Arizona spring football notes, practice 1: Noah Fifita, Tetairoa McMillan dazzle on opening day

Arizona kicked off the Brent Brennan era on Tuesday with its first spring practice at the Dick Tomey Practice Fields and Davis Indoor Sports Center.

Here are notable notes and takeaways from Arizona's chilly practice on Tuesday: 

* The Wildcats were not in full pads and donned helmet, jersey and pants. Brennan said the team will be in full pads starting on Tuesday. 

* Arizona mixed up its offensive linemen to begin spring ball. One of the first offensive line groups shown in drills had right tackle Jonah Savaiinaea, Northwestern transfer Alexander Doost at right guard, center Josh Baker, left guard Wendell Moe and left tackle Rhino Tapa'atoutai. Raymond Pulido, who mostly started at right guard as a true freshman until he was moved to left tackle for the Alamo Bowl, was limited in some parts of opening day, but got into a lineup and played left tackle alongside, left guard Leif Magnuson, Baker, Doost and Savaiinaea. 

* The second-string offensive line featured second-year right tackle Tylen Gonzalez, walk-on guard Darius Wells, center Grayson Stovall, tackle-converted-guard Elijha Payne and left tackle Joseph Borjon, who started the Alamo Bowl but was replaced in the second half. Interior offensive lineman JT Hand was among the offensive linemen rotated. 

* San Jose State transfer Quali Conley started at running back during team drills. Rayshon "Speedy" Luke caught a few passes out of the backfield and could be a dangerous weapon in the passing game. Other running backs in drills included redshirt freshman Brandon Johnson, Tucson native and walk-on Anthony Wilhite and true freshman Jordan Washington. Conley is an all-around back and could provide similar production as Michael Wiley in 2024. New Mexico transfer Jacory Croskey-Merritt is graduating from UNM in the spring and will join the team in the summer. 

* Arizona's first receiver trio had Tetairoa McMillan, Montana Lemonious-Craig and slot Kevin Green Jr. Third-year receiver AJ Jones, who had an impressive training camp last season, made a few impressive grabs through tight windows in traffic. Redshirt freshman Jackson Holman had an impressive one-handed catch in one-on-one drills. 

* Arizona's first defense during the first team period had the usual suspects: linebacker Jacob Manu, defensive tackle Bill Norton, cornerback Tacario Davis, free safety Gunner Maldonado, strong safety Dalton Johnson and nickel back Treydan Stukes. The Wildcats also started sophomore and former Chandler Hamilton star Taye Brown at "Mike" linebacker, along with edge rushers Dominic Lolesio and Ta'ita'i Uiagalelei, defensive tackle Keanu Mailoto and cornerback Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine, who replaced Ephesians Prysock.

* The second defensive until deployed had San Jose State transfer edge rusher Tre Smith, UC Davis transfer defensive tackle Chubba Ma'ae, defensive tackle Isaiah Johnson and edge rusher Sterling Lane II. Linebackers were Kamuela Ka'aihue, who started one game last season, and Justin Flowe. Redshirt freshman Emmanuel Karnley and junior-college transfer Johno Price were at cornerbacks and shared the backfield with nickel back Gavin Hunter and safeties Genesis Smith and Tennessee safety Jack Luttrell. DJ Warnell also rotated in at nickel back, also known as "Star." 

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* Flowe changed his jersey number from 10 to 0. Flowe is the first defensive player in school history to wear No. 0. Arizona running back Gary Brightwell wore 0 in 2020 and Green is entering his second season wearing the number.

* Davis changed his number from 23 to 1.  

* Expect Arizona to have numerous double-tight end packages this season. Junior Keyan Burnett, redshirt Dorian Thomas and redshirt sophomore Tyler Powell stood out on Tuesday. Burnett had a few touchdown catches on Tuesday.

* Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan showed why they're considered one of the top quarterback-receiver duos in college football this season. In a 7-on-7 drill late in the practice, Fifita scanned the field before chucking the ball deep to the end zone, and despite safety Dalton Johnson attempting to high-point the ball, it sailed over his head and into McMillan's hands for a touchdown. Fifita had another throw where he rolled to his right and connected with McMillan, who torqued his body to make an effortless catch. McMillan, one of the top returning receivers in college football, regularly makes jaw-dropping catches at practice. 

* Former Arizona wide receiver Jacob Cowing and defensive back Martell Irby were in attendance for the first day of spring ball.