Kirifi Taula, working here in the spring game, might have a home at defensive end. Photo by David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic

Arizona Wildcats interim head coach Tim Kish has put his stamp on the defense in only three games.

His latest change is to go big at defensive end.

Redshirt freshmen Kirifi Taula (6-foot-3, 280 pounds) and Dan Pettinato (6-4, 260) started last week against Utah, replacing seniors C.J. Parish and Mohammed Usman.

Those two — who are each 6-2, 245 — have not provided the kind of pass rush Arizona had hoped for from someone their size.

Parish has one sack since the season-opener vs. NAU. Usman has none since then.

“I liked it a lot,” Kish said of last week’s bigger look at defensive end.

“It’s the right way to go. Hopefully, we’ll continue to grow with that.”

Taula, who had previously been a defensive tackle, had five tackles, including one for loss last week. Pettinato had two tackles.

This will clearly be a position of need in recruiting, but Taula could potentially be a cornerstone at the position for the new head coach.

“Kirifi played a heck of a game,” Kish said. “If he continues in that progression, we’ll be in good shape.

“He’s really just finally got a knack for how to strike and use his legs. I don’t know if just moving him outside helped him with that or what, but he’s a natural there.”

It’s not as if the concept of using Taula at end was a new one to Arizona, but former head coach Mike Stoops, for whatever reason, didn’t make the switch during the first half of the season.

“That big sucker can play, but they won’t let me (have him),” defensive ends coach Jeff Hammerschmidt said of Taula early in fall camp. “In spring, he jumped out one time to end and played pass rush and we went, ‘Wow.’”

Kish had the title of defensive coordinator this season (and still does), but the defense really belonged to Stoops, who, naturally, could do as he saw fit on that side of the ball.

But Kish started tweaking things after Stoops was fired last month.

Kish put in a double-eagle flex scheme that harkened back to the Arizona’s Desert Swarm days. The Wildcats have used that at times to try to be stronger against the run.

Kish inserted true freshman Tramayne Bondurant, who had been impressive in practice (mostly on the scout team), into the lineup, quickly discovering a playmaker. Kish has been more aggressive in terms of trying to pressure the quarterback.

It hasn’t been enough to overcome all of Arizona’s defensive deficiencies, although the late-season development of Bondurant and Taula are encouraging for a unit that will get back a quartet of players from injuries next season (cornerback Jonathan McKnight, safety Adam Hall, linebacker Jake Fischer and backup defensive back Willie Mobley), while hoping for a full season of health from defensive tackle Justin Washington.

The results from three games under Kish:

–Arizona held UCLA to 323 yards, the Bruins’ second-lowest total of the season.

–Arizona gave up 489 yards to Washington — about 77 above the Huskies’ season average, as running back Chris Polk had a huge game.

–Arizona gave up just 332 yards to Utah, which was actually slightly above the season average for the Utes, who took advantage of UA’s injuries at cornerback to hit two long scoring plays.

On Saturday, the Cats play at Colorado, which has the worst scoring offense in the league, averaging 18.6 points. But the Buffs got back two playmakers from injury last week — sophomore receiver Paul Richardson and senior running back Rodney Stewart.

Richardson (6-1, 175) is the cousin of Arizona cornerback Shaquille Richardson, who could return from an ankle injury this week. Paul Richardson had 11 catches for 284 yards and two touchdowns vs. Cal early this season.

“He’s electric,” Arizona secondary coach Ryan Walters said. “He kind of reminds me of DeSean Jackson when he was in college.”

Stewart (5-6, 175) isn’t big but he has been capable of rushing 30-plus times a game. He ran for 1,318 yards last season, and went for 88 yards on 21 carries vs. USC last week as he returned from injury. Stewart is also the team’s leading receiver with 34 catches.

“Quick to the perimeter,” Kish said of Stewart. “He’s fast.”

Utah's Star Lotulelei takes up a lot of space in the middle. Photo by Russ Isabella-US PRESSWIRE

Mash together Arizona’s offense (at least in the passing game) and Utah’s defense (at least against the run), and you’d have a pretty good college football team.

It will be a battle of opposites Saturday at Arizona Stadium, with Wildcats quarterback Nick Foles taking aim at, statistically, the best defense in the Pac-12.

The Utes are allowing only 325.6 yards per game and rank 11th nationally against the run, yielding a mere 91.0 yards per game.

“They’re good. I would say one of the top two defenses we have played all year,” said UA offensive coordinator Seth Littrell.

“They’re extremely physical up front. In the secondary, they are going to try to man you up, beat your receivers up. They are, at times, going to play press coverage and say, ‘Come and get us. If you can make the play, go make the play.’ …

“It’s not going to be one of those easy-type football games where you run up and down the field, I’ll tell you that.”

