Arizona running back Ismail Mahdi and linebacker Max Harris were on the field with the Wildcats on Friday, even as their status remains tangled in the NCAA’s latest appeal.
Arizona Athletics said both players “remain eligible” and “will continue to practice with our football team as we continue to monitor the judicial process.” Mahdi and Harris are both enrolled at the UA and have spent the past two weeks getting back into the program, taking part in individual work and team periods.
The uncertainty stems from a federal ruling in Colorado earlier this month by U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte Sweeney, which allowed class of 2022 student-athletes who were not grandfathered into the NCAA’s new five-in-five rule to compete in the upcoming 2026-27 sports season.
The NCAA successfully appealed that ruling, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit granted the appeal. For now, that leaves Harris and Mahdi ineligible to play in games this season, along with Arizona baseball pitcher Garrett Hicks, who recently announced his return to the UA.
The five-in-five rule gives student-athletes five years to use their eligibility, with the clock starting when they begin college as freshmen or after their 19th birthday. Several athletes from the class of 2022 played four years but were not granted an extra season, including Harris and Mahdi.
With the college football season opening this upcoming week and Arizona set to kick off in about two weeks, the timeline for a final decision remains murky. If Harris and Mahdi are eventually ruled ineligible, Arizona still appears prepared to keep them around the program. That would mirror the situation with former UA running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who was ruled ineligible by the NCAA but stayed involved with the team and practiced in front of NFL scouts throughout the season before being drafted in the seventh round by the Washington Commanders.
Friday’s practice at the Dick Tomey Practice Fields and Davis Sports Center also featured a few notable on-field moments.
Nebraska transfer Malcolm Hartzog turned in what was described as his best practice of camp, picking off quarterback Noah Fifita after stripping the ball away from freshman receiver Caleb Smith near the sideline. The 5-8, 187-pound slot cornerback also broke up a pass while covering 6-7, 248-pound tight end Tyler Powell. Hartzog has been one of Arizona’s most consistent playmakers in the secondary and has emerged as the Treydan Stukes successor, piling up pass breakups and interceptions during camp.
Hutchison Community College defensive line transfer Kevin Moorer got to Fifita for a sack, and on the same play, Lee Molette broke up a deep throw to receiver Giovanni Richardson. In the first-team defensive period, Arizona lined up Tre Smith, Mays Pese and Moorer on the defensive line, with Taye Brown, Everett Roussaw and Cooper Blomstrom at linebacker, and Dwight Bootle, Hartzog, Molette, Gavin Hunter and Jay’Vion Cole in the secondary.
The second defensive unit featured an all-freshman front of Prince Williams, Kaisi Lafitaga and Keytrin Harris, with Max Harris, Dash Fifita and Jabari Mann at linebacker, and Swayde Griffin, Johno Price, Northern Colorado transfer Cam Chapa, Oregon transfer Daylen Austin and Wyoming transfer Tyrese Boss in the secondary. Chapa intercepted backup quarterback Sawyer Anderson, and Roussaw added a pass breakup.
Fifita also connected with Chris Hunter on a first-down pass. Hunter has been one of his top targets in camp, along with Richardson. Cole later intercepted Fifita in a 7-on-7 period.
To close practice, freshman kicker Ian French, an Austin, Texas-area native, drilled field goals from 57 and 50 yards.
Arizona also hosted about a dozen servicemen from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and head coach Brent Brennan spoke with the group from the sideline during a quiet stretch of practice.