Michael Lev of the Arizona Daily Star asked Wildcats' offensive coordinator Seth Doege which young players have benefited the most from Holiday Bowl practices. Doedge named six players who have had varying levels of participation during the 2025 regular season.
Lev reported that Doege mentioned offensive tackle Matthew Lado, wide receivers Gio Richardson and Isaiah Mizzell, quarterback Sawyer Anderson and running backs Wesley Yarbrough and Cornelius Warren.
Lado was a three-signee with Arizona in the 2024 class. As a redshirt freshman in 2025, Lado has added 48 pounds to his 6-6 frame and is now 308. Lado played in 11 games for Arizona in 2025 and started in the 23-7 win over Arizona State in the final regular season game.
Richardson finished sixth on Arizona with 19 receptions and 271 yards and fourth with two touchdowns as a true freshman in 2025. Ten of Richardson's 19 receptions were for first downs and he had seven catches for 15 or more yards and two for 25 or more.
I asked Seth Doege which young players on offense have benefited the most from bowl practices. He named these players:
— Michael Lev (@MichaelJLev) December 22, 2025
OT Matthew Lado
WR Gio Richardson
WR Isaiah Mizell
QB Sawyer Anderson
RB Wesley Yarbrough
RB Cornelius Warren
Mizell was the top offensive signee in the 2025 Arizona class. In nine games, Mizell has four receptions for 37 yards in 2025. Mizell had two receptions for 23 yards in the season opener against Hawaii, but was passed in the WR rotation by Richardson.
Potential 2026 backup QB
Anderson did not play at all as a true freshman for Arizona in 2025 and will likely redshirt. Entering spring practice, Anderson should have an opportunity to compete with classmate Luke Haugo and incoming freshman Oscar Rios to be the primary backup to Noah Fifita in 2026.
Yarbrough is the fourth RB for Arizona in 2025 and has 21 carries for 77 yards. The majority of the carries for Yarbrough were against Hawaii, Oklahoma State and Colorado when Yarbrough combined for 20 carries and 77 yards. Yarbough is in line to be the third RB in the rotation for Arizona in 2026.
Warren has seven carries for 32 yards in 2025. Warren received all of his carries in the 52-17 win over Colorado. With Warren, 5'9 and 171 pounds and Yarbrough, 5'10 and 211 pounds, they provide Arizona with different styles. Barring a blowout in the Holiday Bowl, it's unlikely Warren or Yarbrough will receive significant carries.