Arizona had an interesting performance in Saturday's win over Northern Arizona. The Wildcats struggled to find momentum and rhythm on offense while the defense came through to help secure the 22-10 victory over the Lumberjacks. So, it is not surprising then that PFF assessed the game and delivered more positive grades on the defensive side of the ball. Here's a rundown of the top grades handed down from PFF plus an overview of the snap counts. Plus, I have some takeaways from what the numbers mean as we assess the Wildcats through the first two weeks of the season.
OFFENSE
Top 5 overall grades
- WR Devin Hyatt - 90.2 (5 snaps)
- RB Kedrick Reescano - 73.1 (8 snaps)
- RB Quali Conley - 70.3 (47 snaps)
- TE Tyler Power - 68.0 (19 snaps)
- OL Alex Doost - 67.2 (4 snaps)
- OL Jonah Savaiinaea - 90.2 (pass blocking)
- OL Leif Magnuson - 87.9 (pass blocking)
- WR Devin Hyatt - 84.5 (passing/receiving)
- RB Quali Conley - 81.2 (passing/receiving)
- OL Wendell Moe - 74.6 (pass blocking)
- QB Noah Fifita - 61
- OL Leif Magnuson - 61
- OL Wendell Moe - 61
- OL Jonah Savaiinaea - 61
- OL Ryan Stewart - 61
- OL Grayson Stovall - 61
- TE Keyan Burnett - 56
- WR Tetairoa McMillan - 49
- RB Quali Conley - 47
- WR Montana Lemonious-Craig - 39
- WR Jeremiah Patterson - 23
- TE Tyler Powell - 19
- WR Malachi Riley - 18
- TE Roberto Miranda - 15
- WR Chris Hunter - 12
- RB Kedrick Reescano - 8
- RB Rayshon Luke - 6
- WR Devin Hyatt - 5
- OL Alext Doost -4
- FB Kayden Luke - 4
Top 5 overall grades
- DL Tre Smith - 79.3 (44 snaps)
- DL Chase Kennedy - 78.7 (44 snaps)
- DB Treydan Stukes - 76.6 (57 snaps)
- DL Stanley Ta'ufo'ou - 76.0 (13 snaps)
- LB Taye Brown - 75.8 (57 snaps)
- LB Taye Brown - 86.5 (run defense)
- DL Stanley Ta'ufo'ou - 84.7 (pass rush)
- DB Gensis Smith - 80.8 (tackling)
- DL Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei - 78.9 (pass rush)
- DL Chubba Maae - 77.7 (run defense)
- LB Taye Brown - 57
- CB Tacario Davis - 57
- CB Marquis Groves-Killebrew - 57
- LB Jacob Manu - 57
- DB Genesis Smith - 57
- DB Treydan Stukes - 57
- DL Chase Kennedy - 44
- DL Tre Smith - 44
- DL Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei - 43
- DL Chubba Maae - 34
- DB Owen Goss - 30
- DB Dalton Johnson - 27
- LB Sterling Lane II - 22
- DL Isaiah Johnson - 13
- DL Lance Keneley - 13
- DL Stanley Ta'ufo'ou - 13
- DL Cyrus Durham - 1
- DL Dominic Lolesio - 1
- Let's first take a look at some of the overall numbers for the Wildcats through two games. UA is still holding strong overall with an 89.9 grade overall this season, which is good enough to sit at No. 25 among all FBS teams according to PFF. The offense ranks 27th with an 80.2 overall while the defense is at No. 55 with a 77.1 PFF grade.
- It's no shock that the defense received higher marks than the offense in Week 2 including registering an 86.5 in the run defense category. The Wildcats only had a higher number three times last season in games against NAU, Colorado and Oklahoma. UA received its highest pass rush grade ever from PFF with an 82.9 in the win over the Lumberjacks. UA only reached as high as 76.7 in that category last year when it played NAU.
- Defensively, the Wildcats scored best as a group in the tackling category with nine players scoring above a 70.0 in that area.
- As we begin to see some trends, defensive back Genesis Smith has been the defensive player to receive the most consistent praise from the staff at PFF when it comes to players who have been on the field often. His overall defensive grade of 80.3 puts him at No. 29 among all FBS safeties, but only six players above him have played as many snaps as he has. His coverage grade of 83.6 puts him at No. 20 nationally in the PFF grades with only four players above him having played as many snaps as he has.
- The defense was again active with 30 total pressures and 22 hurries against the Lumberjacks on Saturday according to PFF. UA only had eight missed tackles as well.
- Receiver Devin Hyatt registered a very high score of 90.2 after finishing with one catch for 30 yards against NAU, but it has to be considered that he only played five snaps in the game skewing the grade just a bit.
- Offensively, there weren't a ton of positive grades handed out as 16 of the 20 players who saw the field for UA scored below a 70.0.
- The Wildcats scored well in the pass protection category with Jonah Savaiinaea and Leif Magnuson both earning above an 87.0 in that area.
- Despite being held to just 11 yards receiving against NAU, Tetairoa McMillan remains the top-graded receiver in the Big 12 and No. 9 overall with an 87.6. Only two players ahead of him have been targeted as much (19 times).
