Arizona Wildcats vs. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks Defensive Players to Watch
The No. 20 Arizona Wildcats have some work to do on defense, and they hope to start working through those issues against Northern Arizona on Saturday night in Tucson.
The Wildcats (1-0) handled New Mexico, 61-39, but that was largely on the back of their offense. The defense had several breakdowns that need to be addressed.
Arizona gave up 471 total yards and 39 points. The Wildcats had trouble containing New Mexico’s quarterback throughout the contest. Two Arizona interceptions offset the leakage, but that sort of performance won’t work in Big 12 play.
Northern Arizona gave up 168 yards and six points to Lincoln (CA) last week, but there’s really no way to measure how impressive that is against a non-affiliated opponent. New NAU coach Brian Wright lured Angelo State defensive coordinator Adam Clark to handle the Lumberjacks’ defense. With the myriad of offensive weapons the Wildcats have, that should be no small challenge.
Here are three defensive players to watch for each team.
Arizona
DB Dalton Johnson
The Wildcat defense had to work hard against the Lobos, and no player worked harder than Johnson, who had 10 tackles to lead Arizona. The redshirt junior from Katy, Texas, should be one of the players to watch on this defense after he was named the 2023 Valero Alamo Bowl Defensive MVP when making 13 tackles (7 solo, 6 assist) and forcing one fumble.
He finished last season with a career-high 86 tackles (53 solo, 33 assists), career-high six tackles for loss, career-high two sacks, one interception, two pass deflections and four forced fumbles.
DB Treydan Stukes
He was one of two Wildcats with an interception against New Mexico, as he also finished with nine tackles and a pass-breakup. The senior from Litchfield Park, Ariz., is coming off a 2023 in which he made 55 total tackles (31 solo, 24 assists) including four tackles for a loss of 17 yards. He also had an interception and nine pass-breakups.
Arizona hopes he can push his interception total this season and he’s already off to a good start.
LB Jacob Manu
The All-Pac-12 selection from last season is already off to a great start. Against the Lobos he had seven tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. He was the only Wildcat with more than one tackle for loss in the game.
That’s the sort of play that led him to finish 2023 with 116 tackles, including 45 solo. It is also why he’s on the Senior Bowl watch list and considered one of the top linebackers in the Big 12.
Northern Arizona
DB Alex McLaughlin
Against what can only be described as an inferior opponent, McLaughlin led the Lumberjacks with seven tackles. The sophomore from Chandler, Ariz., could have transferred after the coaching change and a season in which he was named an FCS Freshman All-American. But he’s back after registering 71 tackles (34 solo), four interceptions (which led NAU), six pass-breakups, five tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
Oh, and against Arizona last year he had 10 tackles and two pass-breakups.
LB Tommy Ellis
The Phoenix product had five tackles against Lincoln. The senior is playing his fourth season with the Lumberjacks and is coming off a junior year in which he had 64 tackles (24 solo), 2.5 tackles for loss, an interception (the first of his career) and a fumble recovery. That recovery also came against Arizona.
Ellis likely didn’t participate in all of last week’s game since it was a blowout, so he should put up better numbers against the Wildcats.
DL Ty Robinson
After two years of not playing, the Lumberjacks are finally getting their first look at the 225-pound defensive lineman, who had a sack against Lincoln. The redshirt sophomore is certainly undersized to go up against Arizona’s front, but he could thrive as NAU moves into Big Sky action later this month.
MATT POSTINS