Arizona football shows development with 18 returning starters on Week 1 depth chart

Eighteen offensive and defensive starters are players who were on Arizona’s roster last season.

The newbies are Illinois transfer tight end Cole Rusk, Washington transfer center Zachary Henning, Georgetown transfer linebacker Cooper Blomstrom, Nebraska transfer nickel back Malcolm Hartzog and Charlotte transfer cornerback Dwight Bootle II.

Arizona is also returning third-year kicker Michael Salgado-Medina, who’s entering his second season as the Wildcats’ placekicker.

Last season, half of Arizona’s Week 1 projected starters were newcomers.

Arizona’s projected offensive starters played a combined 4,657 snaps for the Wildcats last season, according to Pro Football Focus. Arizona’s projected defensive starters logged a combined 3,182 snaps last season.

During his weekly news conference on Monday, Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said, “Our coaching staff does a great job, our strength staff does a great job in the development space.”

“We’ve said that at the beginning: we’re going to be a developmental program,” Brennan said. “As much as we can, we want to bring in high school players, younger players in here and help them grow and develop. When you do that, you have a much more invested team, because they’ve been together longer. I think the fact that our kids are having a good experience playing at the U of A and being a part of our program, it speaks to the retention.

“That’s why you see a lot of carryover from last year’s roster to this (year) in terms of what that opening-day depth chart looks like.”

The Wildcats have a first-year player slated as a starter: freshman wide receiver Caleb “Jet” Smith, who’s listed as a starting kick and punt returner. Smith has been mentored by Arizona wide receivers coach Bobby Wade, “who had to catch and return punts at the highest level, did it at a young age here,” Brennan said. Wade, a former Wildcat, was a punt returner in the NFL for the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings.

“Coach Bob has taught me about returning, looking where the punter is going to punt the ball and reading how it goes off his foot — and what to do when the ball is in my hands,” Smith said. “It’s been good so far. From the spring to fall camp, I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable and it’s been a lot easier for me. In high school, the punts were high, but college is really high. Getting adapted to that has helped me.”

Brennan said “Jet is really confident back there” as a punt returner.

“He catches the ball clean,” Brennan said. “That part of it is a big factor in punt returner. He has caught a ton of them. We’ve put him in a bunch of different situations back there and he has handled it really well. He also has a great combination of speed and quickness, which you like in a punt returner. I’m excited to see him play. We all are. You’re going to see him play on offense, too. He’s a young player that’s going to have a really nice career here.”

After losing five defensive backs to the NFL, including a program-record four draft picks this year, Arizona’s starting secondary features cornerbacks Jay’Vion Cole and Bootle. The projected replacements for Treydan Stukes, Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith are Hartzog at slot cornerback, fourth-year strong safety Gavin Hunter and walk-on free safety Quinn Olson.

“I think Malcolm Hartzog is going to be a player that our fans fall in love with in terms of his football IQ, his toughness and the plays he’s able to make,” Brennan said. “That’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Olson, who is the only walk-on on Arizona’s depth chart, “could be the next Treydan Stukes story at Arizona in terms of a walk-on turning into a really good player,” Arizona safeties coach Brett Arce said earlier in training camp.

“He can cover anybody on our football team and I think we have some of the best receivers in the Big 12 — and further than that, the country,” said Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales.

Added Brennan: “We’re really excited about Quinn. Quinn is one of those players that has continued to work his tail off. There’s a long history at the University of Arizona of walk-ons that have busted their ass and have developed and have grown and improved and found ways to contribute in a meaningful way on the football field. I’m optimistic Quinn is the next one in a long line of those people.

“If you see how he attacked the offseason — his numbers in terms of how much weight he can move, how fast he can run, how quick he is, how explosive he is, are freakish. Is there going to be a learning curve for him? Of course there is. It’s our first, so there’s going to be a learning curve for everybody. I can’t wait to watch Quinn line up and play.”

Bootle edged Wyoming transfer cornerback Tyrese Boss and Howard transfer Zuri Watson for the second starting cornerback spot opposite of Cole. Arizona sixth-year defensive end Tre Smith is prepared to play in his first game in nearly 340 days after he missed most of last season with a shoulder injury.

The Wildcats kick off the season against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Casino Del Sol Stadium.

Here’s a complete look at Arizona’s first depth chart of the 2026 season:

Extra points

— Brennan, on linebacker Max Harris and running back Ismail Mahdi — who are awaiting their eligibility status for the season — not being listed on the depth chart: “It’s just a pure matter of fact they can’t play yet.”

— Arizona is one of 12 FBS programs to return its head coach, both offensive and defensive coordinators and starting quarterback this year.

— Brennan, on the season opener against NAU: “I can’t wait to see us play. I’m excited to see Noah Fifita take the field. I’ve talked about it a lot for the last nine months. Noah leads the way as a high-profile player that has chosen to stay. This city appreciates loyalty. People appreciate loyalty to the University of Arizona. They appreciate loyalty in the city of Tucson. And no one has been more loyal than Noah Fifita. I think that’s something our fans can rally around, something our fans should be excited to watch.”

— Brennan, on students’ behavior during games with the visiting sideline in front of the Zona Zoo: “We don’t control what people do. Those are young people. I want them to be respectful and represent the University of Arizona the right way. But those are students and this is college football. I hope they are wild. And I hope they let them hear it.”

— Arizona’s season opener against NAU will be a “Blue Out.” Fans attending are encouraged to wear blue. The first 1,000 students will receive a foam replica of Arizona’s turnover sword.

— Arizona unveiled a few new concession items at Casino Del Sol Stadium for the 2026 season: "Cattails" (deep-fried pretzels with a cinnamon-sugar coating and cream cheese icing dip), “The Zookeeper” (hamburger with a beef patty, a chicken patty, egg, spam, peanut butter and jelly, American cheese, pepperjack cheese and mozzarella), “Southwest Big 12 Dog” (footlong hot dog, hatch chili pulled pork, queso, corn and pico de gallo) and deep-fried mac and cheese bites.

— Undrafted cornerback Ayden Garnes, who started for the Wildcats last season, made the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 53-man roster on Monday. Former Wildcat and seventh-round cornerback Michael Dansby was cut by the Seattle Seahawks, but is expected to sign with their practice squad.

— The ESPN+ broadcasters for the Arizona-NAU game on Saturday are Chris Sylvester (play-by-play) and Jordan Reid (analyst).