Ahead of Arizona's exhibition matchup against Western Oregon tonight at McKale Center, we wanted to bring you these interviews with some of the key players on this year's team. We recently had the chance to catch up with many of the players and below you can find those interviews to get you all up to speed on what to expect this season from the Wildcats.

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- Azuolas Tubelis, Oumar Ballo and Adama Ball

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- Henri Veesaar, Filip Borovicanin

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- Cedric Henderson Jr., Courtney Ramey

Arizona has started the process of updating its official roster online and now the newcomers have received jersey numbers plus official measurements. Here's a look at what numbers those newcomers will be wearing whenever we get football again. I'll add some comments about the things that stand out to me after you get a glimpse at the jersey numbers and measurements. The process is still being updated so if there's anybody you don't see on the list who you expect to be there just know that they could still be added. Don't just immediately assume they aren't on the roster since it is continually being updated today – I've had to refresh it a couple times already.

Scholarship players

• RB "Hollywood" Frank Brown Jr. – #8/6-foot, 200 pounds
• LB Jabar Triplett – #10/6-foot-1, 226 pounds
• DB Edric Whitley – #11/5-foot-11, 144 pounds
• DB Isaiah Mays – #13/6-foot-1, 190 pounds
• WR Dyelan Miller – #14/6-foot-2, 192 pounds
• QB Will Plummer – #15/6-foot-1, 208 pounds
• DL Regen Terry – #17/6-foot-4, 289 pounds
• WR Ma'Jon Wright – #18/6-foot-2, 197 pounds
• LB Derick Mourning – #18/6-foot-3, 229 pounds
• DB Khary Crump – #20/5-foot-11, 164 pounds
• RB Jalen John – #21/5-foot-11, 222 pounds
• K Tyler Loop – #33/6-foot, 164 pounds
• DL Shontrail Key – #44/6-foot-4, 248 pounds
• DL Roy Lopez – #51/6-foot-2, 318 pounds
• DL Aaron Blackwell – #52/6-foot-3, 293 pounds
• OL Matthew Stefanski Jr. – #54/6-foot-4, 326 pounds
• OL Sam Langi – #58/6-foot-5, 329 pounds
• OL Leif Magnuson – #65/6-foot-4, 284 pounds
• OL Woody Jean – #73/6-foot-4, 314 pounds
• OL Josh Baker – #75/6-foot-3, 285 pounds
• OL Anthony Patt – #76/6-foot-4, 280 pounds
• WR Roberto Miranda – #85/6-foot-2, 227 pounds
• TE Stacy Marshall – #87/6-foot-5, 238 pounds
• DL Dion Wilson Jr. – #94/6-foot-4, 276 pounds
• DL Paris Shand – #95/6-foot-5, 272 pounds

Walk-ons

• WR Valen Jones – #25/6-foot, 164 pounds
• DB Donte Bowers Jr. – #29/5-foot-10, 163 pounds
• DB Trey Cartledge – #31/6-foot, 170 pounds
• DB Treydan Stukes – #34/6-foot, 168 pounds
• DB Adama Fall – #35/6-foot-3, 200 pounds
• DB RJ Edwards – #36/6-foot-1, 198 pounds
• DB Jaydin Young – #37/6-foot, 182 pounds
• LS Kameron Hawkins – #39/5-foot-11, 227 pounds
• LB Mike Saliba – #41/6-foot, 188 pounds
• LB Jeremiah Fletcher – #42/5-foot-11, 203 pounds
• LB Thor Canales – #46/6-foot-3, 224 pounds
• OL Jacob Bracamonte – #62/6-foot-3, 298 pounds
• OL Darrell Branch – #71/6-foot-2, 319 pounds
• DL Ugochukwu Nosike – #93/6-foot-3, 280 pounds


◻ One of the things that stands out most to me is the collective size of the offensive and defensive line groups. The Wildcats put a lot of emphasis on adding size up front on both sides of the ball while also looking to improve the depth up front as well. The staff did a good job of accomplishing that across the board but especially on the defensive side of the ball. Of the six defensive line scholarship newcomers four of them have officially measured in at 6-foot-4 or taller. Only one member of the offensive line group, center Josh Baker, measured in at shorter than 6-foot-4. There is also some good overall size to the group with a player like Regen Terry coming at 6-foot-4 and nearly 290 pounds as a freshman. That is an impressive starting point for a player the coaching staff has high hopes for heading into his college career. The Wildcats also have four 300-pounders among that group led by offensive lineman Sam Langi who checks in at 329 to begin his Arizona career.

