Arizona having a soild season so far. Close losses to both Wash/USC. Their dollar package has been effective at times. Fufita doing a good job and I think may be better than De Laura. I wonder if they keep him in even when Del Laura gets healthy. Oregon St should be a big test coming up. Don't think dollar packages will help against them lol.
From the article:
Counting scholarship players and walk-ons, just 21 of the 110 players (19%) on this season’s Arizona roster were a part of Fisch’s inaugural season two years ago.
In addition to playing underclassmen in the second half of the 2022 season to give game experience to rising young talent, Fisch and his staff used Arizona’s high-powered offense as a recruiting tool for defensive players. It’s easier to fish players out of the transfer portal when they know games at their respective program won’t be Big Ten-esque, low-scoring slugfests.
“We felt if we didn’t get good on offense, we were never going to be able to recruit defense,” Fisch said. “No one was going to want to come to a team that couldn’t score.
“For us, it was a matter of saying, ‘OK, now that the offense is in a good place, what can we do defensively?’ Fisch added. “In that case, what we did was we committed to both the portal and playing young.”
Twenty-one of the 33 scholarship newcomers Arizona signed in 2023 — that includes seven from the transfer portal — are defensive prospects; all of the transfer portal additions are front-six defenders.
Between Arizona’s transfer portal additions in Upshaw (Michigan), Norton (Georgia), Manoa (UCLA), Nofoagatoto’a (Indiana) and Patu (Cal), the Wildcats added 1,485 extra pounds to its defensive front; 297 pounds per player.
“We’re big up front, man,” Nansen said. “We’re big and guys can get to the quarterback.”
From the Star's 2023 College Football Preview: Arizona spent the offseason bolstering its defense. Now the Wildcats hope to enjoy the fruits of their labor and go bowling this season.
tucson.com