Utah (4-4 overall, 1-4 Pac-12) is big up front, including 325-pound defensive tackle Star Lotulelei and defensive ends at about 270 pounds. Utah is second in the league with 2.88 sacks per game.

“Defensively, they’re damn good,” said Arizona interim coach Tim Kish. “They’re D-line is very, very good. Very, very good.”

This sounds like a game in which Arizona’s full-house backfield would come in handy. The Wildcats can max-protect Foles while, potentially, taking advantage of the man coverage on the outside with Juron Criner, Gino Crump and others. Too bad for Arizona that Dan Buckner is out with a separated shoulder.

Foles leads the nation with 32.38 completions per game and is third nationally with 366.75 yards per game.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said earlier this season that his team plays more man coverage than anybody in the Pac-12, and Littrell agreed with that assessment.

“But I tell our guys all the time, it doesn’t really matter what they’re doing. It matters what we do and how we execute our base plays,” Littrell said.

“That will never change week to week. It’s a mindset. Obviously, you have to put them in great situations to be successful. But at times in the football game, it’s you against the other one. Can you win? Are you going to win?”

* * *

Redshirt freshman left tackle Mickey Baucus played his best game against Washington, Kish and Littrell said.

“He rose up to the challenge and played a great game,” Littrell said.

“Hopefully, he will continue to do that. He has been working hard in practice, and it is showing on the field. He and (center) Kyle Quinn really stepped up. Those are the two guys who really played well on the O-line.”

Baucus’ challenge this week is Utah right end Derrick Shelby. The senior has six tackles for loss, including four sacks. He has an interception and has broken up five passes.

Littrell said the difference between Arizona’s offensive line from the beginning of the season until now is “night and day.” The Wildcats began the year with the least experienced offensive line in the country.

“They’re going to be special,” Littrell said.

* * *

Senior Lyle Brown and redshirt freshman nickel back Jourdon Grandon were competing for a starting cornerback spot this week, Kish said Wednesday, the last day of media availability with Arizona. He both “both will play some.”

Starting cornerback Shaquille Richardson is back from suspension but likely not back from a sprained ankle. His backup, freshman Cortez Johnson, is doubtful because of a concussion.

Also considering starter Jonathan McKnight hasn’t played all season because of a torn ACL, the Wildcats could be down to their fifth-best cornerback as a starter against Utah.

* * *

Kirifi Taula

Look for 280-pound defensive tackle Kirifi Taula to get ample time at defensive end, as he did last week at Washington. Kish said he likes the extra size out at the edge; Arizona’s starters have been 245-pounders C.J. Parish and Mohammed Usman.

“He’s a thick guy,” Kish said of Taula.

“If you’re standing behind C.J. Parish or Mohammed Usman, you’re not seeing much of a massive body. I like that big, wide back end.”

* * *

Crump, who had four catches last season, has 45 through eight games. The senior has at least five receptions in each of the past six games.

“The thing he has more than he has ever had is the confidence to go out there and know he is going to make a play,” Littrell said. “He has really grown.”

* * *

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Is wide receiver Dan Bucker the Arizona redshirt you are most eager to see? Photo by Michael Chow/The Arizona Republic

With five Arizona football practices in the books, some players who have never seen the field for the Wildcats are either emerging or solidifying key roles.

Before practice began, we ran down our newcomers to watch — those from the most recent recruiting class.

Now, let’s take a look at the top players who redshirted last season at Arizona and will be making their UA debut Sept. 3 against NAU.

5. Jourdon Grandon

He’s a good athlete who also played quarterback at Avondale’s Westview High School, although he missed much of his senior season because of injury. He arrived at Arizona in a class full of standout defensive backs — Marquis Flowers, Jonathan McKnight and Shaquille Richardson — so he has been a bit off the radar … until now.

“I tell you, Jourdon Grandon has been a bonus for us,” defensive coordinator Tim Kish said after Monday’s practice.

“Coming out of spring, we weren’t 100 percent sure where he could play in our defense. He can play nickel, he can play corner, we may look at him at safety. He’s competing. He’s comfortable. He’s confident. When you have that, you have something going.”

Grandon (6-0, 180) is listed as a backup at strong safety … and it is at the safety positions where the Cats could use an extra dose of depth.

Kirifi Taula is looking as if he will be the top backup at defensive tackle. Photo by David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic

4. Kirifi Taula

He’s one of several promising, young defensive tackles for Arizona, and he might even be versatile enough to give the Cats a 280-pound defensive end in some situations.

