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Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats defensive lineman Chase Kennedy (11) against the Colorado Buffalos at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Arizona Wildcats Bold Training Camp Observations

Originally posted on Arizona Wildcats on SI
By Troy Hutchison | Last updated Aug 22, 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 and 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.

Three Observations

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Leroy Palu

This offseason, Arizona and its staff were looking to add depth to the defensive line by adding talent through the transfer portal and landing junior college transfer players. One of the players the team went after was defensive tackle Laroy Palu from Cerritos College.

While playing for Cerritos College, Palu played in 18 games where he recorded 83 total tackles, 29 solo tackles, 16 ½ tackles for loss and 5 ½ sacks. He was named to the All-SCFA National Central Team as a freshman during the 2023 season.

In camp, Palu has worked his way up from seeing some playing time with the second team defense to becoming a key rotational defensive tackle on the first team unit. He has been able to slow down the running game and every now and then get into the backfield to create issues for the offense.

Dominic Lolesio

Over the past couple of seasons, edge rusher Dominic Loleso has gotten better each season developing under two different coaching staffs and working his way into a more important role on the defense. Loleso has grown and gotten stronger making him a solid rusher for the Wildcats.

So far in camp, he has been part of the main rotation on the defensive line and is one of the players that has been able to get into the backfield to apply pressure on the offensive unit. He has become a tough player for the offensive line to defend in comparison to the past training camps.

Edge Rushing

One of the main questions I had as the Wildcats entered training camp was who was going to be the other consistent pass rusher on the opposite side of Tre Smith? And although I don’t think that there is a clear answer at this point. Coach Gonzales has done a great job of coming up with creative ways to get in the backfield.

Now, if you take a quick look at Arizona’s situation, Chase Kennedy, Riley Wilson and Dominic Loleso are the top three options for the Wildcats. All three have different ways of attacking the offensive line and have had solid camps.

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

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