TUCSON – Kickoff at Arizona Stadium was delayed over two hours on Saturday night due to lightning and inclement weather. And while it may have taken some for action to get underway in the Old Pueblo on Saturday, it certainly did not take long for Arizona to unleash a storm of its own. The UA dominated Weber State from start to finish, beating the visiting Wildcats 48-3. Quarterback Noah Fifita finished with 353 yards and five touchdowns through the air, while cornerback Jay’Vion Cole snagged Arizona’s first pick-six since 2021. Here is everything Arizona head coach Brent Brennan, as well as wide receiver Javin “Nunu” Whatley, defensive back Genesis Smith, and linebacker Max Harris had to say postgame following the win over Weber State.
Brent Brennan:
Brent Brennan on the atmosphere at Arizona Stadium after the weather-delay:
“I thought it was a really really fun night. I was really really appreciative of how our fans hung in there after the weather delay, and the ZonaZoo, when we came out of the locker room after whatever it was, a couple hours of delay – just seeing the ZonaZoo packed like that. So I thought that was outstanding.”
Brent Brennan on Arizona’s execution and effort against Weber State:
“We’ve obviously got a big game coming this week, so when you go into a game like this, I thought our team just did an incredible job throughout the week with their intentionality, living Redline in the practice environment, and attacking every phase of it. And I think that showed up tonight, which was really really exciting. You guys have heard me talk about Redline, but I think the effort, and the execution, and the accountability showed up.
I think big picture wise, obviously, I’ve got some work to do in the accountability, or we have some work to do in the accountability space, because we were heavily penalized tonight, and it was just too many. Just too many. And some of them are avoidable, and some of them are football. But, we’re going to dive in hard on that and make sure that we’re not putting ourselves in a situation where we hurt our chances to get the results we want.”
Brent Brennan on the weather delay from inside the locker room:
“I’ve been in a few of those before, so really, you just sit and wait and you make sure the players and the strength and conditioning staff and training staff is taking care of the players. I felt like Lauren Vossler snapped into action, making sure we had food when it kept getting pushed, making sure we got food in here for the players, because you try to eat roughly four hours before kickoff, you know, it’s kind of the magic number. But then that kickoff keeps getting pushed and pushed and pushed, and as you know, these guys are big dudes and they’re hungry, and so you’ve got to make sure they have gas in the tank. It’s a long game, and with all the timeouts, you knew it was going to be a long game. So, I thought everybody did a great job.
For the coaches, we’re just kind of sitting around waiting. So we watched some football, talked a little bit about the game tonight, but we were anxious to play.”
Brent Brennan on getting the starters rest in the second half with shortened week upcoming:
“I think there’s benefit to that. And also I think it’s good for our football team. It’s good for those guys to get some live reps and get a feel for the speed of the game and get an opportunity to play. Those guys work everyday just as hard as everybody else. And so, when you do get an opportunity like that, it’s great to get those guys out there. So, to me, it’s a win-win. It’s a win for our football team in terms of the next opponent, getting a little bit of rest, and then it’s also a win for those players that work their tails off every day and don’t always gets a chance to play.”
Brent Brennan on if the defense was disappointed by not getting a shutout:
“Yeah, of course they were. Of course they were. There’s always talk to that, especially when you go that deep into a game and you have a chance to get it done. So I think that, you know, there definitely was some disappointment that way. Part of that also is we gave some other guys a chance to play, and so we didn’t have quite the same group out there.
But that’s okay. That’s okay. I think those guys were more happy to see some of those guys play, some of those freshmen get out there and run around, and make some tackles, and block some guys, and run the football, but that part was more exciting.”
Brent Brennan on Rhino Tapa’atoutai’s return and the offensive line’s play:
“Rhino, it was funny. He was on the second series, and we tried to up tempo, and the whole O-line was down here, and I saw Rhino, you know, coming. He hadn’t played, he played in like, a year, you know, so he was gassed, but I thought he did some really good stuff. And so I think we’re all excited for him. As you guys know, when you have an injury like that, it’s a long road back, and there’s some long days, and some lonely days, and some hard moments.
