Arizona football adds a running back from Sun Belt Conference

After a surprising turnaround, the 2026 Arizona football roster is shaping up to be one of the more talented in the Big 12. The Wildcats finished with a 9-4 record and, despite a disappointing loss in the Holiday Bowl, managed to keep most of the roster for the upcoming season, while adding a few key pieces where needed. Their most recent pickup was running back Antwan Roberts, a Marshall product, to join his former offensive coordinator, Seth Doege.

On3’s Pete Nakos reported that Roberts had decided to transfer to join the Wildcats after entering the portal following two seasons at Marshall. The move by Roberts reunites him with former Marshall offensive coordinator Seth Doege, who left for Arizona and helped rework the offense in Tucson.

Running back is not a position of need for Arizona this offseason, with two of its top three ball carriers back and a few first-year players ready to contribute. Still, it never hurts to add talent, and Roberts represents that.

In 2025, he had the closest thing to a breakout season up to this point, rushing for 512 yards and four touchdowns on 90 carries. He started his college football career at Wisconsin after joining the Badgers as a three-star recruit. However, he never played a down for the Badgers and transferred to the Thundering Herd to try and earn some playing time.

Roberts joins an Arizona running back room that went through a coaching change after Alonzo Carter left to be the new head coach at Sacramento State.  Lyle Moevao is taking over the room in his place.

The addition of Roberts gives Arizona options. They are losing Ismail Mahdi, but will still have Quincy Craig, Kedrick Reescano, Wesley Yarborough, and Cornelius Warren returning. The Wildcats also signed 3-star RB Brandon Smith for the 2026 recruiting class, so Roberts comes into a crowded, but talented room.

The addition of Antwan Roberts gives Brent Brennan and the Wildcats a total of 20 transfer portal pickups. He is also the 10th pick-up on offense. The Wildcats have a lot of stability now, especially with Noah Fifita returning after last season’s struggles.

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