Arizona bolstered its running back rotation and added former San Jose State standout Quali Conley and New Mexico running back Bill Croskey-Merritt to begin National Signing Day on Wednesday.
Conley is the first SJSU to follow head coach Brent Brennan to Arizona. Former San Jose State running backs coach Alonzo Carter is on Brennan's staff and recruited the 5-10, 207-pound Fresno, California native to SJSU in 2020.
Conley, who entered the transfer portal following his junior season last month after Brennan's departure to Arizona, finished seventh in the Mountain West with 842 yards and nine touchdowns this past season. After graduating from Edison High School, the same school that produced former UA defensive back Robert Golden, Conley played two seasons at Utah Tech before transferring to San Jose State.
"You're getting a very physical player, you're getting an unselfish player, because he shared the backfield but was still getting 6 yards a carry," Carter said of Conley on Arizona's social media channels. "Downhill runner, he can catch the ball, he can block, he can do everything, and I'm excited about him joining our backfield, because he's going to bring something different. He's very unselfish, but when he touches the ball, he can make a lot of things happen."
Running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt rushed for over 1,000 yards last year with New Mexico. On Saturday, he’ll likely be starting in the backfield for Arizona against his former Lobos teammates.
Croskey-Merritt, a 5-11, 204-pound Montgomery, Alabama native played four seasons at Alabama State before his lone season at New Mexico in 2023, where he rushed for 1,190 yards — which ranked 23rd in college football — and 17 touchdowns under former head coach Danny Gonzales, who's now the UA's linebackers coach. Croskey-Merritt averaged 6.3 yards per carry last season. His 17 rushing touchdowns ranked fifth nationally this past season.
Known as Jacory Croskey-Merritt in '23, he rushed for a combined 442 yards and three touchdowns in the last two games of the season at UNM, including a 233-yard performance against Utah State. Croskey-Merritt ended the year with a 92.7 offensive grade on Pro Football Focus, which is eighth-best nationally.
Croskey-Merritt has 2,432 yards and 30 touchdowns over his five-year collegiate career. After entering the transfer portal, Croskey-Merritt recently visited Washington over a week ago, but he chose the Wildcats. Croskey-Merritt is eligible to play his sixth season of college football after he redshirted his freshman season at Alabama State (the NCAA allows players to appear in four games and preserve a redshirt season), plus an additional year for the pandemic-influenced season in 2020.
"He's very explosive," Carter said. "He's a big-play football player, he's a do-it-all (player), he can catch the ball, run the ball, block — he does it all, so I'm really excited to have him bring a different element to our backfield. ... He has a lot of experience. He went from the FCS level, then played last year in the Mountain West, so this is a big stage for him. He'll have a chance to play in the Big 12, represent us and give us that leadership and experience that we need to take this football team to the next level. I think he'll be a great addition to this team."
Croskey-Merritt and Conley join a UA running back room that lost multi-year starter Michael Wiley, along with Jonah Coleman, Arizona's leading rusher in 2023, and veteran DJ Williams, who stamped the Wildcats' win over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl with a 19-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Conley and Croskey-Merritt combined for 2,032 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns last season.
The Wildcats' current rotation of scholarship running backs consists of Conley, Croskey-Merritt, junior Rayshon "Speedy" Luke, who has 148 all-purpose yards in two seasons, redshirt freshman Brandon Johnson and incoming freshman Jordan Washington, a four-star running back from Long Beach, California. Washington signed with Arizona in December.
Brent Brennan was officially announced as the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats on Tuesday. Brennan flew to Tucson and walked into Arizona Stadium with the Pride of Arizona playing "Bear Down, Arizona" and mascots Wilbur and Wilma greeting the new UA coach. (Video by Justin Spears / Arizona Daily Star)
