2023 Arizona Football Predictions and Season Preview

Arizona football finished the 2022 season with a 5-7 record. Despite missing a bowl, Arizona actually overachieved and eclipsed its preseason win total. The team defeated San Diego State, North Dakota State, Colorado, UCLA and Arizona State. A number of those games ended up as outright upsets. Regardless, it was a step in the right direction for the Wildcats. In this post, we’ll be providing our 203 Arizona football predictions, including a look at win totals and more, in our season preview.

Arizona’s win total isn’t widely available in the market. DraftKings Sportsbook has the Wildcats at +10000 to win the Pac-12, which ranks only ahead of Arizona State, Colorado and Stanford. Their win total previously came in at 4.5, which may pop up again sometime this offseason. With that said, let’s dive into Arizona’s season preview.

2023 Arizona Football Predictions & Season Preview

Arizona Football 2023 Season Preview: Coaching Staff

Arizona now enters Year 3 of the Jedd Fisch era. After going 1-11 in his first season, Fisch improved the program to 5-7 last year. Fisch has a background with quarterbacks and plays a major role on the offensive side of the ball. He returns both coordinators this year as well. On offense, Brennan Carroll holds down the coordinator job. The son of Pete Carroll, Brennan previously coordinated the Seattle Seahawks run game in 2020. On defense, Johnny Nansen also returns as coordinator. He previously coached UCLA’s defensive line from 2020 to 2021. The continuity is solid, but the defense in particular needs to make a jump.

Arizona Football 2023 Season Preview: Offense

Quarterback

Arizona returns former Washington State quarterback Jayden de Laura. De Laura completed 272 of his 435 passes (62.5%) for 3,685 yards (8.5 yards per attempt), 25 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. It should be noted that De Laura threw multiple interceptions when Arizona trailed by double digits in an attempt to throw his team back into games.

People sometimes label him as turnover prone, but de Laura actually had pretty solid efficiency stats in 2022. De Laura doesn’t have the greatest mobility with 116 rushing yards on 74 carries. However, he did take 27 sacks last year, severely depressing his rushing output. Overall, he finished as the eighth graded passer in the Pac-12 last year, according to PFF.

Behind him, Arizona retains the services of Noah Fifita, who threw 19 passes as the backup last year. Those have been the only 19 passes of his career. Arizona landed 4-star recruit Brayden Dorman, who ranks as the 23rd quarterback in this class. This is the best the quarterback room has looked for Arizona in multiple seasons.

Running Back

The Wildcats lost a few depth transfers at running back, but they return most of their production. Michael Wiley led the group with 113 carries for 771 yards and eight touchdowns last year. He also caught 36 passes for 349 yards out of the backfield. Efficiency wise, his 4.66 yards after contact per attempt and 38% forced missed tackle rate are near the elite range.

Behind him, the Wildcats retain D.J. Williams, who rushed 60 times for 376 yards himself. At 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, Williams also caught five passes for 65 yards. However, he dropped four passes as well. He averaged 3.24 yards after contact and forced a missed tackle on 36.7% of his attempts.

Even Jonah Coleman returns after rushing 75 times for 372 yards and four touchdowns. He caught eight passes for 104 yards, while averaging 3.04 yards after contact and a 34.7% forced missed tackle rate. Arizona fans should also be excited for Rayshon Luke in his second season. A 4-star recruit from the 2022 class, Luke battled injury last year. However, he was one of the recruiting crown jewels from Fisch’s early tenure. This running back room is better than most people think.

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Wide Receiver

The Wildcats lost their leading receiver Dorian Singer to USC this offseason. However, they return their second and third options in Jacob Cowing and Tetairoa McMillan.

Cowing originally came to Arizona last year from UTEP. He caught 85 passes for 1,034 yards and seven touchdowns last year. Cowing played in the slot 70.7% of the time and his 2.15 yards per route ranked 15th in the Pac-12 last year.

McMillan now enters Year 2 after coming to Arizona as a borderline 5-star recruit. At 6-foot-5, 205 pounds, he caught 39 passes for 702 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman. He played out wide 76.4% of the time and his 1.47 yards per route ranked 43rd in the conference. Arizona fans expect a big jump from him in Year 2.

