The 2026 Arizona Wildcats football team represents the University of Arizona in the Big 12 Conference during the 2026 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Arizona is led by third-year head coach Brent Brennan. They play their home games at Casino Del Sol Stadium, located in Tucson, Arizona. This is the Wildcats' 127th season overall, and their third year in the Big 12.
Offseason
Entered NFL draft
The deadline for players to declare for the NFL draft is January14, 2026.
Treydan Stukes CB 2 38 Las Vegas Raiders Genesis Smith CB 4 131 Los Angeles Chargers Dalton Johnson CB 5 150 Las Vegas Raiders Michael Dansby CB 7 255 Seattle Seahawks
Total picks by school TeamRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4Round 5Round 6Round 7TotalArizona 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 4
Departures Over the course of the off-season, Arizona lost 43 total players. 21 players in transfer portal, 14 players graduated, 8 players declared for the 2026 NFL draft.
2026 Arizona Offseason departuresName Pos. Height Weight Class Hometown Notes Ismail Mahdi RB 5'10" 190 Senior Plano, TX Declared by 2026 NFL Draft Deshawn McKnight DL 6'4" 275 Senior Sumter, SC Exhausted eligibility Ty Buchanan OL 6'6" 290 Senior Corpus Christi, TX Declared by 2026 NFL Draft Kris Hutson WR 5'11" 175 Senior Compton, CA Declared by 2026 NFL Draft Michael Dansby DB 6'0" 190 Senior San Jose, CA Declared by 2026 NFL Draft Luke Wysong WR 5'10" 180 Senior Albuquerque, NM Declared by 2026 NFL Draft Cameron Barmore WR 6'6" 230 Senior Panama, NY Exhausted eligibility Riley Wilson LB 6'2" 230 Senior Prosper, TX Exhausted eligibility Ayden Garnes CB 6'0" 175 RS Senior Philadelphia, PA Declared by 2026 NFL Draft Javin Whatley WR 5'10" 167 Senior Rockmart, GA Exhausted eligibility Max Harris LB 6'0" 225 Senior Montgomery, AL Exhausted eligibility Malachi Bailey DL 6'2" 260 Senior Atlanta, GA Exhausted eligibility Tiaoalii Savea DL 6'4" 295 Senior Las Vegas, NV Exhausted eligibility Ian Wagner K 6'2" 215 Senior Sierra Vista, AZ Declared by 2026 NFL Draft Avery Salerno LS 6'0" 220 Senior Clemmons, NC Exhausted eligibility Genesis Smith S 6′2 204 Junior Chandler, AZ Declared by 2026 NFL Draft Sam Olson TE 6'3 238 Senior Visalia, CA Exhausted eligibility Shannco Matautia OL 6'2 346 Senior Anaheim, CA Exhausted eligibility Ka'ena DeCarmbra OL 6'3" 320 Senior Honolulu, HI Exhausted eligibility Chubba Maae DL 6'2 347 Senior Long Beach, CA Exhausted eligibility Treydan Stukes CB 6'2 200 Senior Litchfield Park, AZ Exhausted eligibility Dalton Johnson DB 5'11 198 Senior Katy, TX Exhausted eligibility
Recruiting class
The following recruits and transfers have signed letters of intent or verbally committed to the Arizona Wildcats football program for the 2026 recruiting year.
*= 247Sports Composite rating; ratings are out of 1.00. (five stars= 1.00–.98, four stars= .97–.90, three stars= .80–.89) †= Despite being rated as a four and five star recruit by ESPN, On3.com, Rivals.com and 247Sports.com, Williams and Rios received a four star 247Sports Composite rating. Δ= RB Brandon Smith left the Arizona program following signing but prior to the 2026 season.
2026 overall class rankings ESPN -- -- -- 2 17 On3 Recruits/Rivals 41 8 -- 5 15 247 Sports 39 6 -- 7 16
Transfer portal Outgoing transfers Name Pos. Class Height Weight Hometown New school Braedyn Locke QB Junior 6'1 195 Rockwall, TX Tarleton State (FCS) Jshawn Frausto-Ramos DB Junior 6'0" 185 Los Angeles, CA Washington State Jack Luttrell S Sophomore 6′0 180 Gainesville, GA Auburn Marquis Groves-Killebrew CB Sophomore 6'0 180 Kennesaw, GA California Jarra Anderson DL Sophomore 6'2 260 Katy, TX Sam Houston Michael Wooten OL Freshman 6'4 310 Simi Valley, CA South Florida Jeremiah Patterson WR Senior 5'9 175 Union City, CA North Dakota State Jordan Brown OL Junior 6'5" 310 Atlanta, GA Georgia State Chancellor Owens DL Junior 6'3" 280 Shreveport, LA Texas State Kaleb Jones DT Freshman 6'1" 280 Phoenix, AZ Iowa State Edukwa Okundaye DE Freshman 6'3" 220 Katy, TX Washington State Stacy Bey ILB Freshman 6'1" 205 Fontana, CA Sam Houston State Gianni Edwards CB Freshman 5'11" 170 Forney, TX Montana State (FCS) Kayden Luke RB Sophomore 5'11" 220 Tucson, AZ West Virginia Keyan Burnett TE Senior 6'6" 249 Ladera Ranch, CA UNLV Rex Haynes WR Junior 6'4 204 San Diego, CA Utah State Devin Hyatt WR Sophomore 6'2 192 Bradenton, FL Miami (OH) Siale Uluave OL Junior 6'4" 350 Mission Hills, CA Southern Utah (FCS) Devin Dunn DB Junior 5'10 189 Chandler, AZ Montana (FCS) Tyler Prasuhn P/K Freshman 6'2 181 Carlsbad, CA San Diego State Chase Randall TE/LB Junior 6'2 232 Tucson, AZ TBD
Acquisitions Over the off-season, Arizona added twenty-three players from the transfer portal. According to 247 Sports, Arizona had the No. 37 ranked transfer class in the country.
