Arizona Football: A New Chapter

they're the Alam Bol Champions a team that finished last season on a seven game winning streak but the desert has seen Winds of Change the Arizona Wildcats are now in the Big 12 and they have a new head coach in Brent brenon it's always about the players he's exactly the coach that we need at exactly the right point in time super genuine such a great guy returning are the quarterback wide receiver Duo of Noah ffid and taroa McMillan not too many people will make the decision that we did this is a really special group of young people they've reloaded through the transfer portal and brought in familiar faces on the coaching staff it's time to Bear Down Arizona football a new [Music] chapter and welcome to Arizona football a new chapter I'm k9's Jason Bar during this digital special my colleagues and I will preview the upcoming season the Wildcats first in the Big 12 reporter Craig fuy went one-on-one with new head coach Brent Brennan he started by asking Brennan about being selected to finish fifth in the new 16 team conference do you take any stock in any of that stuff no preseason rankings mean nothing it really do and so you know and you know I've picked high and finished low and I've picked I've been picked low and finished high and everything in between so it's uh I think we got a great special group of kids on this team great players great people they really care about each other and I and I do like the the chances for us to play good football in this conference in the fall there's been a lot of talk about the venues new different than the Pack 12 right this is all rabid fans just committed to their team you looking forward to that I can't wait and our team will be excited too but also you think about the area of this country where there's a lot where a big footprint of this of this conference is and just how that area of the country feels about football in general so it's exciting to be part of it and as a coach that opens up some recruiting Avenues too right when you're playing at different venues across the country yeah absolutely yeah it opens up some new markets and some big Talent pools that obviously we're going to do you know a great job of attacking how's it been so far it's been busy to say the least but it's fun it's been fun that's the easiest way to say it's been a lot of fun great people um you know the team has been fantastic I'm really excited about the coaching staff and and really just looking forward to getting the thing started Arizona football has a new slogan this season Red Line here's how Brennan describes it our buzzword our battlecry for just how we're going to define a couple parts of our program our effort our execution and our accountability we're going to be accountable and we're going to execute so uh that's just kind of the mentality coach Brandon's given this team that's um how we want to be defined like know said 100 uh all the time um we're going to hold each other accountable and we're just going to get after every time Noah faf returns to starting quarterback this after breaking the program record last season for completion percentage be connected on 72.4% of his passes last season he became the starter in week five he threw 25 touchdown passes and had just six interceptions faf also threw for a territorial Cup record 527 yards against ASU for his accomplishments ffid was named the Pack 12 offensive freshman of the year two new members of the backfield are already feeling his leadership every I see him call him Captain because he just every time he talks people just listen like no matter what he says people listen and people like naturally just follow behind Noah and like he he's just a great leader and like he so respectful in the community and other things he's a good he's a good person he's you know a fail General like he he's really smart so that just make the game like 10 times like if he wants you to do something he'll tell you and he just he's just a great quarterback and just a good guy to be around and of course his former high school teammate wide receiver tedo McMillan T-Mac has a couple of preseason first team All-America accolades this after his 14400 yard receiving season last year McMillan has a chance to become the program's all-time leading receiver in just his Junior season just about every school in the country wanted him in the off season so here's T-Mac on why he chose to stay at Arizona after former head coach Jed fish left for Washington just you know the culture that we already said over there and um the people involved in um the program you know the community the fans but also the Legacy that we already have built over there you know we we we don't want to just be known as the people that just up and left you know we we want to be the reason why Arizona program uh turned around you know the the reason why um we bring light to Tucson again so um just Contin see continuing that Legacy that we built that's a pretty mature decision by a lot of guys though oh yeah no I would think so but no I definitely think so you know in in this day and age with how college football is going now you know um not too many people will make the decision that we did and uh you know that just goes to show that um our our character you know we we we want to be