The final starter should be Colorado transfer Montana Lemonious-Craig. At 6-foot-2, 185 pounds Craig caught 23 passes for 364 yards and three touchdowns last year. He played out wide 74.1% of the time and his 1.49 yards per route ranked 41st. However, this speaks more to putrid quarterback play at Colorado than Lemonious-Craig’s individual talent.

Arizona almost never rotated receivers last year, leaving their depth unproven. Kevin Green Jr. and A.J. Jones are players in the two deep, who could play a role if anything happens to the starters. Both are entirely unproven with 18 and 10 snaps apiece last year. Regardless, the starters rank among the best in the conference here.

Tight End

The Wildcats returns their starting tight end Tanner McLachlan after 689 snaps last year. McLachlan is 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, and blocked on 37.9% of his snaps in 2022. As a receiver, he caught 34 passes for 456 yards and two touchdowns. The former Southern Utah transfer logged 1.12 yards per route, which is strong for tight ends.

His backup should be Keyan Burnett for the second straight season. Burnett played 116 snaps last year and blocked on 60% of those. He only caught three passes last year, but he was also a true freshman. Burnett came to Arizona as a 4-star recruit from the 2022 class. His talent profile should get him on the field more in Year 2. Ultimately, tight end looks like another strength for Arizona in 2023.

Offensive Line

Along the offensive line, Arizona lost right tackle Paiton Fears and left guard Josh Donovan. Neither were particularly good, so these losses shouldn’t be too impactful. With that said, the Wildcats dealt win injuries along this unit, giving each of their projected starters at least some experience. At left tackle, Arizona returns Jordan Morgan after 670 snaps last year. Morgan has two years of starting experience under his belt and easily graded out as the Wildcats’ top offensive lineman.

Left guard should be Wendell Moe, who played 151 snaps last year. Moe started the last four games of the year as a true freshman and held his own as a pass blocker. Center will again be Josh Baker. Baker played 844 snaps last year and now has two years of starting experience under his belt. At right guard, Arizona returns Jonah Savaiinaea after 791 snaps last year. Savaiinaea started immediately as a true freshman, earning freshman All-American honors.

Finally, Sam Langi returns after 480 snaps last year. He looks like the weakest link in this unit, but Arizona forced him to play both guard spots and left tackle at various points last year. Hopefully with the ability to settle into one position at right tackle, Langi can show growth in Year 2 as a starter. The Wildcats continues to recruit well on the offensive line too. They brought in 4-star recruit Raymond Pulido this offseason, which should help their depth. Ultimately, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this unit take another jump in 2023.

Arizona Football 2023 Season Preview: Defense

Arizona ranked 130th on defense in 2022. This included the 129th-ranked run defense, 109th-ranked pass rush and 106th-ranked secondary. This defense will look completely different in 2023. Multiple starters departed via the portal and Arizona brought in five transfers, along with one 4-star recruit themselves. Ranking outside the top 100 in most categories, it is hard to see them getting any worse.

Defensive Line

On the edge, the Wildcats lost Jalen Harris and Hunter Echols from last year’s roster. Both were actually decent players, but the drop off might not be drastic. Russell Davis II played 222 snaps last year and graded out well as a pass rusher. He logged 12 tackles and two tackles for loss on his limited playing time.

They also return Sterling Lane II and Jeremy Mercier, who played 50 and 101 snaps apiece. Lane only played in five games last year as a true freshman, but he is a former 4-star recruit, who could take a step forward. This position doesn’t have elite depth, but having former 4-star recruits take a step forward should help.

On the interior, the Wildcats lost Kyon Barrs and Paris Shand. They do return a pair of rotational defensive tackles in Tiaoalii Savea and Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei, who played 191 and 290 snaps. Both recorded exactly 14 tackles last year on their limited snaps. However, if they cannot make the jump to starting snaps, Arizona did hammer the transfer portal.

