Arizona Wildcats Head Coach Brent Brennan Speaks on Focus on Trenches in Recruiting
The 2024 season was incredibly disappointing for the Arizona Wildcats following a 10-win campaign last year.
In the first year of Brent Brennan being head coach, and the team being part of the Big 12, things were a struggle. The Wildcats managed to win only four games, going 2-7 in their new conference and finishing in a tie for the second-Zworst record; only the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who went winless, had fewer victories.
In most of those contests, they weren’t even competitive on the field.
All but two of their losses this season were by at least 22 points. In their season finale against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the Territorial Cup during Rivalry Week, they were blown out 49-7.
The flip between Arizona and Arizona State in 2024 has been shocking. It was the Wildcats who everyone thought was the ascending team in the state, but it is the Sun Devils who are on their way to the College Football Playoff.
What will it take for the guys from Tuscon to get back into the mix and contend in the Big 12? Improving in the trenches will definitely help.
Too often Arizona was dominated at the line of scrimmage on both ends of the ball. They struggled to hold up in protection offensively and couldn’t consistently generate a pass rush on defense.
On the recruiting trail this year, Brennan revealed that an emphasis was put on finding players who can help on both sides of the ball in the trnehces.
“We felt like going through the season when we were going game in and game out, to compete at a high level in the Big 12, we are going to have to continue to put time and resources into the offense and the defensive front. I felt like a lot of teams that we played were bigger than us, and physicality being such a hallmark of who we want to be and such an important thing in the game of football, that’s something that we had to aggressively address with this recruiting class,” the head coach said via Juan Serrano of Arizona Desert Swarm.
One of the players whom the Wildcats are excited about is Zac Siulepa. The defensive lineman was a three-star recruit out of Garden City Community College who committed to Arizona last week.
He is going to help make up the size difference that Brennan believes his team faced in most matchups in 2024. Listed at 6’7” and 365 pounds, he is going to be an intimidating force on the interior of their defensive line.
“So you notice the size and the length of this young man. I think that’s part of it, as we looked at this class and with the defensive line. Just kind of adding people that we think can impact the team right now, and Zac is one of those guys. That was started from our recruiting staff, and also from a relationship from Coach (Alonzo) Carter,” said Brennan.
The No. 18 rated JUCO defensive lineman, Siulepa recorded 16 total tackles and 1.0 sacks. A native of Auckland, Australia, he should be an immediate contributor in 2025 for Brennan’s defense.