Name Pos. Height Weight Hometown Class Eligibility Remaining Prev. school Shane King TE 6'5 230 Gainesville, GA Freshman 3 Southern Miss Drew Nicolson LS 6'0 221 Tempe, AZ Sophomore 2 Arkansas State Cole Rusk TE 6'5 250 Rock Island, IL Senior 1 Illinois Cooper Blomstrom LB 6'3 245 Dover, NH Junior 1 Georgetown (FCS) DJ Jordan WR 5'11 170 Los Angeles, CA Freshman 3 USC Tyrese Boss CB 5'11 190 Chino Hills, CA Freshman 3 Wyoming Everett Roussaw Jr. LB 6'3 230 Atlanta, GA Junior 1 Memphis Arthur Ban TE 6'5 220 Vancouver, WA Freshman 3 San Diego State Zach Henning OL 6'5 310 Centennial, CO Sophomore 2 Washington Malcolm Hartzog Jr. DB 5'9 185 Silver Creek, MS Senior 1 Nebraska Cam Chapa S 6'1 193 Aurora, CO Sophomore 2 Northern Colorado (FCS) Rodney Gallagher III WR 5'10 181 Uniontown, PA Junior 1 West Virginia Nate Hale OL 6'5 295 Orange, CA Sophomore 2 San Jose State Dwight Bootle II DB 5'10 180 Miami, FL Junior 1 Charlotte Matai Tagoa'i LB 6'4 205 Las Vegas, NV Freshman 3 USC Carter Schwartz P 6'4 225 Louisville, KY Junior 2 Louisville Jordan Ross WR 5'10 180 Anaheim, CA Sophomore 2 Colorado State Jake Griffin OL 6'5 305 Mesa, AZ Sophomore 2 BYU Lee Molette III S 6'1 190 Brentwood, TN Senior 1 UConn Antwan Roberts RB 6'1 203 Nashville, TN Junior 1 Marshall Daylen Austin CB 6'1 199 Long Beach, CA Sophomore 2 Oregon Zuri Watson CB 6'1 175 St Petersburg, FL Freshman 3 Howard(FCS) Ryan Harris K 5'11 192 San Diego, CA Junior 1 Washington State
Coaching changes
Coaching staff departures NameCurrent PositionNew TeamNew Position Source Alonzo Carter Running backs coach Sacramento State Head coach
Coaching staff additions
NameNew PositionPrevious TeamPrevious Position Source Lyle Moevao Running backs coach Arizona Offensive analyst
Preseason
Preseason Big-12 awards 2026 Preseason All Big-12 teams
Noah Fifita, QB, R-Sr.