They brought in Bill Norton (Georgia) and Tyler Manoa (UCLA). Manoa originally played offensive line with the Bruins, but he has been working on the defensive line for Arizona so far this spring. Norton originally came to Georgia as a 4-star recruit and top 100 player in his class. There’s no shame in falling behind in that Georgia rotation and he should find an easier path to snaps with the Wildcats.

Linebacker

Arizona lost Jerry Roberts and Kolbe Cage. However, both were bottom end players in the Pac-12 last year, which hopefully allows the Wildcats to take a step forward. Their lone returning starter Jacob Manu played 585 snaps last year. He struggled mightily against the run, but he actually put up decent pass coverage numbers. Overall, he finished with 54 tackles and four tackles for loss.

Arizona added three transfers in Justin Flowe (Oregon), Daniel Heimuli (Washington), and Orin Patu (California). Flowe originally came to Oregon as a 5-star recruit, but never quite lived up to his recruitment. He only played 177 snaps last year but should find the field most often here. Heimuli has 202 snaps under his belt in three years with the Huskies, but he is another former elite recruit. He came to Cal as a 4-star prospect in 2020. Patu actually has the most experience with 161 snaps last year. He plays the edge rushing backer position and could help more with the lack of defensive line talent. With talent alone, this group should make a jump in 2023.

Defensive Back

At corner, the Wildcats lost Christian Roland-Wallace, which could be one of the more impactful losses. With that said, they actually have some solid returning experience. Treydan Stukes played 564 snaps last year, notching five pass breakups, one interception and 42 tackles. Ephesians Prysock played 223 snaps in seven games as a freshman last year. He is another 4-star recruit from the 2022 class expected to make a jump in 2023.

The nickel position should be held down by Gunner Maldonado, who played 553 snaps last year. Maldonado only broke up one pass, but he logged 48 tackles last year. They also return Tacario Davis, who played 75 snaps in five games last year as a true freshman. The Wildcats did not take any transfers at corner, which could mean they feel pretty good about their young talent at the position.

At safety, Christian Young and Jaxen Turner depart. This leaves Isaiah Taylor as the player with most experience at 290 snaps last year. Taylor broke up a pair of passes and logged 40 tackles on his limited playing time. He should slide into a starting role this year. The Wildcats’ other safety could be some combination of Dalton Johnson and D.J. Warnell Jr. Warnell played 158 snaps in six games and played significantly in four. Johnson only played five snaps last year, but he has received some hype this offseason. They also didn’t take any safety transfers, meaning they feel good about their youth.

2023 Arizona Football Schedule & Predictions

Arizona Football 2023 Schedule

The Wildcats play a non-conference schedule consisting of Northern Arizona, Mississippi State and UTEP, which should result in a 2-1 record. Within the Pac-12, they draw some stronger teams like Washington, USC, Oregon State, UCLA and Utah. They won’t be favored in any of these games, but the rest of the schedule is manageable.

Arizona Football Futures Bet & Prediction

Arizona’s over/under 4.5 wins isn’t wide available right now. However, this should be a spot to look at the over. With a 2-1 start likely, the Wildcats just needs to pick off three wins against Stanford, Washington State, Colorado and Arizona State. It is also not out of the question that they upset a top six team. After all, they did just that against UCLA last year. For that reason, over 4.5 wins looks solid as long as it comes at a decent price.

Best Arizona Football Futures Bet: Over 4.5 Wins

You can read the rest of Matt Gajewski’s 2023 college football season previews and predictions below!

2023 Arizona Football Predictions and Season Preview

2023 Arizona Football Predictions & Season Preview

Arizona Football 2023 Season Preview: Coaching Staff

Arizona Football 2023 Season Preview: Offense

Arizona Football 2023 Season Preview: Defense

2023 Arizona Football Schedule & Predictions

Best Arizona Football Futures Bet: Over 4.5 Wins

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2023 Arizona Football Predictions & Season Preview

Arizona Football 2023 Season Preview: Coaching Staff

Arizona Football 2023 Season Preview: Offense

Arizona Football 2023 Season Preview: Defense

2023 Arizona Football Schedule & Predictions

Best Arizona Football Futures Bet: Over 4.5 Wins

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