Taye Brown entering senior year with high expectations for Wildcats

FRISCO, Texas — The veteran linebacker is preparing to build on his All-Big 12 campaign from 2025, and take Arizona to new heights along the way.

With 24 starts under his belt over the past two seasons, and 162 tackles during that span, there’s no denying Taye Brown is one of the league’s most productive defenders. After helping the Wildcats field the second-best defense in the Big 12, and win nine games last year, Brown has his sights set on winning the conference, and earning a spot in the Playoffs this fall.

The former three-star prospect feels there are several goals to still accomplish at Arizona, and he’s eager to build on his legacy with the program. Brown even went back to the fundamentals for fall camp. He’s working on his tackling form, and finding more ways to be explosive to the ball.

“That’s some of the big things I wanted to work on last year, and I feel like my sophomore year I didn’t really tackle the greatest,” Brown said. “So I put a really big emphasis on that last year, being in the right position, taking the right angle and stuff like that.”

Brown made a name for himself in conference play last season, and racked up 14 tackles against BYU, and 10 apiece against Houston and Baylor. Although the Wildcats ranked 19th in total defense, several of those pieces are now gone. So it’s going to be up to Brown, and the rest of the veterans to keep that production going.

Fall camp is going to be intense through the first three weeks, but there’s enough senior leadership in Brown’s eyes to keep everyone on the same page. With returning defensive starters like Chase Kennedy and Leroy Palu by his side, Brown is confident that Arizona’s strength will come from the front seven.

“It’s great for the defense, great for the team because they’re older guys, four and five-year guys that been in the program,” he said. “So they’ve seen a lot, been through a lot, and that’s huge for us.”

It also helps that the Wildcats have a Heisman contender at quarterback in Noah Fifita. Which is why Brown wants the defense to take care of business, and play complimentary football. The linebacker room is full of experience, and Brown continues to praise the hard work from Brandon Craddock, and Leviticus Su’a in practice. They’re all a brotherhood, and having that close bond will go a long way on the gridiron in Brown’s mind.

“We all hold each other accountable, and it’s not just one person telling everybody what to do,” the senior said. “It’s all of us because we got some vets in the room, and we got some young guys in the room.”

Brown didn’t appear on the 2026 Preseason All-Big 12 team, and he’s using that as fuel. After finishing second on the team in tackles in each of the past two seasons, the 6-foot-2, 228-pounder is ready to lead the Wildcats in stops. At the end of the day, Brown intends on being the enforcer and tone-setter of Arizona’s defense, and by doing that he’ll definitely leave a lasting mark on the program.

“I want to break that 100-tackle mark, I haven’t done that yet, so that’s definitely a goal, and to win the Butkus.”