different we want to uh change the narrative we want to go against um what everybody else what everybody else does you know we trying to um not not not take the easiest road but you know make it hard challenging for for ourselves [Music] I'm Pat Paris at the heart of the 2024 Arizona Wildcats football team team are four players from serite high school in California they came into Arizona together and they stayed together even after Jed fish left for Washington it's a blessing I'm enjoying every every day with those guys get to come in here and work tight end Kean Bernett is describing the feeling of playing with his Servite teammates quarterback Noah ffid wide receiver tedar McMillan and linebacker Jacob Manu we're always pushing each other we always have them um since even seventh eth grade also pushing Bernette his desire to make his father proud Chester Bernett was a standout linebacker for Arizona from 1995 to 1997 Under head coach dick Tomy and defensive coordinator Dwayne Aina he had to be here and be following in his footsteps um on the same field in same city same stadium um is something I don't take for granted and I really enjoy it key as his teammates call him also enjoys the back and forth with his dad over which Wildcat team was better Chester's late 90s teams or Keys's 2023 team that won 10 games and finish number 11 in the country we always kind of have a rivalry re joke about back and forth of whose team would win of course and he's never given me the N but I think D dony knows the game has changed a lot kean's now looking ahead to the 2024 season no longer behind standout tight end Tanner mclaughin this could be a breakout season for the junior but it's the team with a quartet of cite alumni that he's truly focused on the 2024 season for the wildcast will be a success I would say when we just when we learn how to play together and to love one another and to to really play for one another I'm Blake Phillips here at the University of Arizona the big question with UFA football this year that offensive line and who is going to protect no faf Arizona football's offensive line was one of the strongest assets last year and new offensive coordinator Dino babers says the guys they have this year are going to be key to that success again everybody used to call the offensive lineman Hogs I said well our offensive lineman are not Hogs they're elephants Arizona has elephants and also has a rhino as in rhino toai that's who they're going to need to replace Jordan Morgan after head coach Brent Brennan said Raymond pedo is unavailable for the whole season so plan B is that big Rhino pushing the red shirt freshman into arguably one of the most important positions and the biggest shoes to fill on the field I'm just trying to do my job you know not to uh overthink it you know just the next man up Morgan was first team all Pack 12 last year the Packers taking notice drafting him 25th overall in the NFL draft Ryo hasn't played a single snap of college football just yet but spent his entire red shirt freshman year learning from Jordan Morgan it's just more perspective you know to help me up my game helping out Rhino on the line the other big beasts up front including cator Josh baker guardwind Del Mo and right tackle big Jonah savan and for those veterans they're already impressed by what Rhino has shown in Camp you know Rhino's got good feet uh good hands that get off off the ball I love that kid's attitude and it's just toughness like no matter what he could be dying but he's he's he's there with us under babers expectations with the offense are going to be high how would you describe uh the offense that that coach bers is wanting to R nasty nasty and the herd is ready to do its stomping at Arizona stadium so the elephants are the key in the jungle and as they go we go I'm Blake Phillips KGUN9 it's a homecoming for wide receivers coach Bobby Wade Wade is the program's alltime leader in receiving yards a Mark that may not last much longer it's not the first time Bobby Wade has shown the proper technique at Arizona Stadium during a time when head coach Brent Brennan was a wildcat graduate assistant Wade's techniques helped him become the wildcat's all-time leader in receiving yards you know some of my uh favorite football I enjoyed uh the the locker room and the friends and the relationships that I made here a fifth round draft pick by the Chicago Bears Wade enjoyed a 7-year career in the NFL that experience is it's one of the kind it was then on to coaching the Phoenix native spent the past five seasons at rival ASU it was different it was difficult especially cuz have you had played you know we we put so much into it and and your playing time but uh obviously the further you get away from when you went to school here is the easier it is but when Brent Brennan returned to Arizona he brought Wade with him and Wade inherits a talented group of receivers that includes tenoa McMillan who's coming off a 14400 yd season awesome player you know a special talent he's a one-of A- kind talent that um you know you don't see it often ironically Wade will be coaching McMillan to break his program receiving record T-Mac is listening carefully to his new position coach who played in the NFL most important part of Wade's career has come full circle he lived