

Departing transfers
Name Pos. Height/Weight Year Hometown New school
Jacob Kongaika DL 6'2, 300 Sophomore Rowland Heights, CA Arizona State
Orin Patu DL 6'4, 245 Senior Seattle, WA Bethune–Cookman
(FCS)
Jason Harris DL 6'7, 240
Redshirt
Redshirt
Freshman
Gilbert, AZ Marshall
Isaiah Taylor DB 5'11, 200 Sophomore Fort Lauderdale, FL Miami
Stevie Rocker Jr. RB 6'0, 215
Redshirt
Redshirt
Sophomore
Tucson, AZ Montana
(FCS)
Ammon Allen LB 6'3, 220 Junior Gilbert, AZ Northern Arizona
(FCS)
Canyon Moses DB 5'11, 195 Freshman Midland, TX Northern Arizona
(FCS)
Charles Yates Jr. DB 5'11, 200 Junior Mobile, AL Old Dominion
Tiaoalii Savea DL 6'4, 305 Junior Las Vegas, NV Texas
Jonah Coleman RB 5'9, 225 Sophomore Stockton, CA Washington
Ephesians Prysock DB 6'4, 190 Junior Mission Hills, CA Washington
Russell Davis II DL 6'3, 220 Junior Chandler, AZ Washington
Audric Harris WR 6'0, 175 Freshman Las Vegas, NV Washington
Anthony Ward LB 6'1, 195
Redshirt
Redshirt
Sophomore
Ontario, CA Washington
Cruz Rushing DB 6'0, 194 Junior Tucson, AZ Oregon (walk-on)
Isaiah Ward DL 6'5, 225
Redshirt
Redshirt
Sophomore
Ontario, CA Washington
Daniel Heimuli LB 6'0, 225 Junior East Palo Alto, CA Georgia State
Bill Norton DL 6′6, 300 Junior Memphis, TN Texas
DJ Warnell DB 6'1, 202 Junior La Marque, TX Indiana
Joe Borjon OL 6'8, 330 Sophomore La Puente, CA San Diego State
Kameron Hawkins LS 5'11, 220
Redshirt
Redshirt
Junior
Victorville, CA Colorado
Kevin Green Jr. WR 5'11, 170
Redshirt
Redshirt
Sophomore
Mission Hills, CA Washington
Anthony Patt OL 6'5, 300
Redshirt
Redshirt
Junior
San Marcos, CA Old Dominion
Michael Watkins IOL 6'2, 300 Senior Glendale, AZ Washington
Demond Williams Jr. QB 5'10, 180 Senior Chandler, AZ Washington
Jordan Washington RB 5'10, 160 Freshman Long Beach, CA Washington
Incoming transfers
Name Pos. Height/Weight Year Hometown Transfer from Sources
Chubba Maae DL 6′2, 347 Junior Long Beach, CA UC Davis
(FCS)
[3]
Jack Luttrell S 6′0, 180 Freshman Gainesville, GA Tennessee [4]
Alexander Doost IOL 6′6, 309 Freshman Glendale, AZ Northwestern [5]
Quali Conley RB 5′10, 207 Senior Fresno, CA San Jose State [6]
Kevon Darton DL 5′11, 271 Senior Fitchburg, MA Syracuse [7]
Cyrus Durham EDGE 6′4, 235 Sophomore Redwood, CA College of San Mateo (JC) [8]
Johno Price CB 6′2, 175 Sophomore East Palo Alto, CA College of San Mateo (JC) [9]
Tre Smith EDGE 6′5, 255 Junior Mesa, AZ San Jose State [10]
Ryan Stewart OL 6′4, 295 Junior Mokena, IL San Jose State [11]
Marquis Groves-Killebrew CB 6'0, 180
Redshirt
Redshirt
Freshman
Kennesaw, GA Louisville [12]
Anthony Wilhite RB 5'11, 185 Freshman Tucson, AZ Ottawa (AZ) --
Justin Holloway LS 6'3, 206 Senior Venice, FL Ohio [13]
Anthony Garcia QB 6'1, 192 Freshman Sacramento, CA San Jose State [14]
Sam Olson TE 6'3, 238 Junior Visalia, CA San Jose State [15]
Jarra Anderson DL 6'2, 260 Freshman Katy, TX Memphis [16]
James Smith DB 6'1, 190
Redshirt
Redshirt
Sophomore
Los Angeles, CA San Jose State [17]
Chase Kennedy EDGE 6'3, 231 Sophomore Dallas, TX Utah [18]
Michael Wooten OL 6'4, 310
Redshirt
Redshirt
Freshman
Simi Valley, CA Oregon [19]
Reymello Murphy WR 6'0, 185 Sophomore Fremont, CA Old Dominion [20]
Jonah Rodriguez OL 6'4, 275 Freshman San Diego, CA San Diego State [21]
Marquis Brown CB 6′4, 200 Sophomore Hillsboro, OR Golden West College (JC) [22]
Lance Keneley LB 6′4, 250 Senior Mission Viejo, CA Stanford [23]
Demetrius Freeney CB 6′0, 190 Junior San Leandro, CA Miami [24]
Jeremiah Patterson WR 5′9, 175 Sophomore Union City, CA College of San Mateo (JC) [25]
Kedrick Resscano RB 6'0, 210 Freshman New Caney, TX Ole Miss [26]
Jacory Croskey-Merritt RB 5′11, 205 Senior Montgomery, AL New Mexico [27]
Adam Damante QB 6'2, 180 Freshman Gilbert, AZ Northern Arizona
(FCS)
[28]
Shannco Matautia OL 6'2, 346 Sophomore Anaheim, CA New Mexico [29]
Stanley Ta’ufo’ou DL 6′2, 275
Redshirt
Redshirt
Senior
Simi Valley, CA USC [30]

