Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats punter Michael Salgado-Medina (19) against the Colorado Buffalos at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Fall Training Camp Day 7: Michael Salgado-Medina and Avery Salerno

Originally posted on Arizona Wildcats on SI
By Ari Koslow | Last updated Aug 8, 2025 1:00 PM ET

It is a new era in special teams and kicking for Arizona with Tyler Loop in the NFL. It remains a battle in training camp for the starting kicker and punter jobs.

Following the latest practice of the training camp for Arizona on Thursday, kicker Michael Salgado-Medina and long snapper Avery Salerno spoke to the media. Here is some of what they had to say.

How hard it is to follow the footsteps of Tyler Loop and what was learned from him:

Salgado-Medina: "Over the last season, learning from Loop is just taking everything and looking at it like a professional standpoint. Everything from preparation the night before games, everything was treated like a pro, so just learned a lot in keeping it professional."

How it's going being in training camp battles for both the starting punter and place kicker:

Salgado-Medina: "It's going well. I did both in high school and then last year obviously Loop was here, so I didn't compete. That was all Loop's job. I competed for the punting job last year and won the job, so moving into this year kind of just having the mentality like there's a new group and you got to get your job back. It's just trying to work at it and do both and try to win both jobs."

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

How Salerno is adapting after transferring to Arizona:

Salerno: "I'm adapting pretty well. I'm getting along with my teammates pretty well. I think it's two different cultures, but I'm used to the different cultural lifestyle. It's not really a new thing to me. I have adjusted pretty well and I have bonded with the guys pretty well."

The improvement of snapping from spring camp to training camp:

Salgado-Medina: "It has been good. They have been doing a great job overall. Both snappers have been doing great and both of them have been doing their jobs. It has been good."

Getting to know Ian Wagner, the holder for Arizona:

Salgado-Medina: "Getting to know Ian has been great. He's been a great addition to the room, great people and he's a veteran so just learning from him and the situations he's been through at his old school. Just soaking it up. I always love to earn, so he has been a great addition to the group."

On improving the whole operation in special teams on snapping, holding and kicking:

Salgado-Medina: "I think it's just repetition. Having more operation and just getting to know each other. How (Salerno) snaps and how Ian holds, and then just setting tempo on stuff like that and over time, it got better."

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

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