5 takeaways from the first half of Arizona football training camp

Now that Arizona is at the halfway point of training camp, there are plenty of interesting storylines from the Davis Sports Center and Dick Tomey Practice Fields.

Here are five notable takeaways from Arizona football training camp, with less than two weeks remaining of fall camp, which concludes on Aug. 27.

Fifita on fire

Will Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita be a Heisman Trophy finalist this fall? Who knows, but the Arizona star quarterback, going into his fourth season as the Wildcats’ starter, is excelling in Arizona’s offense going into Year 2 under offensive coordinator Seth Doege.

Fifita is layering passes through the defense, fitting passes through tight windows in the defense and connecting with Arizona’s receivers and tight ends. UA’s running backs have also been effective in the passing game, like Marshall transfer Antwan Roberts, who had a big gain on a dump-off pass from Fifita in a team period on Saturday.

Fifita is finding a variety of pass catchers in team periods. If there’s any receiver who has become a consistent playmaker with Fifita at quarterback, it’s sophomore Giovanni Richardson, who’s expected to start at slot receiver this season.

In addition to Richardson, the Wildcats have around nine players who could conceivably crack the rotation at receiver. Last season, Arizona had 10 players — receivers, tight ends and running backs — with at least 15 receptions. With more tight ends and running backs — especially with Ismail Mahdi back — expected to be involved in the offense, in comparison to last season, that number could increase.

Fifita is also taking deep shots this training camp, finding receivers in stride near the sideline, allowing them to make the catch and keep one foot in bounds. Last season, Fifita was 22 for 61 — 36% completion rate — on passes longer than 20 yards, with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions, according to Pro Football Focus.

Between layering passes, the touch, the accuracy, the ball distribution, picking up yards on designed quarterbacks, improvising and scrambling to turn a “nothing play” into a “something play,” Fifita has shined in training camp. There’s at least two or three “wow” throws every practice.

After an All-Big 12 campaign last season, Arizona’s QB1 is in midseason form in August.

The kicking game

Arizona kicker Michael Salgado-Medina, after an up-and-down season last year, has yet to miss a field goal in training camp — and has made over a dozen field goals, including multiple 50-yard-plus kicks.

A season after having the worst field-goal percentage in the Big 12, the Wildcats focused on getting the field-goal operation in place for the spring rather than work on it during fall training camp, like last season.

In the spring, Arizona signed Tempe native and Western Kentucky long snapper Drew Nicolson, who “is extremely talented,” said UA special teams coordinator Craig Naivar.

“He’s extremely steady, extremely accurate and extremely trustworthy,” Naivar added. “Everything starts from that point forward.”

Arizona backup punter Carter Schwartz is the holder on the UA’s field-goal unit.

“Being able to work that the entire spring and the entire summer, it has led to whole mechanism of Mike to having confidence with what’s going on and he’s striking the ball really well right now,” Naivar said. “The mechanism has allowed him to trust more and be himself. When he’s himself, he’s pretty good.”

Naivar, a self-claimed pit master, compared last season’s training camp to “microwaved brisket.” This year, it’s slow-cooked.

“It has a really good smoke ring,” Naivar said. “It’s really tender, it’s at about 195-200 (degrees) and we’re about to pull it off the pit and rest it for 18 hours. It’s going to be a really good brisket. I’m really excited about how that has developed and we continue to get better. I’m really excited about what’s going on with that operation.”

Australia native and freshman punter Chase Ridley continues to impress in training camp. Between his leg strength — which was evident on Saturday, when he blasted a punt (with decent hang time) about 65 yards — and touch on short-yardage punts, Ridley could be a serious weapon for field position this season.

However, Ridley has yet to play a game and hails from an Aussie rules football background, which Naivar compared to punting in an intramural league.

“Going into college football, putting a helmet on, putting on shoulder pads, with guys coming at you, it’s like punting on I-10,” Naivar said. “It’s a totally different atmosphere. Guys are flying around fast, trying to come hit you, it’s a whole different world. … It’s going to be a growing process, because you gotta deal with bright lights and road stadiums and all that stuff like that.”

So far, Arizona has a strong kicker-punter tandem in Salgado-Medina and Ridley.

O-Line depth

Arizona’s starting offensive line will likely be Matthew Lado, Rhino Tapa’atoutai, Washington center transfer Zachary Henning, Alexander Doost and Tristan Bounds, but the depth behind the aforementioned line remains fluid.

Second-year Mesa product Jaxon Griffin, second-year Bay Area native Louis Akpa — who has gained roughly 40 pounds since last season — or San Jose State transfer Nathan Hale could be two of the backup tackles. Freshman Malachi Joyner has taken second-team reps this training camp, and four-star El Paso, Texas, tackle Justin Morales and Dallas-area product Khalil Sanogo will also compete for backup tackle reps.