Source:
Award watch lists Listed in the order that they were released Lott Trophy Tre Smith Defensive lineman6th year Maxwell AwardNoah Fifita QuarterbackSr. Outland Trophy Tristan Bounds Offensive tackle 5th yearBronko Nagurski TrophyTaye BrownLinebackerSr. Wuerffel TrophyNoah Fifita Quarterback Butkus AwardTaye BrownLinebacker Walter Camp AwardNoah Fifita QuarterbackDoak Walker Award Kedrick Reescano Running backJohnny Unitas Golden Arm AwardNoah FifitaQuarterback Davey O'Brien Award Comeback Player of the Year AwardTre Smith Defensive lineman6th year Malcolm HartzogDefensive back5th yearPolynesian College Football Player Of The Year AwardNoah Fifita QuarterbackSr.Mays PeseDefensive linemanSo.Rhino Tapa'atoutaiOffensive linemanSr.Bednarik Award Taye Brown Linebacker Manning AwardNoah Fifita QuarterbackEarl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Kedrick Reescano Running back
Schedule
Game summaries
No. 22 (FCS) Northern Arizona
Uniform CombinationHelmetJerseyPants
Statistics NAUARIZ First downs 8 28 Plays–yards 52–193 72–520 Rushes–yards 21–(-7) 35–206 Passing yards 200 314 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 19–31–1 27–37–1 Turnovers 1 3 Time of possession 27:48 32:12 Team Category Player Statistics Northern Arizona PassingTy Pennington15/26, 180 yards, INT RushingQuran Gossett11 carries, 20 yards ReceivingJoey Stout6 receptions, 39 yards Arizona PassingNoah Fifita22/29, 262 yards, 2 TD RushingKedrick Reescano10 carries, 48 yards, 2 TD ReceivingGio Richardson8 receptions, 96 yards
at No. 15 BYU
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Statistics ARIZBYU First downs 19 17 Plays–yards 62–327 56–365 Rushes–yards 31–97 30–148 Passing yards 230 217 Passing: comp–att–int 23–31–1 16–26–0 Turnovers 1 0 Time of possession 33:41 26:19 Team Category Player Statistics Arizona PassingNoah Fifita23/31, 230 yards, TD, INT RushingKedrick Reescano15 carries, 49 yards ReceivingGio Richardson5 receptions, 48 yards BYU PassingBear Bachmeier16/26, 217 yards, 3 TD RushingLJ Martin20 carries, 98 yards ReceivingLegend Glasker3 receptions, 74 yards
Northern Illinois
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Statistics NIUARIZ First downs 20 22 Plays–yards 67–341 64–441 Rushes–yards 24–86 27–84 Passing yards 255 357 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 29–43–0 32–37–1 Turnovers 0 1 Time of possession 29:40 30:20 Team Category Player Statistics Northern Illinois PassingTaron Dickens25/37, 228 yards, TD RushingTelly Johnson Jr.12 carries, 69 yards ReceivingDeAree Rogers10 receptions, 68 yards Arizona PassingNoah Fifita31/34, 325 yards, 4 TD RushingKedrick Reescano8 carries, 30 yards ReceivingTre Spivey6 receptions, 90 yards, TD
at Washington State
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Statistics ARIZWSU First downs 24 23 Plays–yards 74–447 71–335 Rushes–yards 38–150 30–94 Passing yards 297 241 Passing: comp–att–int 22–36–1 24–41–1 Turnovers 1 2 Time of possession 34:02 25:58 Team Category Player Statistics Arizona PassingNoah Fifita22/36, 297 yards, 4 TD, INT RushingIsmail Mahdi10 carries, 63 yards ReceivingTre Spivey7 receptions, 129 yards, 2 TD Washington State PassingCaden Pinnick24/41, 241 yards, TD, INT RushingKirby Vorhees9 carries, 39 yards ReceivingBranden Ganashamoorthy4 receptions, 67 yards, TD
Cincinnati
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Statistics CINARIZ First downs 12 30 Plays–yards 57–227 78–522 Rushes–yards 28–74 41–238 Passing yards 153 284 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 16–29–0 25–37–1 Turnovers 0 1 Time of possession 24:21 35:39 Team Category Player Statistics Cincinnati PassingJC French IV16/29, 153 yards RushingJC French IV9 carries, 29 yards, TD ReceivingIsaiah Johnson6 receptions, 60 yards Arizona PassingNoah Fifita25/37, 284 yards, 2 TD, INT RushingAntwan Roberts Jr.5 carries, 87 yards ReceivingIsaiah Mizell4 receptions, 67 yards
at West Virginia
Statistics ARIZWVU First downs Plays–yards Rushes–yards Passing yards Passing: comp–att–int Turnovers Time of possession Team Category Player Statistics Arizona Passing Rushing Receiving West Virginia Passing Rushing Receiving
Iowa State
Statistics ISUARIZ First downs Plays–yards Rushes–yards Passing yards Passing: Comp–Att–Int Turnovers Time of possession Team Category Player Statistics Iowa State Passing Rushing Receiving Arizona Passing Rushing Receiving
at Texas Tech
Statistics ARIZTTU First downs Plays–yards Rushes–yards Passing yards Passing: comp–att–int Turnovers Time of possession Team Category Player Statistics Arizona Passing Rushing Receiving Texas Tech Passing Rushing Receiving
TCU
Statistics TCUARIZ First downs Plays–yards Rushes–yards Passing yards Passing: Comp–Att–Int Turnovers Time of possession Team Category Player Statistics TCU Passing Rushing Receiving Arizona Passing Rushing Receiving
Utah
Statistics UTAHARIZ First downs Plays–yards Rushes–yards Passing yards Passing: Comp–Att–Int Turnovers Time of possession Team Category Player Statistics Utah Passing Rushing Receiving Arizona Passing Rushing Receiving
at Kansas State
Statistics ARIZKSU First downs Plays–yards Rushes–yards Passing yards Passing: comp–att–int Turnovers Time of possession Team Category Player Statistics Arizona Passing Rushing Receiving Kansas State Passing Rushing Receiving
Arizona State
Statistics ASUARIZ First downs Plays–yards Rushes–yards Passing yards Passing: Comp–Att–Int Turnovers Time of possession