Arizona enhancing ‘different shapes and sizes,’ skillsets at linebacker

In one of Arizona’s final team periods of its fourth practice of fall training camp earlier this month, with the offense’s heels in the end zone, the older Fifita stepped up in the pocket and fired a pass over the middle and Dash Fifita jumped up to make the interception about 6 yards off the line of scrimmage.

Dash Fifita’s best play in training camp earned him a rowdy celebration from Arizona’s defense.

“It was amazing,” Dash Fifita said. “When he threw that ball, it felt like a surreal moment. Our childhood memories, all the conversations we had about playing with each other rolled through my mind while I was in the air. As I came down with it, it felt good. I didn’t know how to react. I was just running to the end zone looking for him. I didn’t know how to celebrate. The boys were with me and it was a surreal moment.”

The uber-competitive Noah Fifita “was mad in the moment and just tried to get to the next play,” Dash Fifita said.

“That’s what makes him such a good player, he can move on from a bad play and respond and react in a positive way,” said the Arizona linebacker. “He’s such a good brother, so he was happy for me and happy I got that moment and he knows I was waiting for it.”

The undersized Fifita “has come a long way” since joining the team as a freshman earlier this year, said Memphis transfer linebacker Everett Roussaw.

“He’s done a great job adjusting from high school to college,” Roussaw said. “He has done a phenomenal job.”

Fifita finished his high school career at Santa Margarita Catholic (California) with 201 tackles, 10 sacks, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions — and was a two-time Trinity League Defensive Player of the Year and led the Eagles to a state championship in 2025.

The Trinity League has four- and five-star prospects littered all over the programs in arguably the toughest conference in high school football. Still, there was an adjustment period for Fifita.

“To see every person on the field being capable of making a play at any given moment, that has been a ‘welcome to college’ moment,” Fifita said. “You have to be ready and (identify) everything and expect the unexpected on any given play.”

Fifita has a “really interesting skillset” for a 5-7, 186-pound linebacker, said Arizona linebackers coach Josh Bringuel.

“He’s really quick, really twitchy, so you see why he was such a dang good high school player and you see that carry over here,” said Bringuel.

Added Bringuel: “At the end of the day, players win games. When players make plays, you’re around the football a lot, you’re playing fast, you’re playing physical and Dash does those things. Anytime you’re at a deficit in any respect — height, weight — you play fast and play hard, good things happen. Dash plays with unbelievable speed, which makes up for it. Size, he may lack, but he’s quick as heck. He has these other traits that are unbelievable.

“It’s our job as coaches to put him in a position to be successful. … Dash utilizes his traits to his benefit. Sometimes it’s hard to see him when he’s scraping over the top and guys miss him. He’s so quick and he plays fast. He does a great job using his size and what some people look as a deficit, he finds a way to use it as an advantage.”

Fifita is an outlier at the linebacker position for Arizona. The Wildcats could conceivably have a starting linebacker trio of Taye Brown (6-2, 226 pounds), Chase Kennedy (6-3, 230 pounds) and Georgetown transfer Cooper Blomstrom (6-2, 243 pounds). Roussaw is listed at 6-2, 235 pounds. Fifth-year senior Max Harris, whose eligibility status is in limbo following the NCAA’s latest legal victory in the “five-for-five” saga, is considered an undersized NFL linebacker at 6-foot, 230 pounds. The second-shortest linebacker on Arizona’s roster is 3 inches taller than Fifita, while the second-lighest linebackers are roughly 20 pounds heavier than Fifita — and they’re converted defensive backs and a running back.

Despite being undersized, Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales had no desire to move Fifita to defensive back.

“Coach G believed in me and my abilities and what I can do on the field,” Fifita said. “He had a plan for me and ever since I got here, that hasn’t wavered. Him and Coach Bringuel have put me in the best position to succeed. As you can see, his defense has a lot of movement, so I’m not having to take O-Linemen on head up, so we’re able to use my versatility, my speed and my instincts to let me shine and let me play how I’ve been playing my whole life.”

In the previous age of college football, with the Wildcats’ other options at linebacker, Fifita would’ve likely been a redshirt option. But the new five-for-five model gives Arizona ways to use Fifita on special teams and potentially on defense, especially considering Fifita has taken second-team reps in fall training camp.

Versatility is the name of the game

Fifita isn’t the only Arizona linebacker with a specialized skillset.

