Offseason training paying off for Arizona OL Alexander Doost, Tristan Bounds

The right side of Arizona’s offensive line already spent quite a bit of time together off the field, which increased when they became temporary roommates.

In the last six months, “me and Doost have become big movie watchers,” Bounds said, and have watched over 30 movies together — anywhere from Christopher Nolan films to prepare for “The Odyssey,” to slasher flicks.

“Thursday night, nothing happening on Friday, we’ll pop on a movie and DoorDash a bunch of food, invite a bunch of people over and it’s just the guys hanging out,” Bounds said. “That’s been a big thing this summer.”

Training, movies and the re-release of “Call of Duty Black Ops II” consumed Bounds’ life leading up to training camp. Bounds said he spent about eight hours playing Call of Duty one of the days leading up to fall training camp.

“I’m concerned with how many hours I’ve logged on that game,” Bounds joked.

Bounds and Doost have also been hard at work to perfect their craft as offensive linemen.

During Arizona’s summer workouts, the 6-7, 332-pound Doost — who’s entering his third season at Arizona after transferring from Northwestern in 2024 — squatted 620 pounds, bench-pressed 440 pounds and power-cleaned 405 pounds.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve been trying to get 405 and I finally got it,” said Doost, who is the only player on Arizona’s roster to power-clean over 400 pounds. “I’m very proud of that. … I’ve always been a big weight room guy. I love being in the weight room, especially with the guys and coaches, having a good time with the music going. Nothing specific goes into the strength, I just love it so much.”

Doost also reached the ceiling of the climbing rope in Arizona’s weight room, ran 18 miles per hour and broad-jumped over 10 feet. Doost was recently named to The Athletic’s “Freaks List” for the upcoming season.

“The kid is awesome,” said Arizona offensive line coach Josh Oglesby. “I love Doost. I’m super grateful that we have him. He’s truly an Avenger. We call him the Hulk. He’s awesome athletically, and probably the thing that’s most impressive this offseason is how much he has truly dove into the knowledge part of the game.

“Doost’s football IQ has exploded this offseason. I’m excited to see him this fall and upcoming season, because as his knowledge goes up, the game slows down and it allows him to use all of that strength and athleticism way more freely.”

Doost takes pride in his power-clean dominance — and it’s been that way since his prep days at Mountain Ridge High School in Phoenix. His older brother owned Mountain Ridge’s power-clean record, “and I wanted to do everything I could to beat that.” The younger Doost only needed three years to achieve the feat.

“Doost has always been a powerful kid,” said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan. “It’s been exciting to see him develop as a football player.”

Since arriving at Arizona, the former Pro Football Focus Freshman All-American “has definitely leaned into Josh’s coaching and it is really fun to see his development and to see where he’s at,” Brennan said.

“He’s an unquestioned leader for our football team,” added Brennan. “That’s been a nice move that hasn’t been talked about as much before. He has become a vocal leader and is someone that is driving the team, not just the offensive line.”

Doost is known by his teammates and coaches as the Hulk, and Bounds has become Wolverine — two Marvel superheroes — which is fitting for Bounds, who has a Hugh Jackman-esque beard and transferred from the Michigan Wolverines last season. Doost gifted Bounds a poster of a Wolverine comic book when they first became roommates.

Bounds hasn’t gone viral for pushing heavy weight like Doost this summer, but the 6-8, 317-pound Bounds — who gained 18 pounds this offseason after recovering from a season-ending ankle injury — “went to a boxing gym once or twice a week,” he said.

Bounds and backup second-year right tackle Louis Akpa were frequent visitors at T Town Boxing this summer. Akpa “has continued to grow at an exponential rate,” Bounds said.

“Anything that I think is going to be good for my game, I would assume it’s going to be good for his, so I’ve been trying to bring him under my wing a little bit and involved him with that stuff,” Bounds said.

Boxing workouts are “good for the summer — especially when we don’t have a lot of contact — to get in and still have some violence in your life,” Bounds said.

“The main thing we do is violence, so it’s good to have some of that,” Bounds said. “It also helps with your feet and eyes. It also doesn’t hurt to hit a moving target, which is what we do every day. A big part of offensive line is hand usage. If you can be more accurate with your hands, quicker with your hands, that’s going to help you. That’s how boxing correlates.

“You have to be bouncing around on your feet and while that’s different than playing offensive line, when we’re playing, we want all of our cleats in the ground. But you still have to be quick on your feet, redirect and keep your eyes on the target. I think all of those things, in one way or another, really help. From a mentality standpoint, it’s always good to be searching for something extra and attack and help you improve your game.”

Added Brennan: “The better the feet are, the better chance they have to play and have a chance to move. I think that’s what the real benefit would be. I think every player is different and every player is seeking some kind of edge.”

The sixth-year Bounds boxed “a little bit in high school and it was something that I felt like had potential to help my game. It’s the extra, the in between and the unrequired to give me an edge up on the competition,” he said.

It’s been a busy offseason for Wolverine and Hulk — err, Bounds and Doost — but their experience coupled with the offseason training has positioned them into having an even better season as the guard-tackle tandem on the right side of Arizona’s offensive line, after spending most of last season playing alongside each other.

Doost and Bounds, “they're the heart and soul of” Arizona’s offensive line, said Oglesby.

“I couldn’t be closer to that dude,” Doost said of Bounds. “He’s my brother. He’s super easy, a great roommate, it’s awesome.”

Extra points

– Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita was named to the preseason Wuerffel Trophy watch list. The Wuerffel Trophy is a college football award given to an FBS player who exemplifies excellence in community service, along with athletic and academic achievements. Fifita was recently named an AllState Good Hands Team nominee.

Fifita's foundation, "First Down Faith Foundation," honors faith, family and football — three important pillars of Fifita's life — and gives back to the Tucson community. First Down Faith Foundation has hosted two football camps at Casino Del Sol Stadium since it started last year.

– Former Arizona wide receiver Javin Whatley had a workout with the Seattle Seahawks on Tuesday, according to Chris Hummer of CBS Sports. Whatley, who led the Wildcats in receiving yards in the first half of the season, went undrafted after one season at Arizona.