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Nov 25, 2023; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats tight end Keyan Burnett (88) against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the Territorial Cup at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona Wildcats: 3 Bold Training Camp Observations

Originally posted on Arizona Wildcats on SI
By Troy Hutchison | Last updated Aug 4, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Arizona football is officially BACK in action and the long offseason is finally coming to an end as the Wildcats have opened up their 2025 training camp to get things geared up for the season with the team set to face Hawaii on Aug. 30 at home at 7:30 p.m. (MST) on TNT.

After an underwhelming 2024 season under Brent Brennan where Arizona went 4-8 after starting the year in the preseason AP Poll at No. 21 and ending the year losing 7 out of its last 8 games, the WIldcats made changes to the roster and their coaching staff.

Brennan revamped his coaching staff by hiring Seth Doege as the offensive coordinator and promoting Danny Gonzales to the defensive coordinating job. Plus, he was able to bring in defensive line coach Joe Salave’a, who is regarded as one of the top recruiters in the nation and a former Wildcat as well.

“When we go through a tough season like we did a year ago, you got to find a way to fix what was broken, fix what wasn’t working and put those pieces together,” Brennan said. “And part of those pieces are how we’re going to do things in terms of how we’re going to coach, what we’re going to do schematically and the other part is who are the players that are going to play those roles.”

The energy at practice was high, loud despite the team not even in full pads, or in shells at this point in time. The pace of play was a complete 180 from the previous season and matches the mindset and mentality that the coaching staff wasn’t to bring to the 2025 season.

Although there was no contact and players weren’t in shells, there were still takeaways to be made with what the media was able to see throughout the duration of the day.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Three Observations

Keyan Burnett

After going through a long 2024 season where he saw injuries slow himself down and the offense spiral out of control, tight end Keyan Burnett looked for a new start and transferred to Kansas looking to make a mark on the Jayhawks program.

However, after going through spring practice, Burnett had second thoughts on leaving the Wildcats and the West Coast. So, Burnett re-entered the portal and made his way back to Arizona and Tucson.

So far in training camp, Burnett has looked rock solid and stronger on the field than he did a season ago. Plus, he has gotten tougher in the blocking game by working with coach Josh Miller.

In previous camps if Burnett dropped a pass you could see it eating him up the rest of the day. He hasn’t dropped many passes and his confidence seems to be at an all-time high.

Growth at the Defensive Backs Position

Arizona last season had its depth tested in the secondary with numerous injuries to the unit forcing players to see the field that weren’t ready for Power 4 game time action. This offseason, Brennan and the coaching staff added talent through the transfer portal and from the incoming recruiting class.

The two players that have stood out and have made plays this training camp have been Ayden Garnes and Gavin Hunter. Both have seen time with the starting unit and have been able to break up passes and even have come away with a few interceptions.

Now, I’m not 100% sure if that will result in the two being on the starting unit at the beginning of the year. But, Arizona will rotate defensive backs at times and play in formations where there could be a high number of defensive backs on the field.

So, having guys like Hunter and Garnes develop ahead of the season will be critical for the success of the defense.

Kedrick Reescano

When looking at the film on running back Kedrick Reescano from his high school days it was clear that the Ole Miss transfer was a highly talented player that just hadn’t gotten a shot up to this point in time.

In this training camp Reescano has been a monster and hitting holes with force, strength and speed that he didn’t have a season ago. His vision under coach Alonzo Carter has grown from the previous season.

With how things are developing, this could be a massive breakout season for Reescano, which could establish himself as one of the better backs in the Big 12.

This article first appeared on Arizona Wildcats on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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