“We all offer different things,” Roussaw said. “We’re all different shapes and sizes. Our room is very versatile and I feel like it gives this defense and these coaches a lot more pieces to play with. I feel like we’re going to have a very successful year, just because of the versatility that we bring.”

Brown and Kennedy are the leaders of Arizona’s linebacker group and the veteran tandem have set the standard for younger linebackers like Fifita.

“I try to take a little bit of everybody’s game and implement it into mine,” Fifita said.

Brown “is the ultimate professional, the way he carries himself on and off the field,” and Kennedy “is just a football player,” Fifita said.

“The guy has instincts, he’s explosive, he’s twitchy,” Fifita said of Kennedy. “I try to implement that into my game, the pass rush and coverage, the way he disguises (blitzes) and plays the game.”

Roussaw — nicknamed “trap” by the UA players — “plays with (passion), you can see how he carries himself, he’s a great leader. He motivates me to get out there and give it my all.”

Harris, Arizona’s third-leading tackler a year ago, “has been a great role model in the little time he’s been here.”

“He’s undersized, as well, so I like to pick his brain on what he sees and how he can move around and the benefits of moving around in the defense,” Harris said. “They’ve all been great. I’m looking forward to having a good season with them.”

Since Gonzales has taken over as defensive coordinator, there’s been a trend of former defensive ends converting to off-the-ball linebacker roles in a defense that often uses a 3-3-5 scheme. It happened last season with Kennedy moving from edge rusher to linebacker. Former Montana edge rusher Riley Wilson became a key cog to Arizona’s linebacker rotation last season. This year, Blomstrom and Roussaw came to the UA with the edge rusher, on-the-ball label due to their past experiences.

At Memphis, Roussaw “found myself on the ball more,” he said.

“Here (at Arizona), it allows me to be more versatile,” Roussaw added.

Blomstrom, a Dover, New Hampshire native and Arizona’s latest discovery from the FCS level, played in 31 games over three seasons for the Hoyas and recorded 117 tackles, 27 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, five forced fumbles and an interception. Blomstrom combined for 15 sacks his last two seasons at Georgetown. 

“He had so much success at his level and all he did was rush off the edge,” Bringuel said.

Roussaw said Blomstrom is “a dominant edge rusher” and is “so unselfish (and) he plays the game right way and does his job.” Bringuel noted Blomstrom as the most improved Arizona linebacker since the spring.

“In the spring he was thinking too much, so to see him elevate his game and play free because he knows the playbook, it allows him to play fast and we’re able to see a lot of things from him,” Roussaw said.

Prior to Arizona, Blomstrom was considered a one-trick pony. It’s going to take more than just getting to the quarterback and making plays at the line of scrimmage to play in Gonzales’ defense. But Arizona’s coaches won’t shy away from showcasing exactly what brought a player like Blomstrom to Tucson.

“For us, we want to enhance those skills, so we want to highlight them,” Bringuel said. “The defense, it gives us the flexibility to use him in that manner. He has a great skillset off the edge so, heck yeah, we’re going to utilize that. He’s strong, he’s physical, he’s got pass-rush ability — we’re going to utilize that. But it’s my job as a coach to enhance the other assets of his game, so playing off the ball and doing stuff like that. He’s done a great job of being open to those different dynamics.

“It’s been a learning process for him, because it’s seeing the game from a different light than he has the previous three years of college. It’s been fun working with him. … The more stuff we can do, the more fun we can have. I like having fun on defense.”

Extra points

– Bringuel, on Harris returning to the program this season: “Max has done a great job coming back. It’s such an interesting situation with him, but he’s such a great human being, that him falling in the room and getting with the guys is a testament to what a good guy he is, to be welcomed back. We’re excited and however all this stuff shakes out, we’re excited to have him in the room. He’s been a positive impact in the short period he’s been back.”

– Bringuel, on Arizona potentially regressing from its 31-takeaway mark from last season: “Why did those takeaways happen? To be frank, we were playing really hard. That’s why, in my opinion, takeaways happen when you’re playing hard.”

— Second-year linebacker Myron Robinson continues to make progress in his knee rehab. Starting in place of the injured Harris in Arizona’s road win at Cincinnati in November, the San Antonio, Texas product suffered a gruesome knee injury. The limited Robinson has taken team and 7-on-7 reps in the last week.