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Leading up to training camp, the Star is providing a position-by-position preview. Up next: special teams — also known as “the kicking game.�

Position coach: Craig Naivar

Returners: Kicker/punter Michael Salgado-Medina (So.) and returners Jeremiah Patterson (R-Sr.) and Jack Luttrell (R-So.)

Departures: Kicker Tyler Loop, kicker/punter Cash Peterman, long snappers Justin Holloway and Trey Naughton and punters Jordan Forbes and Lachlan Bruce

Newcomers: Kicker Ian Wagner, kicker/punter Tyler Prasuhn, punter Isaac Lovison, long snappers Broden Molen and Avery Salerno and returners Kris Hutson, Javin “Nunu� Whatley, Luke Wysong, Ismail Mahdi and Quincy Craig

The rundown: How will Arizona replace a generational talent? No, we’re not talking about Tetairoa McMillan.

Not only was Loop Arizona’s leading scorer last season with 77 points, he stamped his career as arguably the best kicker in UA football history.

In five years at Arizona, Loop recorded an 83.8% field-goal rate, which currently ranks 39th in college football history; it’s also the best mark in Arizona history. Loop’s 327 points are third in school history behind Max Zendejas (360) and Art Luppino (337).

Last season, Loop was 6 for 9 in field goals of at least 50 yards, which included a program-record 62-yard field goal. Loop owns the UA single-game school record with five field goals against Texas Tech. In his last two seasons at Arizona, Loop had 126 touchbacks in 140 attempts (90%).

Loop became the first Arizona kicker drafted to the NFL since Nick Folk in 2007 and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens with the 186th overall pick in the sixth round.

Salgado-Medina, after starting at punter and field-goal holder as a true freshman last season, could conceivably start at kicker or punter.

The Mission Viejo, California, product exchanged reps with Peterman at kicker, along with Forbes at punter; Peterman, who’s now at UCLA, and Forbes both transferred out. Salgado-Medina’s longest field goal in the spring was from 48 yards.

Salgado-Medina had the most punt attempts (39) for Arizona last season and averaged 43.3 yards per punt. He had 15 punts land inside the 20-yard line.

Naivar, Arizona’s first full-time special teams coordinator since 2020, said in the spring that he prefers Salgado-Medina to specialize in punting or kicking, and he’s “still trying to figure out what avenue he does.�

“Which one does he do? We have a really good option there with having his ability to do both,� said Naivar. “Whatever he does not do, he’ll obviously be a tremendous backup in that regard, if he only does one of them. He gives us some options and has a really strong leg, so I’m excited about the progress he’s made and where he’s at.

“That gives us a direction of where we go now with summer workouts, fall camp and how he acclimates as we fill that room with additions, as well, because we will make some additions.�

Salgado-Medina said he “always saw myself as someone that was able to do both, and certain colleges saw me as someone doing both.�

“Whatever they want me to do, I’ll do it,� he added.

Naivar and the Wildcats spent the offseason “building some continuity, depth ... to get the best players out there for Saturday afternoons and Saturday nights,� he said.

Arizona added Wagner, a kicker transfer from Illinois State. Wagner graduated from O’Fallon High School in Central Illinois, but grew up in Sierra Vista.

The 6-2, 215-pound Wagner signed with Illinois State in 2021 and became a three-year starter for the Redbirds.

In 32 games over the last three seasons, Wagner made 25 of 36 field goals (69.4%), including a career-long 47-yarder last season. In 157 kickoff attempts, Wagner tallied 91 touchbacks.

Arizona also signed Australian punter Isaac Lovison. The Melbourne native played Australian rules football, also known as “footy,� for the Great Western Victoria Rebels in the Talent League, an under-19 league in Australia.

Australian rules football consists of teams fielding 18 players, and games are played on an oval-shaped field. Points are scored by kicking the ball through central goal posts for six points or an outer post for a point.

Due to attending college and playing Australian rules football, Lovison only has one year of eligibility remaining.

Lovison joins Arizona through the , which produced Aussie NFL punters such as Mitch Wishnowsky, Michael Dickson, Cameron Johnston and Lou Hedley, among others.

Arizona also added Prasuhn, who is the son of former Arizona kicker John Prasuhn. The younger Prasuhn, who was previously committed to Washington, made 18 of 22 field goals at Carlsbad High School (California).

The Wildcats will spend training camp determining who are the starters at kicker and punter.

Arizona also added two long snappers in Salerno and Molen. Salerno, a Clemmons, North Carolina native, played the last two seasons at Jackson State in the post-Deion Sanders era. Molen, a Great Falls, Montana product, played in the Navy All-American Bowl in January.

Arizona seldomly worked on — if at all — kickoff coverage, so kick returners remain a mystery, but the Wildcats are returning Patterson, who had 27 returns for 596 yards last year. Patterson was also Arizona’s leading punt returner with 14 attempts for 78 yards.

Between Wysong, Whatley, Hutson and Mahdi, the Wildcats added a combined 3,154 return yards and four touchdowns.

Whether it’s kicking, punting, returning or coverage, special teams “keeps guys’ careers alive,� especially in the NFL, said Naivar.

Added Naivar: “It’s our job to send that message to the players to where it’s also a way for them to help their resume when they’re looking to extend their careers.