Arizona’s 2025 season got off to a very promising start against Hawaii, particularly on the defensive side. The Wildcats recorded five sacks and five takeaways, something they hadn’t done in the same game since 2016, and the combination of a 34-point margin of victory and keeping an FBS opponent from scoring a touchdown hadn’t happened since 2010.
So what, according to UA defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales.
“As a football team we won a football game, but there is so much to clean up across the board on all three phases,” Gonzales said Tuesday, just before spending about 20 minutes breaking down each one of Arizona’s 12 defensive possessions.
Gonzales was mostly pleased with nine of the 12, but overall he saw plenty of room for improvement despite his unit posting the best defensive grade Arizona has gotten from Pro Football Focus since that service began in 2014.
“Best part of the whole night is how violent they were and how hard they worked,” Gonzales said. “But the amount of mistakes that we made, we won’t beat good teams.”
Gonzales, who called plays as head coach at New Mexico but hadn’t been a full-time defensive coordinator since 2019 at ASU, saw his UA defense record 10 tackles for loss and allow 3.82 yards per play. That’s the lowest per-play average for a UA opponent from the FBS level since 2021, but Gonzales was quick to note that Hawaii had three runs of 10 or more yards despite not being a team known for a ground attack.
“It drives me crazy that we gave up 67 yards rushing,” Gonzales said.
The 67 rushing yards allowed were the fewest since 2023 at Washington State (35). Last season Arizona ranked 98th nationally against the run, giving up 174 yards per game.
Bailey part of Arizona’s FCS boon
Though he did not start, defensive lineman Malachi Bailey made the most of his 28 snaps against Hawaii and graded out as Arizona’s top overall defender (89.9) and pass rusher (90.5) per PFF. Bailey was one of more than 20 Wildcats who made their debut in the season opener and one of 12 who previously played at an FCS school.
The Alcorn State transfer had three tackles, one for loss including a half sack, and three quarterback hurries. His debut performance continued an upward trend since the spring, when Bailey didn’t look like he was ready to contribute.
“Just buying into what my coaches were preaching and teaching, effort and execution,” Bailey said of his improvement. “We live by that, so that was something I had to come along with.”
At Alcorn State, Bailey got to play five games against FBS opponents. Though the Braves didn’t win any those opportunities were something he and his teammates cherished.
“That’s what you want, to showcase your talent on a big stage,” Bailey said. “And kudos to our FCS guys. We do it, we put in work every every day, every week, like we do. They prepare just how we prepare. They watch them just how we watch film.”
Wooten working out inside
Ranked by 247Sports as one of the top 50 offensive tackles in the 2022 recruiting class, Michael Wooten got two snaps at tackle in two seasons at Oregon before coming to Arizona. Last year the Wildcats played him at both tackle spots, including three starts, and it didn’t go well.
Arizona went out and picked up three tackles from the transfer portal, and combined with Rhino Tapa’toutai also coming back after injury, Wooten wasn’t in the plans for those positions. So he says he offered to switch to another spot on the line.
“One day I was just like, Coach (Oglseby), I want to try the inside, too,” Wooten said. “You never know how it could be. It worked out perfectly fine.”
Wooten started at left guard against Hawaii, playing all but the final possession. He was credited with allowing a sack but on the run blocking side he was a big reason Arizona rushed for 183 yards and got touchdowns from four different ball carriers.
At 6-foot-5 and 323 pounds, Wooten credits his “pretty long body” for making guard work for him.
“I feel like it fits my body type,” he said. “Everything happens quicker inside rather than outside. Outside you’re working in space. This offseason I lost a lot of body fat, put on muscle.”
Wooten is one of two offensive linemen who started the opener playing a new position. Ka’ena Decambra had started at tackle and guard at Hawaii before getting moved to center in the spring.
