Mahdi Ready to Impress in Arizona Backfield

Revamping the running back room was crucial for the Arizona Wildcats, who finished 4-8 in their debut season in the Big 12 and ended up the 15th-ranked rushing team in the conference with an average of 106.6 yards per game, 1279 yards for the entirety of the season

Arizona also struggled to punch in touchdowns with its rushing attack, as only 11 scores were made. Head coach Brent Brennan stated at Big 12 media day that a large part of the reason Noah Fifita wasn't as much of a star as he was projected to be was because "We didn't do a good enough job running the football and we didn't do a good enough job protecting him, which I think we've made some moves in the direction of making that better."

Arizona may have lost some rushers in in Jacory Croskey-Meritt (NFL Draft, 7th round Washington Commanders), Quali Conley (Undrafted free agent, Cincinatti Bengals), Rayshon Luke (Transfer, Fresno State) and Brandon Johnson (Transfer, Northern Colorado), but it is in fact, headed in the right direction of making sure the offense can operate at its full potential with the addition of Texas Stae transfer Ismail Mahdi and Quincy Craig, who made his way from Portland State.

Mahdi was dynamic to say the least in two years with the Bobcats, totaling 2322 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns with three receiving scores on 44 passes during that time.

"It's been really great adjusting here," Mahdi said about his new home in Tucson. "When I first stepped in, I already felt like I've already been here before, just because of the players, the way they welcomed us. The coaches as well, so it's been going really good."

Of the group of running backs in the room, Mahdi has the most experience with offensvie coordinator Seth Doege's up-tempo offense, as a similiar scheme was ran at Texas State.

"It's very similar, the tempo," Mahdi said. "Texas State was a tempo-based offense...Sounds like all the protections are similar, too."

Doege's offense was a fierce one in 2024 as he led the Thundering Herd to be the 20th nationally ranked rushing offense with 201.7 yards per game, with 5.15 yards per rush and 21 touchdowns on the ground.

The 5-foot-9, 180-pound Murphy, TX native said that "Coming in here and understanding the offense a little bit already because we darn near did the same thing that they did at Texas State" was perhaps the main reason why he decided to join the Wildcats.

Not only was Mahdi a force out of the backfield, but on special teams too. A big part of the reason why he led the FBS with 2169 all-purpose yards in 2023 was because of his elusiveness and tenacity when fielding kickoffs.

Mahdi followed that year up with 1353 all-purpose yards in 2024. Mahdi values the art of special teams, stating that "It's vital. When you get to the NFL, you got to be versatile."

He added, "Even if you're a high-round pick, you're not just going to come in and be a starter. You're going to be doing those special team reps and you've got to get used to that."

It is unclear who will get the start come August 30, but it seems like Mahdi is in the front seat to be the first on the field when Arizona takes the field.

With six talented running backs in Mahdi, Craig, fellow transfer Mike Mitchell out of Utah, returning junior Kedrick Reescano, incoming freshmen Wesley Yarbrough and Cornelius Warren III, it is most likely that there will be a by-committee system in terms of carries, as Brennan has said.

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