Arizona lasted played a college football game on Jan. 2, when it fell to SMU in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. When the Wildcats open the 2026 season on Saturday night against NAU it will end a 9-month layover from competition.
Not that the time in between wasn’t jam packed for Brent Brennan, his staff and the players.
“I feel like it was a blur,” Brennan said Monday. “The way the calendar is set right now, it doesn’t really stop. It’s just pretty consistent. The calendar is clean that way, so you
kind of always know what you’re going into. But because you’re going from one thing to the next, in my mind it goes fast. You turn around and like wow, it’s game week.”
Below is what Brennan said at his weekly presser to open NAU week:
On Noah Fifita’s final season: “I’m excited to see Noah Fifita take the field. Obviously Noah leads the way in terms of like that high-profile player that’s chosen to stay. But I think this city appreciates loyalty. People appreciate loyalty to the University of Arizona. They appreciate loyalty in the City of Tucson, and no one has been more loyal than Noah Fifita. And I think that’s something that our fans can rally around. It’s something that our fans should be excited to watch, that we have the leading quarterback in the history of the University of Arizona. We have a player who’s a Heisman Trophy candidate, taking the snap from under center in Casino Del Sol Stadium on Saturday, and he only gets so many more opportunities to do that here in front of our fans.”
On walk-on Quinn Olson projected as a starting safety: “We’re really excited about Quinn. Quinn is one of those players that’s continued to work his tail off. I think there’s a long history at the University of Arizona of walk-ons that have busted their ass and developed and grown and improved and found ways to contribute in a meaningful way on the football field. And I’m optimistic that Quinn is the next one in a long line of those people. If you see how he has attacked the offseason, like his numbers in terms of how much weight he can move, how fast he can run, how quick he is, how explosive he is, are freakish. Is there going to be a learning curve for him? Of course there is. But it’s our first game, there’s going to be a learning curve for everybody. And I can’t wait to watch Quinn line up and play.”
On NAU’s role as a major underdog: “I’ve been in that situation a lot as a head coach, especially in my time at San Jose State, where we had to play a lot of those games. The unique thing about it is that for your team, it’s an incredible opportunity. In 2019, we took a San Jose State team down to Arkansas. We were, I think, three- or four-touchdown underdogs, and we won the game. And it was incredible, beating an SEC team on the road at San Jose State. And so I think as you’re preparing your team, at the end of the day, it’s still football. That’s the thing that you can’t lose sight of. And for them, they’re obviously going to be really excited to play.”
On the Lumberjacks: “This NAU team is very, very good. They fly to the football. They ran the ball well last week. They’re good in the kicking game. They returned a kick for a touchdown, and they beat a good Eastern Washington team. And they had to come from behind to do it last week. If you’re watching that game, there were moments in that game where it didn’t look good for them, but that tells me a lot about that team. It tells me a lot about their coaching staff, ts that they’re resilient and they’re tough, and it was really interesting to see them battle back and find a way to win that game.”
On NAU quarterback Ty Pennington: “He’s a total stud. You watch him in that game on Saturday, he takes a couple shots, gets up. He plays tough. He throws the ball well. I think he was their second-leading rusher in the game. He’s really a complete player, and I think being in that system and having comfort with the coaching staff makes him a really effective player at that position.”
On not overlooking NAU: “We only get 12 games guaranteed. That’s what we get. So we need to be really excited to play this one. I know the world and everybody else wants to say this one’s more important than that one and blah blah blah. No, they all count the same in the final ledger. So we need to get ready to play, because that’s all that matters. We just get to play one game this week and we’re only guaranteed 12 for this year. So we need to have an awesome week of practice and attack our process every single day, and then show up on Saturday night ready to get after it.”
On having so few newcomers listed as projected starters: “I think our coaching staff does a great job. Our strength staff does a great job of the developmental space. We’ve said that from the beginning, we’re going to be a developmental program. As much as we can, we want to bring high school players, younger players in here and help them grow and develop. Because I feel when you do that, you just have a much more invested team because they’ve been together longer. I think the fact that our kids are having a good experience playing at the U of A or being a part of this program speaks to the retention, and I think that’s why you see a lot of carryover from you know last year’s roster to this in terms of what that opening day depth chart looks like.”
On getting young players into the opener: “I’m pretty sure last year we were one of the teams in the Big 12 that played the most players. The most players got in the game over the course of the season. But I feel like that’s a critical part of everyone’s development. And so we we have a lot of stuff we need to figure out. We haven’t played yet. We think we know, but you don’t know until you start playing.”
