One of the many offseason additions to the Arizona football program is new linebackers coach Josh Bringuel. He takes over for Danny Gonzales,., who is now the Wildcats’ defensive coordinator.
Bringuel was recently named to 247Sports’ “30 under 30” watchlist for top young coaches in college football. He credits the honor to the other coaches he is surrounded by on a daily basis.
“I think that’s just a testament to the fact that I’m a small piece of the amazing staff that coach Brennan’s put together
defensively,” said Bringuel. “Everybody having the same values on a coaching staff from effort, toughness, red line; that’s what’s really fun.”
Last season, one of the issues for the linebacker group was the lack of depth, particularly once former linebacker Jacob Manu went out for the season with a knee injury. Now, Bringuel feels like every linebacker can go in and make an impact. From starters like Taye Brown to guys who have hardly seen the field like redshirt sophomore Leviticus Su’a, everyone needs to be ready.
“When we have different guys that have really unique talents in certain ways, and you’re able to use that to maximize and this, we are going to be a violent defense,” he said.
For Brown, he said that his vocal leadership is something that he needed to improve on. Bringuel has seen the transformation Brown has made when it comes to being a loud presence.
“It’s been really cool for him to continue to grow that way,” said Bringuel. “He played well but most importantly, he works his tail off. He’s an extremely hard worker.”
Now that Brown will be the lead starter for the group, who is going to be his right hand man? Transfer Max Harris has been side by side with him since the spring, and consistently challenges Brown to be better.
“We just challenge each other to do the little details on a rep or hand placing,” Harris said. “At the end of day, we know that we’re going to be a big impact on defense, so all the little details, that’s how we’re going to separate ourselves.”
One helpful addition to the group is Chase Kennedy, who played last season as a defensive lineman. He has the flexibility to drop into coverage, be a run stopper, or even go up on the line if needed.
“I feel like stuff just comes to him naturally,” Brown said. “I feel like he’s working on his foot pattern in the box and stuff like that, and his pass drops.”
During Tuesday’s media session with Bringuel, a fire alarm went off throughout the facility. It just so happened that he was talking about why Harris belongs with an FBS program like Arizona.
“That’s how violent he plays, he sets off alarms with how violent he plays, I like that,” said Bringuel as the fire alarm continued to blare out.
Perhaps it’s foreshadowing how Arizona’s linebackers will play this season, because the goal for Bringuel’s group is to play with their heads on fire and to fly around to the ball.
