Arizona will begin its second preseason training camp under coach Brent Brennan on July 30, a month of workouts and practices to get the Wildcats prepared for the 2025 season that opens Aug. 30 against Hawaii
To get you primed for camp, we’re breaking down each position group on the roster. Today we focus on the defensive line.
Players on roster: 14
Projected starters: Dominic Lolesio (R-So.), Deshawn McKnight (Sr.), Tia Savea (R-Sr.), Tre Smith (R-Sr.)
Smith was one of three defensive players to start all 12 games for Arizona last season, the only one that’s back for another year. He led the Wildcats with 4.5 sacks and was second with 7.5 tackles for loss and had the team’s top pass-rushing grade (74.2) according to Pro Football Focus. Lolesio started twice late in the season and had 26 tackles, getting tagged with only two missed tackles all season.
Savea returns to Arizona for a second go-around after spending 2024 with Texas, where he played in the first four games before sitting out the rest of the season. With the Wildcats in 2022-23 he appeared in 19 games, starting three times during the 10-win campaign when he had six TFLs.
McKnight, who played at Tennessee-Martin in 2024 and also spent two seasons at Appalachian State, had a stellar run defense grade of 84.3 last season when he had four sacks and 5.5 TFL for a Skyhawks team that won an FCS playoff game.
Top backups: Jarra Anderson (R-So.), Malachi Bailey (Sr.), Chancellor Owens (Jr.), Leroy Palu (Jr.), Julian Savaiinaea (R-So.)
Arizona will want to regularly rotate defensive linemen to keep that unit fresh, as it did last season under position coach Joe Seumalo who had 10 different players log at least 100 snaps. But of the most likely second unit members only Savaiinaea has played for the Wildcats, getting into seven games last year with one tackle.
Anderson was expected to be part of the mix in 2024, after transferring from Memphis, but suffered an injury in training camp and had season-ending surgery.
The others are all newcomers, with Bailey recording 28 sacks and 46.5 TFL in three seasons at Alcorn State, Owens logging 4.5 sacks and 12 TFL in two seasons at Northwestern State and Palu notching 5.5 sacks and 16.5 TFL at Cerritos College in 2023-24.
Newcomer most likely to make instant impact: McKnight
McKnight had a great spring and could be the run stuffer Arizona’s defense desperately needs. At 6-foot-3 and 299 pounds he’s big but also athletic and won’t just be filling up space. Combined with Savea the middle of the line should be in a good place.
Coaching outlook
Seumalo, one of the assistants Brennan brought over from San Jose State, was let go and replaced by former UA great Joe Salave’a. An all-conference defensive lineman with the Wildcats during the Desert Swarm era, Salave’a has already made an impact on the recruiting trail and his tenacity as a coach should pair well with new defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales’ own level of intensity.
Next up: Linebackers