Arizona’s backup interior offensive line has BYU transfer Jake Griffin, former Mater Dei star and highly touted recruit Sione Tohi, second-year Hawaii native Javian Goo, fifth-year center Grayson Stovall, former Portland State transfer Isaac Perez and Keona Peat — brother of former UA basketball star Koa Peat — taking second- and third-team reps. Griffin took first-team reps on Saturday.

Breakout player of training camp

Arizona attacked the transfer portal in the offseason and signed eight defensive backs — and more than half of them are players with safety experience — as the Wildcats look to replace “the big three” in Treydan Stukes, Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith.

Despite having several newcomers, Arizona’s starting safety tandem could be returners from last season’s squad, including a walk-on: Gavin Hunter and Quinn Olson, a 6-3, 205-pound walk-on. Olson wouldn’t be the first player to go from walk-on status to starting in Arizona’s defensive secondary. He’d join Chuck Cecil, Jared Tevis and Treydan Stukes, who went from walk-on to All-American to second-round pick in the NFL Draft.

Olson “could be the next Treydan Stukes story at Arizona in terms of a walk-on turning into a really good player,” Arce said.

“He has really put in the work,” Arce added. “He’s one of the strongest guys on the team, one of the fastest guys on the team.”

The Sioux City, Iowa, native hails from a quarterback background and scored 35 touchdowns in his senior season at Bishop Heelan Catholic, leading the Crusaders to a second-place finish at the Class 3A level.

Olson had one of the top defensive plays of training camp, when he jumped a slant route and went up to grab an interception thrown by quarterback Noah Fifita, which Arce called “one of the most impressive interceptions I’ve seen in my career.”

“It doesn’t matter where you’re from, who you are, how many stars, walk-on or not, the best players are going to play,” Arce said. “It’s one thing to know the scheme and to be in the right spots, but you also gotta make plays, too. If you’re in the right spot and guys are catching the ball over you, that’s not a good enough deal. But if you’re making plays like Quinn, who has shown it in the spring and (training) camp, he’s got an opportunity.”

Time will tell if Olson is the answer at safety, but his play in spring and training camp bodes well for the Iowa product.

Fantastic freshmen

Several members of Arizona’s 2026 recruiting class are making a name for themselves this training camp, including wide receivers R.J. Mosley and Caleb “Jet” Smith.

The four-star Mosley, a 6-3, 199-pound Pittsburg, California, product, was Arizona’s highest-rated signee for 2026 and the highest-rated receiver to sign with the Wildcats since Tetairoa McMillan in 2022, according to 247Sports.com’s ranking system.

Mosley has caught multiple touchdown passes from Fifita and reserve quarterbacks Sawyer Anderson and Luke Haugo, and the wide receiver is a polished route runner for a freshman; ditto for Smith.

The 5-8, 167-pound Smith is a shifty slot receiver from Allen, Texas, and is also in line to start at punt returner this season, a tall ask for a first-year player. In a red-zone team period, Smith had an impressive block on freshman safety Hannibal Navies II at the goal line on a Fifita rushing touchdown last week.

Arizona’s second cornerback, opposite of starter Jay’Vion Cole, will likely come down to transfers Dwight Bootle, Tyrese Boss and Zuri Watson, but Xaier Hiler — a 6-3, 179-pound Dallas-area native — isn’t too far behind; plus, Naivar said Hiler will be one of the freshmen contributing on special teams this season.

Georgia native and safety Navies, the son of former NFL linebacker and Colorado star Hannibal Navies, has a Genesis Smith-esque frame (and hairstyle) at 6-2, 202 pounds. Navies recorded an interception in a 7-on-11 period on Saturday. Arizona safeties coach Brett Arce said Navies is “one of the strongest guys in the weight room as a true freshman.”

“He came in here power-cleaning and squatting a house,” Arce said. “He’s got a high ceiling.”

Olson isn’t the only Arizona defensive player to intercept Fifita this training camp. Arizona freshman linebacker Dash Fifita intercepted his older brother and UA quarterback Noah Fifita in the Wildcats’ fourth training camp session. The younger Fifita took first-team reps with Arizona’s defense on Saturday, alongside linebackers Taye Brown and Georgetown transfer Cooper Blomstrom.

Arizona could have three freshmen as key rotational pieces on the defensive line this season in Prince Williams, nose tackle Kaisi Lafitaga and defensive tackle Keytrin Harris.

“It’s awesome to have those guys elevate the room and elevate the competition,” said Arizona defensive line coach Joe Salave’a. “We’re on the brink of seeing some of these young guys contribute to us. They’re not satisfied and that’s probably the beauty in this whole thing. They don’t want to be satisfied playing. They want to be able to contribute and dominate — and that is the goal.”