◻ I also like the look of Arizona's running back duo of Frank Brown and Jalen John. Both guys measured in at 200 pounds plus as they arrived on campus with Brown coming in at an even 6-feet and John measuring in at 5-foot-11. Both of those guys figure to be a big part of the running back unit and they have the size to get going right away this season.

◻ The linebacker group needs all the help it can get and freshman Derick Mourning checking in at 6-foot-3 and 229 pounds is a good thing for the Wildcats. Obviously, the coaching staff has seen him in person but having him arrive to campus with that good size should give him a leg up on getting into the action this season. The coaches are going to need him to learn the defense quickly this fall since he will more than likely get on the field early in the season because of his skill set and size plus the need for players at his position. He could play either outside or inside for the Wildcats.

◻ It won't get as much attention from the outside, but this is an impressive walk-on group for Arizona. Someone who stands out to me is defensive back Jaydin Young who had several notable offers last season as a senior at Centennial High in Peoria. I watched him play when his team came down to Vail to face Cienega and he is one heck of an athlete. Purdue, San Diego State, Colorado State and Nevada all offered him so for Arizona to get him to come play for the Wildcats as a walk-on is certainly impressive. His brother Dedrick was a one-time Arizona target who played with Layth Friekh in high school and eventually went to Nebraska. Kameron Hawkins plays a position that doesn't get any attention until something goes wrong, but the California native is one of the best freshman long snappers in the country who should help solidify things with the special teams unit as far as snapping goes. Defensive back Adama Fall is another intriguing walk-on player who has really good size and could help the Wildcats with their depth issues at safety.

Bye week so I thought we could put up a thread and help solve our defensive issues. What would you change? Some common thoughts.

Fire Johnny Nansen
Move guys around
Change schemes
Youth movement

no way they should fire Nansen in my opinion. One year is not enough and we can’t break the good will he provides in the poly community and recruiting in general. He gets two more years from me

I would love to see some personnel changes. Move Harris inside and bring in Davis off the edge. Harris is just yo slow from the edge. I would like to see CRW move to a safety spot asap.. Other changes in a bit

Our scheme, the 4-2-5 is really predicated on getting pressure from that front. In three conference games we have had zero sacks. I have seen them stunt and loop but they are simply not winning the one on one battles. Manu and Warnell were great additions to the run stop but Warnell got torched in coverage as does CY except on the TE. I think this is where the disconnect is because the players are not being put in position to succeed.

I have never seen Stukes play as poorly as he did last game. He got beat on consecutive plays for 6 (one called back) and seemed clueless out there. Rutherford has been a disappointment since he got here. I would love to see Prysocks and Davis play corner with CRW and Turner/Taylor at the other safety spot. It’s time to force feed these freshman, especially on defense.

Looking for your thoughts

GAME INFO

Who: Arizona (3-4, 1-3 Pac-12) vs. No. 10 USC (6-1, 3-1)
When: 4:00 p.m MST
Where: Arizona Stadium | Tucson, Arizona
TV: Pac-12 Network
All-time series: USC leads 36-8 (Last meeting: 41-34 USC win; Oct 30, 2021)
Odds: USC (-14) O/U 74

Hey everybody! Im getting the game thread started early here with about three and half hours until the 4:00 p.m MST kickoff at Arizona Stadium.

PREGAME NOTES

• Arizona is averaging 4.26 yards per rush
• USC is averaging 5.40 yards per rush
• Arizona is averaging 45.6% 3rd down conversions
• USC is averaging 52.6% 3rd down conversions
• Arizona is averaging five penalties per game
• USC is averaging 7.14 penalties per game

Injury Update:
The word is that Jordan Addison and Eric Gentry are both OUT for today's contest

Cole Davis and Humberto Lopez are getting into the NIL game. I've been mentioning that Arizona's 2022 class likely would not have come together like it did in the non-NIL era. Well, Arizona's top supporters have unveiled the first big initiative to generate the football programs and other sports at UA. The Friends of Wilbur and Wilma Collective is up and running and will give community members, businesses and UA supporters an opportunity to take part in NIL deals with athletes on campus. The focus will be football, but other sports will be involved as well with women's basketball, softball and baseball being specifically mentioned in the press release announcing the collective today.

"We're proud of our University of Arizona student-athletes that compete at the highest athletic levels, strive for success in the classroom, and aim to make a difference in our community," Cole Davis said in the release. "Our focus is helping these young women and men achieve their dreams and become future leaders."

Davis and Lopez have been the most active financial supporters of the UA football program recently, so having them on board with NIL opportunities certainly could be very important for the program.

