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Think of Arizona's spring showcase on Saturday as a party with a football practice in the background at Casino Del Sol Stadium. A party with roughly 5,000 RSVPs, according to the UA, and nearly 200 of them are former Wildcats. 

The list of former players includes Brooks Reed, Ka'Deem Carey, Scooby Wright, George Malauulu, Chuck Levy, Willie Tuitama, Tom Tunnicliffe and Trung Canidate, among others.  

"It's pretty cool when you have this many alum back," said Brandon Sanders, Arizona football's alumni and high school relations coordinator. "We have some special things for them to do. It's an awesome time right now." 

There's something for everybody: an on-field beer garden, a kids zone, a football camp, UA's final football practice of the spring on the south side of the field. The entire evening will be capped by reggae artist "Spawnbreezie" performing a live concert. 

"We have some things for people to see what kind of athletes we have," said Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales. "Beer garden, a concert and a football practice? What better could you ask for?"

In the past, Arizona's spring game was a fully-padded scrimmage and practice. This year, the Wildcats were in shells (shoulder pads and helmets) for the entirety of the spring. Several returning players were limited this spring due to injury rehab, as were multiple newcomers.

Gonzales' most emphasized message to the defense: "Nobody comes close, nobody reaches, nobody does anything that's going to jeopardize (quarterback) Noah Fifita from being healthy in the fall," he said.

"We're not competing to beat Noah, we're competing to beat the offense, but not at the risk of hurting Noah," Gonzales said. "It makes Noah mad and he's like, 'Coach, bring it!' 'Well, we ain't doing it.'"

Gonzales was candid about Arizona's cautious approach this spring: "We've got a lot of money out on that field," he said. 

In the era of revenue-share and NIL, Arizona being careful with players' health is now equivalent to protecting company assets. One injury from a spring game could mean a six-figure investment being at risk of missing time in the fall.  

"You have to take calculated risks on how you want to keep them healthy," Gonzales said. "I think we do a great job of beating them up when we have to, and you can make them tough without taking them to the ground." 

Gonzales was introduced to the prudent approach in practices when he was a defensive coordinator under former NFL head coach Herm Edwards at Arizona State. Gonzales' counterargument to Edwards was the NFL had four preseason games to tackle and prepare players for the season. 

"'It's 22 of our own guys on the same field, we're not doing it,'" Edwards told Gonzales. "Some people took that method into the revenue-sharing era. ... That's OK. We're going to find ways (to tackle). We were a really good tackling football team last year."

Arizona spends multiple periods tackling pop-up bags and donut-shaped pads; plus, the Wildcats have team periods with the offense versus the defense. Arizona "being creative and innovative has been successful," Gonzales said.

"We didn't get anybody hurt," said Arizona's defensive coordinator. "We'll have those guys in fall camp."  

Wildcats visit 'Bear Down Beach'

In the first half of Arizona's second-to-last practice of the spring, the Wildcats paused practice to spend some time at "Bear Down Beach."

Usually, the time spent at Arizona's secondary field is for the defensive players to work on tackling bags. 

Instead, the Wildcats walked over to support the UA beach volleyball team hosting the Big 12 Tournament. Players surrounded each court for 10-15 minutes to cheer on the Wildcats, who were battling TCU. 

Here are notes and observations from Arizona's practice on Thursday, as the Wildcats prepare to host the spring showcase at Casino Del Sol Stadium on Saturday: 

Freshman receiver RJ Mosley, who's the Wildcats' highest-rated recruit for the 2026 cycle, reached out for an impressive one-handed catch in a one-on-one drill. Charlotte transfer cornerback Dwight Bootle had a pass breakup while covering receiver Tre Spivey, who also caught a touchdown over Howard cornerback transfer Zuri Watson.

In a 7-on-7 period, second-year running back Wesley Yarbrough ran a flat and caught the pass while falling out of bounds with cornerback Tyrese Boss in coverage. Redshirt freshman quarterback Sawyer Anderson, who's in contention for the backup role behind Noah Fifita, connected with West Virginia transfer receiver Rodney Gallagher in the right corner of the end zone. Anderson placed the ball just over the reach of freshman cornerback Xaier Hiler — arguably his best pass of the spring. 

While rolling to the right, Fifita completed an off-platform throw to wide receiver Chris Hunter in the middle of the end zone for a touchdown. 

In a team period, Memphis transfer linebacker Everett Roussaw and Georgetown transfer Cooper Blomstrom each recorded a sack. Redshirt junior linebacker Leviticus Su'a and redshirt junior defensive tackle Julian Savaiinaea each had a tackle for loss. 

Arizona's practice ended with a red-zone team period featuring mostly newcomers. Hiler sacked redshirt freshman quarterback Luke Haugo. Bootle ended the practice with a tackle for loss.