Arizona's running back room built on depth, chemistry heading into the season

For Arizona football fans in Tucson, the Wildcats are entering the season with an unusually deep group of running backs, giving the offense several experienced options instead of forcing its workload onto one featured player. The room includes last year’s leading rusher, returning veterans, a transfer from Marshall and two younger backs. All six are working with new running backs coach Lyle Moevao, who is using the competition to prepare the entire group for the demands of a season.

The most significant addition to the room is also a familiar one. Ismail Mahdi, Arizona’s leading rusher from last year, is back after receiving an eligibility boost. His return gives the Wildcats a proven option and adds experience to a position group that was already well stocked. Rather than treating Mahdi’s return as a threat to the other players, the room welcomed him back, according to Moevao. That response has helped establish the tone Arizona hopes to carry into the season.

Arizona’s backfield also includes senior Kedrick Reescano, Quincy Craig, Marshall transfer Antwan Roberts, Wesley Yarbrough and Cornelius Warren. The group has different levels of experience, but the overall approach is not built around a single back. The Wildcats can work through multiple players, creating what the team views as waves of depth. For an offense, that can provide flexibility when matchups, game situations or player health require a change.

Ordinarily, a crowded position group can produce tension as players compete for carries and playing time. Arizona’s backs describe a different atmosphere. Reescano said the additional competition has not changed the relationship among the players, who continue to view themselves as brothers. Roberts offered a similar assessment after arriving in Tucson, describing the room as free of entitlement. In his view, no one expects a role to be given to them, and the players are pushing one another through consistent work.

Moevao is taking that depth seriously rather than treating the fourth or fifth back as a reserve who can remain unprepared. His message is that every player must be ready, because injuries and other setbacks can quickly change a team’s plans. That lesson comes from the reality of a long season, when backs can be unavailable and the players who begin lower on the depth chart may suddenly be needed. The competition therefore has a practical purpose beyond determining who receives the first carries.

The crowded roster also means practice opportunities matter. Reescano said the backs cannot take a single repetition lightly because there are only so many chances available. Each rep becomes part of the evaluation process and an opportunity to prove reliability. For players competing within a deep room, preparation and consistency can be as important as having a standout moment. The Wildcats are trying to build a backfield in which the offense can trust more than one answer.

Moevao is asking those answers to extend beyond traditional rushing duties. During camp, he has emphasized the value of backs who can catch passes from the backfield, reflecting the broader role running backs increasingly play in offenses. That versatility can make a player useful in more situations and gives the offense another way to use the same personnel. It also raises the standard for the entire group, since the backs are being evaluated not only on their ability to run but also on what they can contribute as receivers.

Roberts is one player who fits that broader profile. The Marshall transfer attracted Moevao because of a combination of size, speed, elusiveness and football understanding. His arrival gives Arizona another physical option while also adding a player who can bring a different set of experiences to the room. Roberts said the culture he encountered in Tucson matched what initially appealed to him about the program. He found a group centered on hard work rather than individual egos, a quality that can help a position group manage competition without losing its cohesion.

That balance will be central to Arizona’s season. Mahdi’s return supplies proven production, while Reescano and Craig add experience, Roberts brings transfer experience and a varied skill set, and Yarbrough and Warren represent younger talent developing within the room. Moevao’s job is to turn those individual pieces into dependable depth. If the Wildcats accomplish that, they will have multiple backs prepared to contribute and a group capable of absorbing the demands of the season. For Tucson fans, the promise of this backfield is not one superstar carrying the offense, but a connected room raising its level through competition.