Note: Players with a dash in the new school column didn't land on a new team for the 2024 season.

Returning starters[edit]

Offense
Player Class Position
Reference:
Defense
Player Class Position
Reference:
Special teams
Player Class Position
Reference:

* Bowl game not played. ^ Waiting decision for 2024 season. Indicates player was a starter in 2023 but missed all of 2024 due to injury.

Recruiting class[edit]

Arizona signed 8 players in the class of 2024. The Wildcats' was ranked fifty-six by 247Sports and ranked forty-six by Rivals.com rankings. No Arizona signees were ranked in the ESPN 300 top prospect list. Arizona also signed walk-ons during national signing period.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Dylan Tapley
Tight end
Scottsdale, AZ Desert Mountain High School 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Nov 11, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 79
Turran Williams
Safety
Pasadena, CA John Muir High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jul 3, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 78
Edukwa Okundaye
Defensive end
Katy, TX Obra D. Tompkins High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jun 13, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 77
Brandon Phelps
Wide receiver
Gilbert, AZ American Leadership Academy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Dec 22, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 77
Stacy Bey
Inside linebacker
Fontana, CA Rancho Cucamonga High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Oct 8, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 75
Matthew Lado
Offensive tackle
Glendale,AZ Apollo High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 260 lb (120 kg) Jun 19, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 75
Michael Salgado-Medina
Kicker
Mission Viejo, CA Mission Viejo High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jun 18, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 74
Jabari Mann
Athlete
San Mateo, CA Junipero Serra High School 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Feb 21, 2024 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 74
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Arizona Football Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  • "2024 Player Commitments – Arizona". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  • "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  • "2024 Arizona Wildcats football team". 247sports.com. Retrieved February 21, 2024.

*= 247Sports Composite rating; ratings are out of 1.00. (five stars= 1.00–.98, four stars= .97–.90, three stars= .80–.89)
= Despite being rated as a four and five star recruit by ESPN, On3.com, Rivals.com and 247Sports.com, Williams and Whittington received a four star 247Sports Composite rating.
Δ= Demond Williams Jr. and Jordan Washington left the Arizona program following signing but prior to the 2024 season.

2024 overall class rankings

Website National rank Conference rank 5 star recruits 4 star recruits 3 star recruits
ESPN [31] -- -- -- 2 17
On3 Recruits [32] 50 9 -- 2 17
Rivals [33] 46 5 -- 2 15
247 Sports [34] 56 11 -- 2 21

Walks-ons

Name Pos. Height/Weight Hometown High school
Jordan McCord WR 5’11, 170 Soquel, CA Soquel
Joseph Washington DB 5’10, 175 Phoenix, AZ Mountain Pointe
Kayden Luke RB/LB 5’11, 220 Tucson, AZ Canyon del Oro
Mason Bray QB 6’0, 175 Scottsdale, AZ Saguaro
Quinn Olson DB 6’3, 195 Sioux City, IA Bishop Heelan Catholic


Preseason[edit]

Preseason Big 12 Poll[edit]

Big 12 media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

Preseason Big-12 awards[edit]