Arizona's Defense Will Need to Correct Last Year's Major Issue

From the very first game of the season Arizona had its issues with running quarterbacks as then-New Mexico QB Devon Dampier, who rushed for 130 yards on 15 attempts and found the end zone twice.

Two weeks later, Kansas State QB Avery Johnson put up 127 yards on the ground in KSU’s 31-7 win over Arizona.

In all, when the Wildcats went up against a running quarterback, the team gave up 363 yards in four games.

The defense didn’t have an answer, or a way to slow down opponents if their quarterbacks had the ability to pick up yards on the ground.

Now, Arizona will open up its 2025 season against Hawaii, whose quarterback Micah Alejado has the ability to be a dual-threat with his mobility. Against Stanford, Alejado had 10 rushes for 36 yards, which isn’t much but it does show that it is part of his overall game.

Last year, Arizona’s defense wasn’t aggressive at times and  took a sit back and react approach to its defensive scheme.

Now, with Gonzales taking over as defensive coordinator the scheme of the defense will be changing things up and if what we saw in training camp holds true, the Wildcats will be an aggressive defense that will throw the kitchen sink at their opponents.

In the past at San Diego State and Arizona State, Gonzales ran the 3-3-5 defense as his base set. But, was known for mixing things up and giving the quarterback different looks constantly throughout a 60-minute game.

Arizona will need to improve against rushing quarterbacks with four on the schedule. Saturday’s game against Hawaii will be a solid test for the defense and give them an idea of where they're at when it comes to defending dual-threat quarterbacks.