Arizona, Washington State share unique connections with each other

PULLMAN, Washington — When Arizona and Washington State square off on Saturday, there will be some familiarity from both sides — and it goes beyond both teams being Pac-12 legacy schools.

Both Arizona and Washington State’s coaching staffs have connections to the other side.

When Arizona head coach Brent Brennan was a wide receivers coach at Oregon State, WSU defensive coordinator Trent Bray was a defensive coordinator for the Beavers. Bray, who also has coaching experience at Arizona State and Nebraska, was the head coach at OSU from 2024-25.

“Trent is a really good friend of mine,” Brennan said. “We spent a lot of time together at Oregon State and we’ve spent a lot of time together as friends. He’s ‘Uncle Trent’ to my kids and we’ve had a lot of fun together. Trent is an outstanding football coach. That defense is physical, they’re sound, they fly to the football. He’s going to have those guys ready to play, I know that.”

Brennan recruited Washington State safety and punt returner Jaylen Thomas to San Jose State in 2024. Thomas, who leads WSU in punt return yards and interceptions this season, was teammates with UA walk-on wide receiver Scotty Brennan — Brent’s son — at Los Gatos High School.

First-year WSU head coach Kirby Moore was a wide receiver at Boise State from 2009-13; UA chief of staff Ben Thienes was a graduate assistant under head coach Chris Petersen.

Moore picked up two ex-Wildcats via the transfer portal in his first offseason at Washington State: defensive end Eduwa Okundaye, who was a part of Arizona’s 2024 recruiting class, and safety Jshawn Frausto-Ramos. Okundaye has played 29 defensive snaps this season, while Frausto-Ramos has played 10, according to Pro Football Focus.

Saturday will be Arizona offensive coordinator Seth Doege’s first game in Pullman since the passing of his mentor, the late Mike Leach, who recruited Doege to Texas Tech. Leach became the third-winningest coach in school history behind longtime WSU head coach Mike Price and Babe Hollingberry.

“I remember watching (Leach) on TV thinking, ‘There’s no way Washington State should be winning and they’re winning,’ ” Doege said. “He’s running the same stuff (as he did at Texas Tech) and they’re doing it.”

When Doege was in between coaching stints, he visited his former Texas Tech offensive coordinator Neal Brown, who was the head coach at Troy from 2015-18. Brown wanted Doege to mentor Troy quarterback Gardner Minshew for a spring in 2015.

“I’m hanging out with Gardner, just kind of kicking it and he’s getting limited reps, so we’re talking about different reads,” Doege said. “A couple years go by, I look up and he’s at Washington State just crushing it.”

In the 2018 season, Minshew — known for his mustache — passed for 4,779 yards, 38 touchdowns and nine interceptions on a 70% completion rate.

“He’s the perfect fit for Mike Leach, just a gunslinger,” Doege said of Minshew, who’s now a backup for the Arizona Cardinals. “I always felt like Lubbock was the perfect place for Mike Leach, but I think Pullman might be the best place for Mike Leach. He just fits there. I’m sure those people loved him and he had a ton of success there.”

Saturday will also be a familiar setting for Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita, who got his first-career win as the Wildcats’ starter in Pullman — a win that sparked a seven-game winning streak for the UA in 2023, resulting in a win over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl. Arizona’s 44-6 win over the Cam Ward-led Cougars sparked Fifita’s record-breaking era, which is arguably the best career by an Arizona quarterback.

“It brings back memories going back to Pullman,” Fifita said. “I remember the feeling in that locker room afterward was super special, just being able to get that first win under my belt. That’s what started it all off.

“Looking forward to getting back to Pullman and trying to do the same job.”