No doubt about it: Kedrick Reescano makes his case in Arizona’s season opener

Kedrick Reescano is tired of being overlooked.

So when Arizona’s senior running back took the field Saturday for the Wildcats’ season opener, he had a message written beneath his eyes.

“No” beneath one.

“Doubt” beneath the other.

It was a promise Reescano had made to himself.

“I feel like I’m tired of being doubted, but this thing makes it where they can’t doubt me,” Reescano said. “So no doubt.”

Reescano backed it up.

He rushed for 48 yards and two touchdowns in Arizona’s 35-7 win over NAU, the second multi-touchdown game of his career. And in Arizona’s loaded backfield filled with talented options galore, Reescano received 10 carries, twice as many as any other Arizona running back.

It was an opportunity Reescano has spent much of his college career preparing for.

Reescano arrived at Arizona in 2024 as a transfer from Ole Miss. He appeared in 10 games as a true freshman with the Rebels but featured exclusively on special teams.

Last season, he started just one game. Yet despite limited opportunities, he led Arizona with nine rushing touchdowns, the most by a Wildcats running back since Zach Green had 11 in 2017. His nine touchdowns also tied for eighth-most among Big 12 running backs.

Reescano has never expected the opportunities to come to him. Instead, he has learned to make the most of the ones he gets.

“You got to get what you can get,” Reescano said last month. “Like you can’t take a rep for granted because there’s not that many to go around. So if you’re not trying your hardest on every rep you’re in, then what are you doing here?”

That mentality became particularly important entering this season.

Ismail Mahdi, Arizona’s leading rusher last year, is still awaiting an eligibility ruling after filing a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the NCAA that could allow him to play another season.

Until that situation is resolved, Arizona’s other running backs have had to prepare to fill the void.

Against NAU, they did more than enough.

The Wildcats rushed for more than 200 yards as a group for the first time since last season’s win over Colorado. Reescano scored twice, but he was quick to redirect the credit.

“Like I say all the time, I think I had the easiest job out there,” Reescano said. “Think my O-line, like I think you should be asking them this question, you know what I mean? Like they really scored the (touchdowns).”

For Reescano, though, his value extends beyond what happens when the ball is in his hands.

On Arizona’s opening touchdown, Reescano stayed in to protect quarterback Noah Fifita, buying him enough time to find Tre Spivey for the score.

FIFITA. SPIVEY. SIX. pic.twitter.com/8H7XBIfOx2

— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) September 6, 2026

His mindset was simple.

“My mindset in that situation is bury him, you know what I mean? Like don’t let him touch Uno,” Reescano said. “That’s really the biggest thing. If something ends up slipping up, you stay there to pick it up, you know what I mean? No matter what the situation is, protect Uno.”

Reescano’s performance in pass protection wasn’t an isolated success.

He finished Saturday with a 78.4 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus, the highest among Arizona’s skill-position players. Last season, his 68.6 pass-blocking grade ranked second among Wildcats skill-position players and was even higher than starting left tackle Ty Buchanan’s 68.3.

His overall 76.1 offensive grade was fourth-best among Arizona players last season.

For a player trying to prove he deserves more opportunities, those plays matter just as much as the touchdowns.

But Reescano knows there is still work to do.

“I think I’ve improved my patience when it comes down to pass pro, as far as striking time and not lunging,” Reescano said. “But there’s always ways you can improve in pass pro or anything in general.”

That’s the mindset behind the eye black.

No doubt.

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