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There was a newness to it. A refreshed energy.

Players had last names printed on the back of their jerseys, which is believed to be a first for the UA. In years past, players had a strip of white athletic tape with their last names Sharpied on the crown of the helmet for coaches to identify players.

Entering head coach Brent Brennan’s second season, the Wildcats are hoping to scrub the disastrous and injury-filled 4-8 season with their overhaul of players and coaches, along with several returning leaders, including third-year starting quarterback Noah Fifita.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ signed 53 newcomer scholarship players over the two signing periods in December and February — 34 of them are early enrollees and practicing with the Wildcats this spring. The Wildcats have eight new on-field coaches in 2025 and have three new coordinators: Seth Doege (offense), Danny Gonzales (defense) and Craig Naivar (special teams).

“It felt great to be back on the field,� Fifita said. “It’s been a while. Extremely blessed and extremely happy to be back on the field with the guys. It just felt different. We have a lot to prove that it is different. From within, it feels a lot different from the energy, from the vibe and the people around. I’m really excited.�

Following ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s 14-period practice, Brennan said the Wildcats had a “really good startâ€� to the spring practice schedule on Tuesday.

If the Wildcats have any desire to right the ship in 2025, the first step starts in the spring, an important time for players to learn new schemes from new coaches — and for coaches to assemble a rough draft of a depth chart.

Brennan’s message to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ leading into the spring: “We have an opportunity to prove it every single day we step on that field, or every single day we step into the classroom here. If you want to get an A in the class, well, prove it by the effort and attention you put into that work; it’s no different on a football field.

“You want to be a First-Team (player) or you want to have a chance to win the Big 12? Prove it. Prove it by how we attack this meeting, this moment, this practice, this rep and just continue to break that down into our process-driven approach to get the outcomes that we want.�

Brennan’s other point of emphasis for his players this spring is accountability.

“You make a mistake, own it, fix it,� said Brennan. “The new generation that we’ve been coaching here for some time, the phrase ‘my bad’ has become the exit clause. ... ‘You need to own it, but now I need to see you fix it. I don’t want to see you make the same mistake again.’ That’s what we dove into at the end of practice.�

Day 1 of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s spring football schedule “was a great start, but I think it could be better,â€� Brennan said.

He added: “I’m excited to see the move we make between now and Thursday, because we’ve got our foot on the gas pedal and we’re not stopping.�

Receiver ‘most interesting position battle’

Brennan said the “most interesting position battle, in my mind, is going to be at wide receiver.�

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s leading returner at receiver is redshirt junior Chris Hunter III, who had 35 catches for 323 yards and three touchdowns last season; he switched his jersey number from 16 to 11.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ added six receivers to its spring roster: New Mexico transfer Luke Wysong, Washington State transfer Kris Hutson, Chattanooga transfer Javin Whatley, Kansas State transfer Tre Spivey III, Orlando product Isaiah Mizell and Chandler native Gio Richardson, who is rehabbing this spring following a foot injury he suffered in the Class 6A state championship. Devin Hyatt, who caught a critical 41-yard pass in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s win over Utah, is also working on the sidelines after the leg injury he suffered against ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ State.

Spivey, Hutson and Wysong made up ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s first trio of receivers on Tuesday. The trio of Spivey, Hunter and Hutson also lined up with Fifita and other potential starters. Whatley hauled in a deep touchdown pass over the middle from Fifita. ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s receivers worked on short routes throughout the entire practice on Tuesday.

Said Brennan: “Obviously we added a bunch of really good players there and the competition there is going to be intense and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch. There are some guys who established themselves as really good players for us last year. But how much can we elevate that group? That’s what the competition at spring practice is about, is giving everyone the chance to get on the field and prove it and attack it.�

Extra points

— ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s first offensive line group was left tackle Michael Wooten, Georgia Tech transfer Jordan Brown at left guard, redshirt junior center Grayson Stovall, returning starter Alexander Doost at right guard and redshirt freshman Matthew Lado at right tackle. Texas Tech transfer Ty Buchanan (6-6, 314 pounds) and Michigan transfer Tristan Bounds (6-8, 291 pounds) were also a tackle tandem.

— Brennan, on the addition of former Wildcat and All-Pac-10 linebacker Ronnie Palmer as an assistant defensive line coach: “Any time we can bring somebody back into the program that played here and is part of the legacy here at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ football, that’s powerful. ... They can talk about this place to their recruits and families in ways that a lot of us can’t.â€�

— Linebacker Taye Brown intercepted Wisconsin transfer quarterback Braedyn Locke during a 7-on-7 period.

– ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ added freshman running back Cornelius Warren III to its roster for the spring. Warren, who also plays slot receiver, just finished his senior season at North Crowley High School in Fort Worth, Texas, where he rushed for 3,341 yards and 48 touchdowns in three seasons. Warren also had 37 receptions for 580 yards and four touchdowns. Warren led North Crowley to an undefeated season (16-0) and a Class 6A state championship, a 50-21 win over Austin Westlake at AT&T Stadium. Warren had 23 carries for 217 yards and a touchdown in the state championship.

— ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ left tackle Rhino Tapa’atoutai, defensive back Treydan Stukes, Hyatt, Richardson, linebacker Leviticus Su’a, freshman defensive back and in-state product Dajon Hinton and walk-on tight end Chase Randall are out for the spring to recover from injuries.