Safety Cam Chapa ‘getting more comfortable’ in Arizona defense

PULLMAN, Washington — When Cam Chapa’s number was called in Arizona’s win over Northern Illinois in Tucson, he delivered.

The Northern Colorado safety transfer had his best performance as a Wildcat with four tackles. Chapa stepped in at free safety for starter Quinn Olson, who earned a full-ride scholarship this offseason after earning a starting spot this offseason.

“It was awesome,” Chapa said of his performance. “Preparation all week went good. … It was really about execution, flying to the ball, redlining every play. Just knowing my teammates depend on me whenever I’m in the game, no matter how many snaps I get. Just getting the opportunity was a blessing.”

Added Chapa: “You never know when your shot is going to get called. You never know when you’re going to be called up. … Just do your one-eleventh job and everything will fall into place.”

Chapa “played really well. He was really physical,” said Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales.

Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said, “Watching him Saturday night was the most confident and physical that I’ve seen him since he’s been here.”

“Maybe that’s just him settling in?” Brennan said. “Or him getting used to the speed of the game, getting used to who he’s playing against — or getting used to the scheme? … When players get into a new scheme and they learn to know what to do and they really know it, that’s when their talent shows, because they know what to do and they’re no longer processing or thinking.

“For Chop, I think was like, ‘Let’s go.’ He’s confident, playing fast, you saw him trigger and play with physicality. I was really excited for him.”

Brennan has talked ad nauseam about the importance of players understanding assignments and what they’re supposed to do within the scheme, both offensively and defensively. Once a player knows what they’re doing, the talent and athleticism surface.

Chapa is one of the latest players to come to Tucson through the FCS-to-Tucson pipeline after a successful two-year run at Northern Colorado.

Other FCS players to sign with the Wildcats in recent years include defensive tackle Deshawn McKnight, wide receiver Javin Whatley, tight end Cameron Barmore, linebacker Riley Wilson, running back Quincy Craig and defensive lineman Malachi Bailey.

Chapa recorded 171 tackles, eight interceptions, 12 pass deflections, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery at Northern Colorado. Chapa, who was a first-team All-Big Sky selection in 2025, led the conference with 63 solo tackles.

“That was awesome what I did last year, but focusing on this year, it’s different now and I have to fly to the football and make plays for my teammates, because my coaches are depending on me, same with my teammates to the left and right of me,” Chapa said.

Even though Chapa has been at Arizona since January, he missed the spring for injuries and didn’t take any team reps with the Wildcats until fall training camp.

“Missing spring ball, not getting those reps and seeing how fast the game moves, that definitely put me behind a little bit, but the mental reps helped me out a lot,” Chapa said.

“Fall camp, I felt like I was behind a little bit,” Chapa added. “Now I think I’m brought back up to speed, so it feels really good to get under myself.”

Multiple factors played into Chapa’s delayed development that weren’t injury-related, including the speed from FCS to FBS.

“The speed he's playing at now is a little bit faster,” said Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales. “Two, adjusting and getting more comfortable with assignments and confidence and playing faster. I think it shows you why we recruited him, the tackler he is. He was coming downhill and was being super aggressive and physical. He was significantly better in coverage. When you're not thinking, you play faster and all of a sudden those attributes we recruited you for start to show up.”

The Wildcats are “rotating a lot of guys in the secondary” as they continue to fine-tune the defensive secondary in the first season without veterans Treydan Stukes, Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith. Arizona moved third-year cornerback Tyrese Boss ahead of the injured Dwight Bootle II at the second cornerback spot opposite of Jay’Vion Cole.

The most used safeties this season are Olson, UConn transfer Lee Molette III, Chapa, Gavin Hunter and Oregon transfer Daylen Austin, who’s out for the season after suffering a leg injury against NIU.

“This year, when you see someone get the hot hand, we're going to stick with that role and see who it is,” Gonzales said. “I thought Gavin played the best game of the year on Saturday — and I thought Cam played the best game of his year.”

Arizona’s defense will be tasked with stopping a Washington State offense that primarily runs the football and has three players with 100-plus rushing yards this season, including WSU quarterback Caden Pinnick.

Chapa’s mindset this week: “Fly downhill. It’s really about the whole defense, all 11 to the ball with bad humor. They have great running backs, so we have to get all the guys to the run game and the rest will take care of itself.”