"Helping others is a passion and including student-athletes in building this community is a unique opportunity," Lopez said. "We recognize these student-athletes have numerous commitments and many pressures, and our goal is to support them as they overcome challenges and empower them to accomplish their goals on and off the playing field."

Here's more from the press release: "Friends of Wilbur & Wilma" will be an industry-leading NIL program designed to welcome alumni, fans, and businesses who wish to engage and work with the student-athletes at the University of Arizona. "Friends of Wilbur & Wilma" now can galvanize the nationwide community who loves and supports the student-athletes who represent the University of Arizona. Interested community members will now be able to learn more about the student-athletes and explore the best ways to work directly with them.

The Wildcats fell 45-37 in a shootout against No. 10 USC.

Here were some takeaways from the press conference after the game:

- Jedd Fisch mentioned the rebuild taking a step forward with another close game

- "There were some stops that weren't stops... I thought we had a third-and-8 stop." - Jedd Fisch on the questionable penalty on Jerry Roberts

- "There are some catches I don't even know what to say about them really." - Fisch on Dorian Singer

- "I thought that was great." - Fisch on the way the first half ended

- "That made a difference." - Singer on Arizona's first two red zone possessions resulting in field goals

- "We trust them." - Kyon Barrs on the younger defenders stepping up for Arizona

The recap will be updated with quotes soon.

GAME INFO

• Who: Arizona (3-4, 1-3 Pac-12; last week: BYE) vs. No. 10 USC (6-1, 4-1 Pac-12; last week: BYE)
• When: 4:00 p.m. MST
• Where: Arizona Stadium | Tucson, Arizona
• TV: Pac-12 Networks
• All-time series: USC leads 37-8 (last meeting: 41-34 Trojans win; Oct. 30, 2021)
• Odds: USC -15 1/2 | O/U: 75 1/2 (VegasInsider)

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It is officially a game week again, and here's the first of our coverage for the week as the Wildcats begin preparations for 10th-ranked USC ahead of Saturday's game in Tucson. Both teams are coming off a bye week and both teams are coming off of losses as well. We will have full coverage throughout the week, and above you can check out the first three press conferences featuring Jedd Fisch, Johnny Nansen, Brennan Carroll, Hunter Echols and Dorian Singer.

Fish will meet the media one more time before Saturday's game during his Thursday press conference at which time the Wildcats will release this week's depth chart.

Read about the first two press conferences here:

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San Diego offensive lineman Jonah Rodriguez is set to announce his decision this week. Arizona has been involved for a while, but he's coming off a visit to Nevada last weekend. One a visit leads to an announcement it tends to go a certain way, but the Wildcats have definitely been on his radar. I'm planning to speak with him shortly to get a better feel for everything overall but this is one to watch for when it comes to Arizona. There's been a good relationship there and he plays a position of need.

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"I wanted to go make plays and I wanted to be somewhere where I can be the guy."

My latest on Hunter Echols ahead of a big game against his former team in USC this week.

Check out my article on Cate Reese heading into her final season.

Hunter Echols and Dorian Singer, along with Brennan Carroll and Johnny Nansen spoke to the media Tuesday afternoon ahead of Saturday's game against USC.

Here is my story on my top-five takeaways:

Hey guys, I'll be doing live updates throughout Jedd Fisch's press conference.

With Pac-12 media days coming up this week, the conference has announced its two preseason media polls for the men's and women's teams across the league. Arizona was well represented on the lists with three all-conference selections on the women's side and four players earning recognition on the men's side with Azuolas Tubelis earning a nod as a member of the first team. You can see the full teams below.

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Azuolas Tubelis (1st team), Kerr Kriisa (2nd team), Pelle Larsson (2nd team), Oumar Ballo (honorable mention)

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Jade Loville (all-conference), Shaina Pellington (all-conference), Cate Reese (all-conference)

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Four-star offensive guard Iapani Laloulu is officially off the board to Oregon today. The Wildcats had been the favorite, but there had not been much competition up until recently. The Ducks had some other priorities fall through and land elsewhere prompting that staff to make a bigger push for the 4-star recruit from Hawaii. Ultimately, that new push set the Ducks apart since his brother already plays at Oregon.

Arizona has already focused its attention more on landing Caleb Lomu at this stage. There are some other offensive line options, but Lomu remains the priority at the position in the class.

Hey guys, since it is Arizona's bye week, I wanted to jump in here and ask you to send in some questions regarding the team that I will answer in a mailbag later this week.