“That big sucker can play, but they won’t let me (have him),” said defensive ends coach Jeff Hammerschmidt.

“In spring, he jumped out one time to end and played pass rush and we went, ‘Wow.’ A 280-pound defensive end would be OK, but Kirifi is such a good player inside right now.”

Joe Salave’a, who coaches the defensive tackles and really oversees the entire line, agreed that he wasn’t ready to let Taula jump outside (although Taulu did get a few reps there in practice Monday.)

For now, Taula is a second-string tackle.

“Kirifi needs to earn his stripes before he decides to do something else,” Salave’a said. “We have to make sure we lock down the interior. You can’t go worry about the outside yard when the inside is not stabilized.”

3. Tyler Slavin/Austin Hill/Garic Wharton

OK, so we’re cheating here. We can’t pick just one, but we’re not sure which player should be rated ahead of the others. So we’re going to list all three receivers as one entity.

In any other year, these guys could all be breakout players, but they will be fighting for time behind talented veterans. How much will they play? We’ll see.

Beep, beep ... Garic Wharton is coming through. Photo by David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic

Safe to say, though, this is the deepest and most talented receiving corps in school history. Including true freshman Patrick Onwuasor, Arizona seems to go fairly comfortably 10 deep at receiver.

Wharton could make the biggest impact among the redshirt receivers, if only because he’s the fastest player on the team — just ask him — and he will be returning kickoffs. He’s a slot receiver, behind Richard Morrison on the depth chart.

Hill and Slavin are outside receivers who each have caught plenty of passes in fall camp.

“They’re going to be pretty special receivers for this school,” said quarterback Nick Foles.

“This year, they are going to help us a lot and they could do down as some of the top receivers in school history. I think they’re that good.”

2. Mickey Baucus

It’s somewhat unsettling to have a redshirt freshman at left tackle. On the other hand, it’s really enticing to think that Baucus is going to have a chance to be a four-year starter at left tackle.

Before he left last December for West Virginia, then-UA offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh said Baucus and fellow redshirt freshman Fabbians Ebbele had the chance to be as good as any tackles he had ever coached.

The responsibility to coax that potential out of him now falls to new offensive line coach Robert Anae.

“I think you will see a lot of improvement with that group early,” coach Mike Stoops said of the five new starters on the offensive line. “I think they’ll compete. They’re athletic.”

1. Dan Buckner

After sitting out last season because of NCAA transfer rules, the former Texas Longhorn is ready to join Juron Criner as big-play threats in the Arizona passing attack.

“The sky’s the limit for him,” Foles said.

“It’s really how good does he want to be. He’s a very talented guy. He’s matured a lot since he’s been here. … We have to keep pushing him. He can’t be satisfied with what he is right now.”

Buckner caught 44 passes for 445 yards for Texas in 2009, when the Longhorns advanced to the national title game.

In addition to his size (6-4, 220) and speed, he’s known for his high spirits, one of the “characters” on the team.

“He’s a breath of fresh air,” Foles said. “Football is a serious game, but at the same time, it has to fun. You have to play loose and Dan keeps that looseness out there.”

A shoulder injury kept Justin Washington on the sidelines for much of spring. Photo by David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic

Here is the seventh part of our Arizona Wildcats football preview in collaboration with our Gannett partner, The Arizona Republic.

We write the words, and they have taken the cool photographs and put it all together in a slick presentation at azcentral.com.

Check back here and at azcentral.com every Friday as we roll out more of our preview every week, all the way into August.

This week: The defensive line.

INTRO

Arizona’s inexperience on the defensive line, combined with an even-greener group of offensive linemen, gives the Wildcats potential trouble in the trenches on both sides.

At least UA has a mostly proven centerpiece on defense with sophomore defensive tackle Justin Washington. Beyond that, the Cats mostly are looking for multiple breakout seasons from young tackles and older defensive ends who are trying to replace a trio of ends — Brooks Reed, Ricky Elmore and D’Aundre Reed — who were selected in the NFL Draft.

Former Wildcat standout and NFL defensive lineman Joe Salave’a is in his first season coaching the tackles.

“Joe is so fun because of his energy,” said defensive ends coach Jeff Hammerschmidt. “The guys really respect him and he knows exactly what he’s talking about.”

Justin Washington

Washington was a lightly regarded prospect from Cypress, Texas — he received two stars out of five from Rivals.com — who redshirted in the 2009 season. Not much was expected in 2010, but he forced his way into the rotation during fall camp and was so impressive that coach Mike Stoops made him a starter by the second game.

