Kicker, WR questions: 2025 Arizona Wildcats football depth chart released

The Arizona Wildcats football team released its initial 2025 depth chart on Monday ahead of its season opener against Hawaii on Saturday night. And it clarified holes left from the 2024 roster at kicker and receiver.

Redshirt junior quarterback Noah Fifita announced his return in mid-December, but the departure of wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (Carolina Panthers) and kicker Tyler Loop (Baltimore Ravens) to the NFL has changed who will have to score for the Wildcats.

First Arizona football depth chart of the season! pic.twitter.com/jhsrtKMfiq

— Justin Spears (@JustinESports) August 25, 2025

Days out from Arizona’s second Big 12 campaign, coach Brent Brennan said sophomore Michael Salgado-Medina will take over both place kicking and punting after a full training camp.

“That was not the plan going into the season, but that’s how it played out at training camp,” Brennan told reporters Monday. “Everything that we do is decided on the field. … Credit to Michael. Now, he better kick some [expletive] on Saturday night, or someone else is gonna get a chance.”

Salgado-Medina is an Arizona returnee after getting punting action in 11 of 12 games in 2024 as a freshman.

The Week 1 starter will replace Loop, who posted the highest career field goal percentage in program history at 83.75% (67 of 80).

Transfers make up more than 50% of the projected roster and Brennan said the transfer portal was “critical” in building this year’s look on the field.

With the notable absence of McMillan, the program record-holder for career receiving yards (3,423), Arizona will turn to a cluster of players as listed first-team options:

• Kris Hutson (Washington State/Oregon transfer, redshirt senior)
• Javin Whatley (Chattanooga transfer, redshirt senior)
• Luke Wysong (New Mexico transfer, redshirt senior)
• Chris Hunter (redshirt junior) OR Tre Spivey (Kansas State transfer, redshirt sophomore)

Hutson has 134 catches and 1,619 yards over parts of five previous seasons between Oregon (2020-23) and Washington State (2024). He posted 54 of those catches and 683 yards at WSU in 2024.

Whatley was an honorable mention on The Athletics’ annual freaks list for “small-school stars” in 2024 and posted team-bests with 55 receptions and six receiving touchdowns. Wysong, a former three-star recruit out of high school, gained some experience against the Arizona defense last season with eight catches, 129 yards and a touchdown with New Mexico in a 61-39 Wildcats win.

As for the duo of Hunter and Spivey, the former saw limited action in all 12 games for Arizona last year with 35 catches and 323 yards (three touchdowns) while the latter has 14 receptions for 160 yards and a touchdown with Kansas State. Spivey, who played at Chandler’s Hamilton High School and whose father is former Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Junior Spivey, was an honorable mention for Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2024.

Who will emerge on Arizona football’s running back, tight end depth chart?

Kedrick Reescano (junior) returned at running back (359 yards last year) and is up for getting significant run alongside two OR options in Texas State transfer Ismail Mahdi and Portland State transfer Quincy Craig.

Mahdi rushed for 991 yards last season but more impressively in 2023 piled up 1,331 on 223 carries with 10 touchdowns and 6.0 yards per carry.

Meanwhile, at tight end, Sam Olson (redshirt senior) has a shot at being the primary target after 10 starts for Arizona last season.

The tight end room is four deep with OR listings, with returnees Tyler Powell (redshirt junior) and Keyan Burnett (senior) and Mercyhurst transfer Cameron Barmore rounding it out.

Center change on the horizon

Another significant change that concerns Fifita comes at center, with Hawaii transfer and redshirt senior Ka’ena Decambra to step in.

Redshirt junior Grayson Stovall, who made four appearances (one start) at center in 2024, is listed as the backup center.

“They socially are comfortable together, which I think matters,” Brennan said of the early relationship between Decambra and Fifita. “They’re good at bringing the team together. … They both have to direct traffic, so to speak, they’re the two loudest voices on the offense. They have to be in lock-step with what they’re doing.”

Decambra hasn’t logged a game at center in two full collegiate seasons, but he brings 23 starts at left tackle (12), right guard (nine) and right tackle (two).

“He is tough, he knows what to do and he’s not afraid to say something when we’re in the middle of practice and it’s not going well for the offense or whatever,” Brennan said. “He’s been able to do that in a short amount of time, which has been impressive. Guys really respect him.”

In the cornerbacks room, redshirt junior Jay’Vion Cole wasn’t named a starter on the initial depth chart after transferring from Texas. Returning defensive backs listed as starters on the chart include Genesis Smith (junior), Dalton Johnson (redshirt senior) and Treydan Stukes (redshirt senior), while cornerback is littered with competition between the trio of Michael Dansby, Ayden Garnes and Marquis Groves-Killebrew.

The Wildcats take on the Warriors on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on TNT, the first game featuring a Big 12 team since a deal was first struck between the conference and television network.

McMillan will be inducted into the Arizona football ring of honor during the game at Arizona Stadium.

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