in the dorms just a Stones Throw from Arizona stadium and he's now back coaching at his Alma moer I'm in it with them you know we all share the same sentiment for the school when we're all done whether we're coaching playing here um it'll feel the same the Arizona football waight room is empty most have gone home for the night warm up but running back's coach Alonzo Carter is just getting started get my piece of Mind cut my music on and go for a walk a five mile walk a few times a week Carter calls it five alive he started during the pandemic and revived it earlier this year healthy heart healthy mind that's a real thing I decided to walk with him green button yeah okay to walk a mile in his shoes I'm living my dream Carter followed head coach Brent Brennan to the UFA from San Jose State he grew up across the bay in Oakland California and his story is Too Legit to Quit Carter was a backup dancer and Lead choreographer for hip-hop icon MC Hammer they went on tour together as a 17-year-old dad that helped change my life more than 30 years later he and Hammer are still close you'll see him at some games as fall so get ready and everything I learned from him I just poured it into coaching Carter wanted to give high school kids the same opportunity to live out a dream so he went back to his Alma Moder to start coaching football today that drive makes him one of the Wild Cat's top recruiters I always asked give me the inner city I want to go change lives I want to touch people lives and he's motivating the players already here we want to challenge them and take them to the next level it's no favoritism with Coach Carter you just you going to get his best every day we have to give him our best he just wants you to be like the best person the best player you can be on the field but Carter also wants to motivate nonathletes to take positive steps I hope this video Inspire somebody cuz I love when you guys inspire me I had a lot of people just telling me how they were struggling with whether it be diabetes or high blood pressure or obesity itself just want to lose weight and I like showing myself trying to get that work showing them if I can do it I know you can do it health is wealth health is wealth is the main thing with a mind to rhyme and twoo hyped feet Carter is grateful for his journey and for something as simple as these walks it gives me a reminder of where I came from and where where I'm trying to go cuz one day I'm going to be a head coach got it first until then he keeps moving forward one step at a time at the UFA Ryan fish K9 I'm Aaron Patterson it's here at Arizona Stadium star running back jakori Crosby Meritt has decided to play his final season of college football now heading into the beginning of this season Crosby Meritt is going to be seeing some familiar faces as the first game is against his former team the New Mexico Lobos Jak Cory if you been at practice you kind of can see he's special jakori crosy Meritt the University of New Mexico transfer was one of the first players added to Arizona's roster after Brent Brennan's hiring I just felt like it was a great fit and this is where I needed to be in April the Alabama native left for Old Miss to be closer to home however two months after that crossy Meritt rejoined the wild cats I was already out west in New Mexico so one more season wouldn't hurt and I just feel like there was a great opportunity for me to help the team came out and because of the Arizona running backs coach Lonzo Carter crossy Meritt is still getting a little bit of Home in Tucson he's from Montgomery Alabama my family's from Troy Alabama so I know what his background is I know what he stands for to have somebody who's familiar with down south got you know family down south and I'm just relating to me a little bit more like on and off the field it just feels great it's the southern hospitality coming to the Southwest put your arm around them and love them and tell them we the same people that you said yes to back then we're the same people when you visited us and you fell in love with Tucson Arizona but when it boils down to it he's here now we're focusing on the now I love that kid I love coaching that kid and the now starts for crossy merit August 31st against his former team at Arizona Stadium Aaron Patterson KGUN9 offensive coordinator Dino babers is back in the same role he had with the wild cats between 1998 and 2000 I asked babers about his return to Arizona Stadium did Coach Brennan reach out to you did you reach out to him how did you reconnect when he came here and you had the opening in your career no he reached out to me and uh we I came down we had a conversation the conversation sounded good to both of us so we decided to do this thing Coach B is somebody that uh is very very dear to me and I want to make sure he starts off on the right foot out here what are you most proud of when you look back at your time at Syracuse I think the biggest thing is we had we went to two bowl games back to back uh it had been done in a long time even though I got let go before the team finished the accomplishment but I thought we did it the right way cleaned it up had a lot of guys graduate we had the highest graduation rate the the year I got let go in the history of the football team and yet we had a lot of