Tuesday marks the official opening of the April transfer window opening which last from the 16 to 30 before closing again. This means, you will see a larger amount of players hitting the portal from all across the country.
Right now, the Wildcats have had two players enter in Joseph Borjon and Bill Norton. With that, Arizona will have 16 available scholarships to give out in order to fill out the 2024 roster and fix some areas of need to sure things up.
With that, we took at look at Arizona roster and put together the five areas of need that the Wildcats need to address through the transfer portal in order to fill gaps before training came and the start of the 2024 season.
Since Brent Brennan took over the program and the transition of the new coaching staff happened, Arizona have seen numerous defensive linemen leave the program and enter the portal with five players from the 2023 roster.
The departures have created a lack of depth on the defensive line. Right now, the starting unit on the line this spring has been Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei, Isaiah Johnson, Chubba Ma’ae and Tre Smith, which has been a solid group that has created issues for the offensive line.
However that’s were things get thin for Arizona. The second unit consists of Sterling Lane, Keanu Mailoto, Julian Savaiinaea and Dominic Lolesio. The major problem with this group is that Savaiinaea is an edge rusher that has had to move inside because of the lack of depth on the defensive line.
Also, in the second unit, only Lane and Lolesio have experience playing snaps in games during the 2023 season.
With that, the defensive line is the top priority for Arizona to attack in the transfer portal and build depth in order to have a solid steady rotation for the 2024 season.
Arizona could use adding two to three defensive linemen to sure things up and steady the second-unit defensive line.
Right now, the top cornerback on Arizona’s roster is Tacario Davis, who originally entered the transfer portal. It is unclear if Davis is still in the portal even though he ha been working out with the team all spring practice long.
Behind Davis has been a mix of Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine and Emmanuel Karnley as the No. 2 cornerback on the starting defensive unit. Both players have had good moments throughout spring and other moments where its clear that they are still developing as players.
Plus, Celestine saw little playing time during the 2023 season while Karnley used his redshirt and didn’t make any appearances on the field.
Getting a solid No. 2 cornerback that had experience playing would be big for Arizona and give the team depth in the secondary when lining up in a dime package when going up against Big 12 offenses that love to sling the ball all over the field.
In terms of the starting quarterback position, that is already figured out with Noah Fifita and Arizona has no issues with who will be leading the offense for the 2024 season. However, the problem line behind Fifita and the fact that the Wildcats only have three quarterbacks on the roster and only two of which are scholarship players.
It has been Brayden Dorman working with the second-unit offense and he has looked good and been making throws that he wasn’t a season ago in practice. But, although the development is progressing, he still has things to work on and doesn’t look like he can be thrown into a fire to help calm things down if Fifita goes down in the middle of a game.
Dorman has the ability to be the backup and prepare to start a game if need be, but that would be with a week of preparation and practice leading up to the opponent.
Right now, Arizona doesn’t have that break glass player that they can rely upon in case of an emergency situation.
Brennan stated in a press conference that the staff will be looking to add ‘one, maybe two’ quarterbacks from the portal.
Arizona will be looking for depth at the quarterback position and a player that can be that steady force off the bench for a middle of the game situation.
The starting offensive line for Arizona has been rock-solid this spring when everyone is out on the field with Jonah Savaiinaea, Wendell Moe, Josh Baker, Leif Magnuson and Raymond Pulido.
After that, Arizona is a little thin on the line with Alexander Doost being first option that rotates on the starting unit. But, that when it get tough because outside of that, there isn’t much experience on the second-unit line.
When it comes to football, the game is won on the line of scrimmage and you can never have too much depth on the offensive line. Having another player like Doost that can be used in the rotation could be the difference in win a close game, or losing a game that costs you a spot in the conference title game.
Outside of linebacker Jacob Manu, the second linebacking spot in the Wildcats’ 4-2-5 defense is wide open for the taking. So far this spring, Taye Brown has been the guy manning the position and has been holding his own.
Behind them has been Kamuela Ka’aihue and Justin Flowe, who have primarily been working with the second-unit defense.
Again, I think the system of the 4-2-5 defense helps the depth at the linebacker position and Arizona doesn’t desperately need to add anyone. However, it is of interest to note that New Mexico transfer Alec Marenco was at practice on Saturday.
Plus, Arizona’s linebacking coach is former New Mexico head coach Danny Gonzales, who recruited and coach Marenco. The linebacker led the Lobos with 66 total tackles and became a force for the defense.
I’m sure Arizona will have more than 16 scholarships available once a few more player transfer out. But as of now, these are the positions the Wildcats could use some added depth.