Using his quickness inside, Washington started nine games, finishing with 46 tackles, including 11.5 for loss and six sacks. One of his biggest plays was blocking an extra-point attempt in the Iowa game that kept the game tied.

With more than double the career starts from the rest of the defensive line combined, Washington will have to deal this season with being the focal point of opposing blocking schemes.

Sione Tuihalamaka should move into a full-time starting role this season. Photo by David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic

Sione Tuihalamaka

Tuihalamaka was part of last season’s playing rotation, which loses starting tackle Lolomana Mikaele, who also was one of the team’s captains.

Tuihalamaka is in line to take over that starting spot after a season in which he played in every game, starting four, making 23 tackles. He had three tackles for loss, including 1.5 sacks. Arizona doesn’t have that classic 300-pound run stuffer, but it has good athleticism from its interior positions on the defensive line.

Tuihalamaka, who had an offer out of high school from Nebraska, is the cousin of former Arizona linebacker Vuna Tuihalamaka and the brother of former UA defensive end Apai Tuihalamaka, who had to give up football after last season because of concussions.

C.J. Parish

One of the nice spring surprises for Arizona, Parish is trying to take advantage of an extra year of eligibility. He was granted a medical redshirt after suffering a season-ending concussion in the third game of 2010.

Parish has been tried at linebacker, defensive end and fullback, but he considers end his natural position.

“I played it in high school; I played it in junior college,” he said. “I’ve played a lot of positions, but d-end is something I really favor.”

Parish’s biggest impact is expected to come against the pass, as he uses his speed to harass quarterbacks. But coach Mike Stoops says that Parish, perhaps a bit undersized, will hold up well against the run.

“He plays strong,” Stoops said. “He’s a very powerful kid.”

Mohammed Usman

Usman, a senior, will be trying to pack his Arizona career into his final season after he missed all but the final three games of last season. He had to serve an academic suspension following his transfer from junior college.

Usman played at the University of Houston as a true freshman in 2008, when he made 10 tackles. He looks good in a uniform, and a strong spring practice indicated that he will produce in the regular season.

Arizona needs that because the backups at defensive end have no playing experience at this level. The inexperience at end means the Wildcats will have to get more creative with their pass rush.

“We probably won’t be able to create as much pressure with four-man rushes,” coach Mike Stoops said in the spring.

Dan Pettinato will need to contribute as a redshirt freshman. Photo by David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic

Dan Pettinato

The redshirt freshman might not be ready for a starting role, but he’s expected to come up big as a rotation player this season behind a pair of senior ends.

He already has put on 45 pounds or so from his senior year of high school.

“I think the adjustment for him is just getting his foot speed quicker,” said defensive ends coach Jeff Hammerschmidt.

“But he’s going to be a good player because he works so hard. He could be one of the better guys for us. This year, we’re hoping he can get 10, 15 snaps per game or so — and play a bunch of special teams — and then next year hopefully he has a chance to be a three-year player for us.”

Lamar De Rego

Arizona tried defensive tackle Dominque Austin at end in the spring to give the front a bigger look against physical running teams. But with Austin battling academic issues this summer, there is even more pressure on De Rego, a junior college transfer, to perform right away.

De Rego made 8.5 tackles for loss, including 4.5 sacks last season, at San Jose Community College. He played high school ball at Kamehameha Secondary School in Honolulu.

He originally committed to Oregon State last December before switching to Arizona in January.

Other possibilities at defensive end are incoming freshmen Reggie Gilbert from Fairfax High in Laveen, and Dame Ndiaye, a raw, athletic prospect from San Diego’s Hoover High.

Aiulua Fanene

Fanene, the brother of Jonathan Fanene — who has played for the Cincinnati Bengals for the past six seasons — had an impressive spring to move into a probable role as a redshirt freshman defensive tackle.

Fanene was part of a 2009 “60 Minutes” profile about football in American Samoa. The CBS show showed the typical family values and work ethic of Samoan players, stating that Fanene did “a day’s work before school under the direction of his father, David.”

Arizona added Fanene after Signing Day 2010, and he went on to become the team’s defensive scout team MVP last season.

Kirifi Taula

Junior Willie Mobley, who began his career at Ohio State, was in line to be a backup at defensive tackle before suffering a post-spring torn ACL in a basketball game.

That opens the door for a number of prospects, including Taula, who picked the Wildcats over Washington and Oregon State near Signing Day in 2010. Scout.com rated Taula a four-star recruit and the 30th-best defensive tackle nationally.

While Taula is considered to have a bright future, Arizona has other possibilities among its inexperienced defensive tackles, including junior Chris Merrill, junior Jowyn Ward and freshman Saneilia Fuimaono.