guys make the National Football League as well so I thought it was a balanced well run program just didn't win enough games obviously when you come here are you bringing your offense or are you going to build an offense around the talent that's here you know I think really good offensive coordinators have the ability to be flexible and what I I need to do is find out exactly what we're capable of doing and then try to do that to the best of our ability so what do you think of taroa McMillan I mean you got to be thrilled about being a a coach and having that type of Talent on the field what are your thoughts on him and some of the other guys here I think not only him but there's a lot of guys on this offensive unit that can do some things and it all starts with the offensive line if you have a great offensive line then you have an opportunity if you have a quarterback that can make plays which we do now you've got a chance and then when you got a playmaker whether that's in the back field or wide receiver or tight end and some skilled guy with the a chance to have the ball in his hands you know you got to find ways to uh get your Kobe Bryant the ball no matter how many screens he's got to run through to get there defensive coordinator Dwayne Aina was a defensive analyst last season he was the Wildcats offensive coordinator during the mid1 1990s and his career goes back much further than that here is Dwayne Aina in his own words I've seen it all from pack eight the pack 10 to pack 12 like when I first started in it was two backs in the back field there's a tight end there was a receiver and there was a receiver on the other and then all of a sudden they put two receivers on the same side it was like whoa that's revolutionary how do you cover down that but you know that's the nature of college football you know it's changing and guys like myself that have been going on 43 years now we got to be able to change with it but still do your job doing the right things right play with fanatical effort being physical and look for players that can hunt the football that can change the moment momentum in the course of the game those things are time [Music] testing for me keeps me young because I'm around young players that have goals keeps me stimulated mentally um you know trying to solve the puzzle every week here we are I'm getting ready to go work seven days a week as many as maybe 18 hours a day and I'm excited about getting started that's where how many people have an opportunity to really say that you know Arizon is Led on defense by First Team all Pack 12 linebacker Jacob Manu Manu led the Pack 12 with 116 total tackles a season ago his preseason accolades include the dick buckus award watch list and the nersi Trophy watch list as well the Wildcats are also deep in the secondary it was Dalton Johnson who caused the fumble in the Alamo Bowl that Gunner Maldonado returned 87 yards for the touchdown that turn the momentum back Arizona's way here's Maldonado on changing conferences yeah I mean it's sad to see the Pack 12 go of course but I think it's cool being a part of like that transition um I I always be able to talk about that and hopefully hopefully set the standard for what's to come for Arizona and the Big 12 so most exciting thing you're looking forward to probably the new venues playing that new stadiums new fan bases you know building those rivalries with other schools um that's going to be really fun back again I'm Aaron Patterson here in studio with a breakdown of what Big 12 travel is going to look like for the wild cats Arizona football will have five road trips this season four of them are conference games their first road game is Kansas state September 13th but since that was scheduled prior to the conference change it's not officially considered a big 12 matchup now let's take a look at the week after the Wildcats will traveled to Utah on September 28th flying about 601 Air Miles and about an hour 40 minute flight then October 12th Arizona travels to BYU this trip around 560 air miles with about an hour and a half flight two home games following BYU and then it's the big one November 2nd the wild cats will travel to the Sunshine State to take on Central Florida about 1,784 Air Miles and almost a 4-Hour flight now in comparison to their longest Conference travel last year to Washington state that flight is only 2 and 1 half hours now moving to the end of the month Arizona makes their final trip to Texas Christian November 23rd which is around 8113 Air Miles and just a little over a 2hour flight going on those longer trips like UCF and TCU can take a toll on players especially when you factor in time change but head coach Brent Brennan is familiar at San Jose State his team traveled to Hawaii almost a 5H hour flight here's what he had to say about keeping players focused on those long trips try and go a day early and just kind of get him used to it um get them settled in with the time change a little bit uh but at the end of the day as a football team are we going to allow that to be an excuse or not and I think that's a choice you have to make as you prepare for those those trips all right that's a wrap for Arizona football a new chapter I'm kgun 9's Jason Bar we'll see you this season at Arizona Stadium [Music] [Music] [Music]