The fall evaluation period began today allowing Tommy Lloyd and Arizona's coaches to get around to high schools to check in on prospects the program is targeting. There are two clear top targets in the current and upcoming classes, and Lloyd made it out to see both of them today. The staff will be active in getting out to see its top targets in the 2023 and 2024 classes, and it will be able to do so in a hurry since there aren't a ton of top-tier targets for the staff right now.

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In-state wing Cody Williams was visited by Lloyd and the coaching staff today as the Wildcats have now locked in an official visit with the top-50 senior from Perry High School in Gilbert. Williams will take an official visit to UA beginning Oct. 14. He just recently visited Colorado and will take an official visit to USC next week. LSU will host him on an official visit on Sept. 24. Williams is keeping his recruitment very close to the vest and even the schools involved are a bit in the dark about what he is thinking. Arizona is in a strong position, but he is not the type of recruit who is looking for all the usual things recruits at his level are looking for in a program. His older brother spent his career at Santa Clara and made it to the NBA, so he is not going to be wowed by brand names or things along those lines. He really is looking for the right fit, so his recruitment could end up going any number of ways.

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Four-star California wing Carter Bryant is the top priority in the 2024 class, and he is at a new school this year. That didn't stop Tommy Lloyd from making the stop by Newport Beach to check in on Bryant, who has grown up an Arizona fan. His recruitment has exploded and more schools are continuing to get into the mix, such as Duke, but Arizona is still the early top contender in his recruitment. He fits what the staff is looking for in every way and will continue to be a top priority for the Wildcats as the process moves ahead. He is one of the recruits expected to be on campus for the Red-Blue Game in a few weeks.

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Jedd Fisch outlined the recruiting plan for the week and the rest of the cycle this week when meeting with reporters. Our own Dylan Grausz breaks down all of that in the story above including Fisch's thoughts on how the plan has changed based on how the season has played out to this stage.

As for the coaches, the staff has already been out on the road checking in at high schools and watching games. Jedd Fisch was with Jimmie Dougherty out at the Basha-Hamilton game in Chandler last night.

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The staff has had coaches and will have coaches at campuses and games in Arizona, California, Texas and Hawaii this week.

Most of the focus is on the current commits and top 2023 targets but there have been and will be some visits to see 2024 recruits as well.

Tonight will be Caleb Lomu night for the Wildcats with Fisch expected to see Highland face Saguaro. Brennan Carroll is also supposed to be at that game after hitting up California yesterday.

Brayden Dorman, Dominic Lolesio, Solomon Davis, Brandon Johnson, Lucas Conti and Canyon Moses are commits who will have Arizona coaches at their games. Dorian Thomas is an uncommitted recruit the Wildcats will see this evening as Jordan Paopao makes his swing through the Pacific Northwest.

Thursday was a heavy in-state and California-focused day for the staff.

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I'll hold off on make the game week thread until actual game week, but just wanted to give you all a heads up about the kickoff time for the Wildcats' next game on Oct. 29 that has been set for 4 p.m. MST. Arizona getting a rare daytime kickoff before November next week after the bye when USC comes to town. The game will once again be televised by Pac-12 Networks.

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Since there is no game this week that means no preview show, but Troy and I got together to discuss where things stand with the Wildcats at this point in the season since the bye week offers a natural break to the season. We assess both sides of the ball, the standout players and how the Wildcats can go about improving over the final five games as they head into a challenging three-game stretch. We also give our overview of what we expect the rest of the season to look like for the Wildcats.

Listen to the full episode above.

TMac on the list:

I know we have talked a ton about this, and I couldn’t find the original thread, but I had a very interesting convo with one of our coaches on the golf course the other day. I brought up the NIL and what his thoughts are and he said something that may become a reality. “If this continues at the rate it’s going, there are going to be college players taking pay cuts to go to the NFL”. He’s 100% right at the pace it’s going now.
NIL is a disaster waiting to happen.

Brown enters as a graduate transfer

Check out my article on Arizona recruit Paris Clark

Today Coach Fisch stated he'd like to bring in 16-17 mid-year transfers.
And we're looking to add to the 18 high school commits.

We don't have a ton of seniors/bonus year guys.

Sure, there could be some attrition. But 30- -40 new guys would be over 85. With NIL in place, will player cuts / runoffs be a thing?

The first AP poll of the women's basketball season was released today and Arizona was ranked No. 19 to open the season. To me, this means a couple of things.

1. The AP voters respect the work Adia Barnes has done as the coach at Arizona. Especially given the fact that the Wildcats lost so many players via transfer and ended the season with an embarrassing loss to UNC at McKale Center.

2. Also, that despite the team losing so many players, Barnes was able to land key transfers to add to one of the best recruiting classes in the country. So, voters see the high-level talent that the roster has.