We are in the dead of the offseason in the NFL, when we are simply waiting for training camps to start. It is a good time for more lists and rankings.
AZCentral Sports’ Bob McManaman put together NFL power rankings for all 32 teams, but based on interest level.
Where do the Arizona Cardinals fall?
As you can probably imagine, it is near the bottom. They find themselves in the tier of “watch at your own risk,” which includes the five lowest-ranked teams. The Cardinals come in at No. 30.
Who’s going to emerge as the starting quarterback and will it even matter? At some point, rookie Carson Beck is going to get his shot and by then, the season might already be heading toward a disaster. Stay tuned to learn how rookie Jeremiyah Love and the running backs will split time, how the defense hopes to rediscover itself and how first-year coach Mike LaFleur plans to get things off the ground.
For fans, there is fantasy intrigue for their pass catchers in Trey McBride, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michael Wilson, and we want to know how big a season Love can be, but Jacoby Brissett is the least interesting starting quarterback in the league. He is neither young, nor accomplished nor has a track record of winning.
They have no flash defensively.
To say they are more interesting than the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns, the two lowest-ranked teams, is a stretch, although none of these three teams are remotely interesting.
The NFC West, outside of the Cardinals, has interesting teams. There are the defending champion Seattle Seahawks, the loaded LA Rams and then a San Francisco 49ers team that keeps up, even without as loaded a roster.
Training camp is coming soon!
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
OLYMPIA, Wash. — A missing and endangered child from Arizona was found at the homeless encampment known as “The Jungle” in Olympia, after investigators received information that the child may have been a victim of sex trafficking. U.S. marshals said.
The girl had been reported missing to the Mesa, Arizona, Police Department in May, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
On June 18, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notified the agency that the child was potentially being sex trafficked in Washington state.
The encampment is in the greenbelt along Interstate 5 on both sides of the Sleater-Kinney Road exit in Olympia. (KOMO News)
A deputy U.S. marshal assigned to missing children investigations in the Western District of Washington developed a lead that brought authorities to the 3200 block of Martin Way East, a 20-acre homeless encampment known as “The Jungle.”
The agency described the area as having high rates of violence and community safety concerns. Back in 2023, a woman was found dead at the homeless encampment.
The city’s estimate of the number of people at the encampment generally ranges from about 100 to 250 people, with additional visitors sometimes coming to the site during the day. Overall, the number varies throughout the year, Olympia city officials said.
City staff visit the site several times each week, while service providers offer food, water, clothing, sanitation services, and other basic assistance.
On Thursday, U.S. marshals, assisted by the Washington State Department of Corrections, canvassed the encampment and found the missing child. The female juvenile was transferred to the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families and the Olympia Police Department for treatment and victim assistance.
“Protecting our nation’s children is of the highest importance,” Acting U.S. Marshal Donrien Stephens said in a statement. He credited local, state, and community partners for helping safely recover a youth at elevated risk of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.
A photo of an Olympia homeless camp, where a man was arrested by police after allegedly throwing “softball-sized rocks” at firefighters who were responding to an active fire. (KOMO News)
The U.S. Marshals Service said the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 expanded its authority to help law enforcement recover endangered missing children, regardless of whether a fugitive or sex offender is involved, and led to the creation of its Missing Child Unit.
Since the law’s passage, the agency said it has contributed to locating or recovering 5,281 missing children.
The child’s exact age was not made public by U.S. marshals, just that she had been found safe.
The Marshals Service asked anyone with information about wanted fugitives to contact the nearest U.S. Marshals office or the agency’s Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102.
Arizona’s growth is landing hardest where there is still land to build, road to widen, and a job within commuting distance. The state added about 97,000 residents between mid-2024 and mid-2025, with Maricopa and Pinal counties taking the largest share. The pressure keeps pushing out from Phoenix into the West Valley and Pinal County while southern and rural Arizona stay flat or shrink. Housing supply and commuter access and big new master-planned communities are deciding where people land. The result is a growth map led by Buckeye and Queen Creek and the fast-rising cities of Pinal County.
Buckeye is one of Arizona’s biggest growth stories because it still has open desert to fill west of Phoenix. The city jumped about 37% since 2020 to roughly 125,400 residents, one of the largest numeric gains in the state. The pattern is housing first, access second. There is more room here than in the older Phoenix suburbs, and I-10 keeps it tied to jobs across the West Valley and central Phoenix. The city has projected more than 2,900 new homes for 2025 alone, which is most of the story. Verrado, Sundance, Tartesso, and the corridors along Watson and Yuma roads are where the change shows on the ground. Buckeye grows because West Valley demand keeps moving farther out.