And you know Rhino’s the kid that you know doesn’t go home for Christmas break and doesn’t go home for spring break because he’s here rehabbing, like that’s how committed he was. So we’re excited to get him back in the fold. And you know, hopefully, as he continues to build his conditioning level, and you know that kind of thing, that he’ll be able to contribute in more meaningful ways. But we were all excited to have him out there.”
Brent Brennan on Arizona’s improvement executing on third down against Weber State:
Well, I think it was something that we just talked about a lot with them, and in the practice environment, putting them in those situations right, just like a lot of work on third down, you know, really, really being thorough in conversations about our plan, and then the need for high level execution if we want to be the team we want to be on third down. So I think Coach Doege and the offensive staff, did a great job with that. And then I think the players did a nice job of converting on some of those. And there were a couple that got taken away because of big penalties, right? So that number would have been better. So I’m encouraged.”
Brent Brennan on Javin “Nunu” Whatley’s breakout performance:
“I was just excited to see him. You know, it’s funny. I was on his head on Wednesday, about playing faster, just all the time, and I think that showed up tonight. It was awesome. And I think Noah threw him some great balls, like to make those throws, those long throws, and complete them in stride, where the receiver doesn’t have to slow down is really impressive. So those balls are on the money. And then ‘Nunu’ was able to finish them, which was really, really exciting.”
Brent Brennan on the flexibility and versatility of Arizona’s offense:
Yeah, I think as we look as a staff, I think we’re going to be disappointed we didn’t run the ball better tonight, to be honest with you. I think we can be much better in that regard. But, you know, it was fun to see us be that explosive offensively. And I think that’s one of the things that, you know, we talked about with Coach Doege and the addition of the receivers that we brought in. It was exciting to see those explosive plays. And also just, I thought Noah had great command of the offense, you know, the entire game, and so that was really good to see him just operating and executing such a high level.”
Javin “Nunu” Whatley:
Javin Whatley on what was working between him and Noah Fifita:
“We’ve been practicing that all week at practice, so I feel like it just clicked when it got time to do it.”
Javin Whatley on what former Kansas State wide receiver Tre Spivey brings to the room:
“Tre brings a lot of size and physicality, and he’s a great route runner as well, so like, don’t let the size fool you, he can run a great route. He’s also very fast as well, not faster than me, but he’s very fast though. So, I’m excited to see what Tre does.”
Genesis Smith:
Genesis Smith on what Arizona’s defense has shown through the first two games:
“Honing in on swarming to the ball, that’s been a big key for us as a defense, and I feel like we’ve emphasized that in the first two games and we need to continue to do so.”
Genesis Smith on what he remembers from playing Kansas State in Manhattan, KS in 2024:
“They’re physical. Do a lot of 12 personnel. They’ve got some good receivers, a good quarterback, a good running back, so it’s going to be a good game.”
Max Harris:
Max Harris on what Arizona’s defense has shown through the first two games:
“I feel like we’ve shown we’re going to fly to the ball. We try to get as many heads to the ball as possible before that whistle is blown. And I feel like we’re showing that we’re relentless.”
Max Harris on staying locked in during the weather delay:
“First thing is, I want to shoutout the fans for staying. I know the lightning delay, that’s tough to stay through. But as far as players in the locker room, just staying mission focused. That was the main thing that we were focused on. You know, adversity is going to hit, and it comes in different ways. And you know, just staying mission focused.”
Max Harris on Arizona’s defense not allowing a touchdown this season:
“Our mantra is ‘know what to do and how to do it,’ all 11 to the ball in bad humor, and keeping them out of the end zone. I mean, the last part is the main thing. Like, no matter if they make the play or anything, the main thing is keeping them out the end zone.”
[…] Max Harris said after the game against Weber State that Arizona’s main goal is to keep opponents out of the end zone, and the Wildcats are doing […]