On if he would keep Fifita in late in a lopsided game to help Heisman profile: “I think that’s a really tricky question, I really do. As a staff, and even conversations with Noah, that’s something we have to figure out. The thing I know about Noah is that all Noah cares about is winning. All Noah cares about is winning, and if we’re keeping him out there for something that is selfish or about Noah, I don’t think he’d be up for that. He’s not that kind of person. He’s not that kind of teammate, he’s all about the next one. I think that’s depends on how it goes. If the goal is to play great football every week and have a chance to be in every game and win every game, then thinking about it in terms of stats doesn’t hit my brain the right way.”
On the running back usage behind projected co-starters Kedrick Reescano and Quincy Craig: “I believe those things are a little bit of the feel and flow of the game. I think Wesley (Yarbrough) has had a great training camp. It has been a lot of fun to see him run the ball at the level he has. I think he’s another one of those young players that continues to develop and improve as we go. And I also know that as the season goes on, you’re going to need all the backs in that room. That’s just the way that position is. I think he’s narrowed that gap. I think Wesley’s done a nice job of narrowing that gap between himself and the guys that are at the front of that room.”
On backup center Grayson Stovall: “I think Grayson has really made a great move this offseason. I think he’s really, really matured and grown in that role as the backup center. He’s someone that we absolutely believe in as a staff. Coach Oglesby does, Coach Doege does, and he’s just worked his tail off. And I think that’s really that’s really important in this day and age. So many of the young people that are coming into our program or other programs all over the country, they just want everything right now, they just they just want it all right now. They want to start. They want to be All-American. They want to be a first round pick, like whatever that is. And I think there is a process of developing in college. It’s really rare when you have a freshman who comes in and he is super ready to shine on this stage. He’s also an incredibly high-level student here, he’s an aerospace engineering student here. The cool thing about him is that he you know kicks ass in both arenas, the academic arena and the football one, so we’re really proud of him, and I’m excited for him this year.”
On Ismail Mahdi and Max Harris not being on the depth chart: “Has there been any rulings that have gone through that made all this stuff clean? It’s just a pure matter of fact that they can’t play yet.”
On Caleb ‘Jet’ Smith being the starting punt returner: “I think it helps when you have a guy back there in Bobby Wade who had to catch and return punts at the highest level. Did it at a young age here. Jet is really confident back there. He catches the ball clean. That part of it is a big factor in punt returner. He’s caught a ton of them. We put in a bunch of different situations receiving the ball back there, and he’s handling it really well. He’s also got a great combination of speed and quickness, which you like in the punter term. And then you’re going to see him play on offense, too. He’s a young player that’s going to have a really nice career here.”
On the offensive line: “I think the thing I like about this group is that they can also move. Just the size alone doesn’t guarantee that you’re going to be able to effectively run the ball or protect the quarterback, like those guys have to be able to move. But we do feel great about this group. We feel like this group is really, really talented. They’re physical, they’re strong. They play together, most of them, so there’s some continuity and some trust there. Zach (Henning) stepping into that center role, he’s really, really intelligent. He’s a really good player. He’s kind of got right in the mix with those guys. Like that happened really fast.”
On changes to the gameday experience: “We’re really trying to work really hard to create an incredible game day experience for everybody that comes to Casino del Sol Stadium. This opportunity this weekend, we’re talking about wearing blue. A little unity in the stands, a little excitement for what we’re putting on the field against NAU.
“I’m most excited about the lights. I’ve coached in a bunch of games. I’ve been in places that had the light thing. I just think it’s a cool moment. I think it’s cool for the fans. It’s cool for the players. As coaches, we’re just basically unaware of that. We’re kind of locked into what’s happening in the game. But I do think it’s a neat thing for the fans and for the players.”
On moving the visiting sideline to in front of the student section: “You just feel the energy from the Zona Zoo. We’ve got our Redline ambassadors out there recruiting people to kind of pack that section of our stadium. I think that’s such an important thing. I’ve said it before, I really believe that the student section controls the energy of the game, the enthusiasm, the excitement, that youthful exuberance that they bring to the to the game is so important. I also like the fact that they’re going to be on our opponent sideline, and I’m sure they’ll have some really fun and colorful things to converse about with our opponents over the course of the season, which I’m definitely looking forward to.”
On if he’s worried students will say the wrong things: “What I’ve learned a long time ago is we don’t control people. Like those are young people. I want them to be respectful. I want them to represent University of Arizona the right way. But those are students, and this is college football. I hope they’re wild, and I hope they let them hear it.”
On the opening night crowd: “We want to pack this thing. We want to make this one of the hardest places to play in the Big 12, and so yes, I am challenging our fans. I am challenging our alumni. I am challenging our faculty and our students and everybody in the city of Tucson, everybody that lives in Phoenix and everybody that is with driving distance to get off your ass, get in your car, come to Tucson, and let’s watch Noah Fifita play. Let’s watch this team play. Let’s celebrate these kids that continue to choose the University of Arizona year in and year out. Let’s do it together.”
