Arizona’s season opener against NAU could provide glimpse into program’s future

Those four freshmen were defensive lineman Mays Pese, wide receivers Giovanni Richardson and Isaiah Mizell and safety Coleman Patmon, albeit most of those snaps were in place of Genesis Smith, who opted out of the Holiday Bowl.

That number could increase with the Wildcats’ 2026 recruiting class. Usually it’s not ideal for football teams to play freshmen, let alone multiple freshmen.

“In my history, for every true freshman you play, you lose a football game,” said Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales. “That’s a bad sign, because we have about six or seven (first-year players) that are going to play this year. Those guys have to overcome the norm, because the game is so violent and so fast. It moves so much differently than what they expect from high school.”

The Wildcats have five freshmen on their two-deep depth chart: wide receivers R.J. Mosley and Caleb “Jet” Smith, defensive lineman Prince Williams, linebacker Dash Fifita and defensive tackle Kaisi Lafitaga.

Smith, who will return punts and kickoffs this season, is the only freshman starter.

Arizona head coach Brent 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.”

Mosley, a big-bodied wide receiver behind Tre Spivey and Brandon Phelps on the depth chart, and Smith were among the top first-year standouts in training camp.

“I like the way R.J. and Caleb are practicing,” said Arizona offensive coordinator Seth Doege. “They just seem like they’re starting to click. For freshmen, I just don’t see that happening very often. Guys that can play at a consistant high level at that age is really hard. … Being able to adapt to college football and the violent nature of it, to the speed, the processing you have to have, it takes a lot of time.”

Doege said four-star offensive tackle and Gilbert product Malachi Joyner “is going to be an absolute freak one day when he figures it out. Hopefully, it’s midseason.”

Lafitaga, a 6-2, 300-pounder from American Samoa, “has taken plenty of reps with the ones, so he’s going to play.” Lafitaga could have a prominent role at nose tackle, the same position played by returning starter Leroy Palu. Lafitaga, Williams and Keytrin Harris flashed potential in training camp.

Gonzales is hoping for an “eight- (or) nine-man rotation, so we’ll be violent as hell up front, because we’ll be fresh.” The Wildcats had seven defensive linemen play more than 200 defensive snaps last season.

“We make our D-Line run more than anybody in the country,” Gonzales said. “They should be a freaking cross country team. I take pride in that, because when it comes to it on Saturday, if you can get 35 full-speed violent plays, then (NAU) won’t be able to run screens and they’ll be relentless with bad humor and causing turnovers. … It’s disgusting when they don’t run to the ball hard. It’s a mortal sin. You don’t steal from a teammate, you don’t mess with a teammate’s girlfriend and you run to the freaking ball — those are three things that are nonnegotiable or you won’t be around. It’s that simple.”

Backup quarterback Sawyer Anderson isn’t a first-year player, but the newly named QB2 behind starter Noah Fifita and second-year quarterback from Dallas has yet to take a collegiate snap.

“Any game experience for a quarterback is huge, whether it be this game or a game in the future,” Doege said. “If I can get him in and get him some valuable reps, that’s just different. Playing in a game is different than practicing.

“I’ve been around quarterbacks who were never really great practice players, but they get in the game and the lights are on and they’re gamers. … There’s an intense level of focus in a game that I want all of our quarterbacks to experience, especially our backup that hasn’t played. As much experience as I can get him, the better.”

If all goes according to plan for Arizona, which is favored to beat NAU by nearly five touchdowns, Anderson and potentially the rest of Arizona’s future will take valuable snaps in the fourth quarter against the Lumberjacks.