Process driven, not outcome focused: Arizona Football brings new mindset into fall camp | News

TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) – It’s that time of year!

Arizona Football kicks off fall camp Wednesday morning. The season opener against Hawaii just 32 days away. 

Head Coach Brent Brennan and his team are bringing a new mindset into year two in Tucson.

“Last year, we killed ourselves with outcome focus,” he said. “That can’t be who we are now.”

Brennan said his team was too focused on the wins in year one. The Wildcats didn’t get many of them. They went 4-8 and won just two Big 12 games. 

“Even the games we won didn’t feel good to the players,” he said. “They didn’t win by enough. We didn’t play well on this side of the ball. When we did lose a game, it was incredibly devastating.”

“Last year, we were focused on the 2023 season, what we did in the 23 season,” Defensive Back Genesis Smith said. “Trying to recreate that, rather than being a brand new season and taking it day by day.”

That’s exactly what the Wildcats plan to do this year: focus on the process, not the results. 

“We’re going to be where our feet are,” Defensive Back Treydan Stukes said. “We’re going to focus on today.”

Stukes and his teammates will do that with the help of their motto, Redline.

“That’s just a reminder for us that you have to give it your all everyday,” Stukes said. “100, 100 is the effort part. You have to execute your job and take accountability when you make a mistake.”

Smith says he has noticed a difference in Brennan from year one to year two.

“He’s definitely put his foot down because he knows it’s his team,” Smith said. 

The defensive back is confident in where the team is headed. 

“He’s been a great leader a great coach,” Smith said. “I’m excited for this year.”

“You can feel the energy in the building,” Receiver Chris Hunter said. “We’re so bought in. I’ve been excited to get out there with this new group of guys and just be able to play with them. Spring camp was fun, but fall camp is when it’s real.”