Few Arizona towns have changed as fast as Queen Creek. It grew more than 50% since 2020 to about 89,800 residents, one of the steepest rates among the state’s larger places. The town sits where Maricopa and Pinal County growth meet, part bedroom community, part job corridor, part family-housing magnet. New subdivisions, retail, schools, and road work have all chased the population up. The town is planning for a build-out near 150,000, so this is not a short-term bump. The change is loudest around Queen Creek Marketplace, Ellsworth Loop Road, the town center, and the neighborhoods spreading toward San Tan Valley.
Maricopa shows how much of Arizona’s growth is now spilling into Pinal County. The city climbed about 35% since 2020 to roughly 76,700 residents, ranking among the state’s largest city-level gainers year over year. Housing is the draw, but the commute defines daily life. Most residents rely on State Route 347 to reach jobs in Chandler, Tempe, Phoenix, and the wider Valley, which is exactly why the SR 347 widening has become such a fight. Copper Sky, the city center, and the commercial growth along John Wayne Parkway give Maricopa more services than it had in earlier boom years. The city keeps growing because families keep finding homes there, even as the roads work to catch up.
Goodyear has become one of the West Valley’s major growth centers. The city rose about 30% since 2020 to roughly 118,200 residents, again among the state’s largest numeric gainers. Its growth runs on a mix of housing, jobs, healthcare, logistics, and freeway access. Goodyear sits along I-10 with newer neighborhoods spreading south and west while employers cluster around the business parks, industrial areas, and the airport. It ranks among the country’s fastest-growing cities above 50,000, with more than 20,000 acres of parks and trails feeding a family-and-retirement appeal. Estrella, Palm Valley, Goodyear Civic Square, and the Loop 303 area give the city several growth points instead of one.
Surprise keeps gaining as the northwest Valley builds out. The city reached about 167,600 residents in 2025, up roughly 22% since 2020, and it added more people year over year than any Arizona city except Phoenix. The growth is housing and retail finally catching up to each other. Newer subdivisions, retirement communities, spring-training crowds, and expanding shopping mean fewer trips deeper into Phoenix for everyday errands. Surprise City Center is filling in while the Prasada area has become one of the northwest Valley’s busiest retail zones. The Surprise Stadium area, Bell Road, Asante, and the northern neighborhoods each show a different side of the build-out.
Casa Grande is at the center of the Pinal County shift between Phoenix and Tucson. The city grew about 30% since 2020 to roughly 69,800 residents, one of Arizona’s fastest gainers. What sets it apart is that it is not only a commuter town. Casa Grande has turned into a manufacturing and logistics hub, with Lucid Motors, Kohler, Frito-Lay, and Abbott Nutrition tied to the I-10 and I-8 corridors. Lucid alone has put about $2 billion into the city and created some 2,500 jobs. Downtown, the Promenade, the industrial parks, and the new subdivisions show jobs and housing climbing together, which makes Casa Grande a regional center rather than a midpoint.
Coolidge is smaller than most of this list, but its growth rate stands out. The city grew roughly 48% since 2020 to just under 20,000 residents, among the fastest in the state. The reasons are location and cheap land. Coolidge sits in central Pinal County, close to Casa Grande, Florence, Queen Creek, and the wider Phoenix-Tucson corridor, right in the path of the industrial and logistics growth spreading across the county. New housing and job access are turning a former farm town into a connected piece of central Arizona’s map. The land around Arizona Boulevard and Coolidge Avenue gives the city room for both homes and employers.
Marana is southern Arizona’s clearest entry here, the only Pima County city among the state’s ten fastest-growing since 2020. The town grew about 26% over those five years to roughly 65,500 residents. The push comes from Tucson’s northward spread. Marana has I-10 access, master-planned communities, schools, and new development along Tangerine, Cortaro, and Twin Peaks roads. A planned downtown is in the works on about 60 acres near the Ed Honea Marana Municipal Complex. Marana adds residents because it offers Tucson-area households newer housing and desert scenery without pulling them far from the metro economy.
Arizona’s growth is still anchored in the Phoenix region, but the pressure is spreading outward rather than filling the old urban core. Maricopa County still adds the most people by number, while Pinal County has become the state’s fastest-growing county by rate. That puts housing, roads, schools, water, and local services at the center of the next decade in places like Buckeye, Queen Creek, and Casa Grande. The cities that do well will be the ones that add homes and jobs together, so daily life does not turn into a long commute between subdivisions and services.
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