Arizona LBs Taye Brown, Chase Kennedy turn experience into leadership

Arizona Wildcats linebacker Taye Brown (6) against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the 99th Territorial Cup at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Nov. 28, 2025.

"Taye is a good football player and a good athlete," Bringuel said. "As a good coach, you always want to out-recruit your players. … I haven't been around somebody who's so diligent with day-one notes. When I do day-one notes with the freshmen, he's still there taking front-row notes. He knows this stuff and he's teaching the young guys. … It's beyond just what are we doing, but why we are doing it."

Kennedy, a Dallas native who started his career at Utah and transferred to Arizona in 2024, was a defensive end before switching to off-ball linebacker last season. In his linebacker-edge rushing role last season, Kennedy had 42 tackles, four sacks and seven quarterback hurries.

The 6-3, 230-pound Kennedy "has all the tools to be successful," Bringuel said.

"He has all the physical attributes and the work ethic to back that up," said Arizona's linebackers coach.

The resumes of Kennedy and Brown have positioned them to have a voice to go with their experience.

"Leadership is a funny thing," Bringuel said. "When you're naturally a good football player, and you've made plays, you have a voice on the team. Those are guys who have experience. They have cred on the team, like, 'Hey, you're a good player.' They've also earned that respect with how hard they've been working.

Added Bringuel: "You'll see Chase more vocal one period, Taye the other. There's no one way to lead. You have to find your voice. … They've done a fantastic job of modeling it. They challenge each other, Chase and Taye do. I've been impressed by how much they've stepped into that role and have taken it on.

"It's exciting for them, because they want that. They want that opportunity to lead the way, modeling the behavior and then pulling everyone when it's not right — and challenge each other."Setting the tone for the reinforcements

Kennedy and Brown have become the elder statesmen of Arizona's linebackers corps, but the duo has reinforcements in Roussaw and Blomstrom — transfers who can step into Arizona's 3-3-5 defense or four-linebacker package.

Arizona Wildcats linebacker Chase Kennedy (7) against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the 99th Territorial Cup at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Nov. 28, 2025.

"Both of those guys have been impressive with how they've integrated and how they've attacked the work," Bringuel said.

The 6-2, 235-pound Roussaw started his career at UAB in 2023 and played two seasons under former head coach and Super Bowl-winning quarterback Trent Dilfer, who was fired in October after two-plus years at the helm.

At UAB, Roussaw played in 23 games and made eight starts as a true freshman. He recorded 125 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four sacks and two fumble recoveries.

The Atlanta native transferred to Memphis and had 64 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, four pass breakups and an interception in his lone year with the Tigers.

"Everett has been really good," Kennedy said. "The most impressive thing about him is how he wants to learn off the field. We're always on the board, drawing up stuff. With him, it translates on the field. He's physical, fast and twitchy. I feel like with him, he's going to have a great role in the system. He's a guy who wants it, and you can tell on and off the field."

The 6-2, 245-pound Dover, New Hampshire native played in 31 games over three seasons for the Hoyas and recorded 117 tackles, 27 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, five forced fumbles and an interception. Blomstrom combined for 15 sacks his last two seasons at Georgetown.

"He runs full speed, downhill at you," Kennedy said of Blomstrom. "Nobody wants to be in front of that. He's physical, he wants to learn. Coop can do a lot of things for us. I just saw him run down the field with the receivers."

Blomstorm "is big, fast and physical and he's not afraid of contact. He's also a film junkie," Brown said. "He's always in the film room, always on the board, eager to learn."

Bringuel said he's been impressed with how Roussaw and Blomstrom "have attacked the work. Has it been perfect? No. But they're always eager."

The Wildcats are returning linebackers Jabari Mann, Myron Robinson and Leviticus Su'a, among others. Robinson, a 6-1, 231-pound San Antonio, Texas native, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the second half of the Wildcats' road win over Cincinnati. Bringuel's football-playing career ended due to injuries, and the UA linebackers coach had four knee injuries.

"Fortunately, but unfortunately, I've been through that," Bringuel said.

Bringuel noted "Myron is at every single meeting that we have" and is working diligently to be healthy by the start of the regular season in September.

Fifita has 'unbelievable knowledge of the game'

When Arizona hosts its annual spring showcase on Saturday, no, Jacob Manu didn't transfer back to Arizona and change his jersey number to 0. Arizona's undersized linebacker is freshman Dash Fifita.

The younger brother of Arizona star quarterback Noah Fifita is listed at 5-7, 186 pounds. Dash Fifita has impressed the UA coaches and players with his football IQ.

"I thought I was a decently smart player when I was a player," Bringuel said.

In the first position meeting with the linebackers, Bringuel taught Arizona's base defense and then asked Fifita to regurgitate what Bringuel said and draw the defense he explained.

"He goes up and draws it perfectly — perfectly," Bringuel said. "Better than some coaches when I've done that. I'm like, 'Oh, this guy is impressive.' His background and knowledge of football with his brother and his family, he understands football so well and plays with tremendous effort. … It's been fun to see him step into that and attack it. He's got unbelievable knowledge of the game."

The Fifita brothers are teammates for the first time in their lives. They're also roommates, but for the first time, mom and dad aren't under the same roof.

"It's been great to live this lifelong dream we've had to live by ourselves without our parents," Dash Fifita joked. "We want to live by ourselves, but the freedom to live on your own and doing whatever you want, it's been great."

Noah Fifita said his little brother "has been great around the house."

"That's my trash guy," Arizona's quarterback said with a chuckle. "He gets to take out the trash every day any time I need him to. I love having him around. We've been able to golf twice a week all year; we haven't gotten any better. It's been great being with him."

Dash Fifita understands that's what comes with the territory as little bro.

"As for the trash guy, that's a little brother aspect," he said. "When big bro tells you to do something, you gotta do it."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona LBs Taye Brown, Chase Kennedy turn experience into leadership