Arizona football notebook: Long snapper commits for 2025 team, 4-star 2026 QB includes Wildcats in top 7

There aren’t many spots left on Arizona’s 2025 roster, especially if the hard cap of 105 goes into effect next season as expected. But the Wildcats had to get someone to handle a key position on special teams.

The UA has earned a commitment from prep long snapper Broden Molen, who will join the team this summer and by default would be walking into a starting gig.

The 6-foot, 215-pound Molen is rated by 247Sports as a 2-star prospect, but among long snappers in the 2025 class he’s considered a 5-star prospect by RubioSnapping.com and ranked third in the country. He played high school football in Great Falls, Montana and participated in the Navy All-American Bowl in San Antonio in January.

The commitment of Molen fills an immediate need for Arizona, which saw the only long snapper on the spring roster—Trey Naughton—medically retire due to a back injury. Kicker/punter Cash Peterman, who has since entered the transfer portal, was snapping toward the end of spring practice.

Special teams coordinator Craig Naivar also recently landed a potential starting kicker in Ian Wagner from Illinois State. Michael Salgado-Medina, who was the primary punter in 2024, had been doing both punting and kicking in spring and the Wildcats would prefer not to have one person handle both jobs this fall.

Arizona makes cut for 4-star QB

The 2026 recruiting cycle is well underway, with Arizona holding commitments from five players. The school has hosted dozens of visits this spring and have more lined up in May and June, including a scheduled visit from 4-star California quarterback Oscar Rios.

Ahead of his trip to Tucson, Rios announced his top seven schools and the UA made the cut along with Colorado, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, UCLA, Utah and Virginia Tech.

The 6-foot-3, 175-pound Rios is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 185 player in the 2026 class, as well as the 13th-best quarterback and No. 22 prospect from California. He’s already visited Kentucky and Oklahoma State and will head to Utah before checking out Arizona.

Previously committed to Purdue, Rios is one of 22 quarterbacks in the 2026 class the UA has offered. All but seven have made commitments, which is coming with passers who try to lock up spots as early as possible.

Last year Arizona got QB commitments from Robert McDaniel—who flipped to UCLA at the start of the Early Signing Period but has since entered the portal—and Luke Haugo by early June.

Last batch of outgoing transfers

The spring portal window closed on Friday but some transfers weren’t formally announced until after the weekend. That includes a few from Arizona, as defensive lineman Tylen Gonzalez and tight end Dylan Tapley are officially in the portal, bringing the spring departure count to seven.

Gonzalez, a 3-star prospect from New Mexico who signed with the UA in the 2023 class, did not appear in a game in his two seasons. Tapley, a 3-star in-state recruit from the 2024 class, did not play as a true freshman.

Arizona only lost player—defensive lineman Isaiah Johnson, who has committed to North Carolina—who started a game last season to the spring portal. There are 19 players left with starting experience at the UA, most notably quarterback Noah Fifita (21 starts), defensive backs Treydan Stukes (28), Dalton Johnson (24) and Genesis Smith (10), defensive lineman Tre Smith (12), linebacker Taye Brown (11) and tight end Sam Olson (10).

Wildcats partner with National Marrow Donor Program

On Wednesday afternoon UA football players, as well as athletes from other sports, will be on the University Mall conducting a bone marrow donor drive in conjunction with the National Marrow Donor Program, also known as Be the Match. Football players will be in attendance from 2 to 4 p.m. PT.

The event was organized by defensive back Ayden Garnes, a transfer from West Virginia who served as a bone marrow donor to help save a woman’s life.