Arizona RB Quali Conley 'one of those young men you can count on'

Keeping Arizona’s core intact was football coach Brent Brennan and his staff’s first victory in Tucson.

Star quarterback Noah Fifita, wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, linebacker Jacob Manu and most of Arizona’s offensive line and defensive secondary double-downed on the Wildcats’ 10-3 season, as the program enters a new chapter in the Big 12 under Brennan’s first season at the helm.

That was Step 1.

Arizona’s roster and depth, which took a hit between transfer portal departures and players out of eligibility, still needed some work. That remains the case after Brennan said the Wildcats have 14 scholarship spots available for the upcoming season.

“Some of things we’re still figuring out,” Brennan said. “We’re five days in and we’re trying to figure out, ‘Hey, do we need an extra guy at this position? An extra guy at that position?’ ... This time of year, everyone is looking for the same thing. They’re looking for a difference-maker as a receiver, corner, or they’re looking for a defensive lineman and offensive lineman; everyone is looking for those things.”

One of the position groups Brennan admitted needed depth was running back, which lost Michael Wiley, DJ Williams and Jonah Coleman, who transferred to Washington. Before National Signing Day in February, the Wildcats had three scholarship running backs and only one of them, Rayshon Luke, has game experience.

“Being a little bit thin at the running back position. ... You always need more backs than you think you need,” Brennan said. “It’s just such a physical game and those guys take such a pounding.”

Step 2 of building the roster around Arizona’s core was fishing players out of the transfer portal. Since running back was a position of concern, the Wildcats signed San Jose State transfer Quali Conley and New Mexico transfer Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who is graduating from UNM next month and will join the Wildcats this summer. The incoming transfers combined for 816 offensive snaps in 2023. Arizona’s returning running backs had 93 offensive snaps — all from Luke.

Croskey-Merritt, a 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. Croskey-Merritt averaged 6.3 yards per carry last season. His 17 rushing touchdowns ranked fifth nationally.

“I’m excited about him,” said Arizona running backs coach Alonzo Carter. “He’s a kid that’s raw with a lot of talent. Him and Quali have played against each other, and now they’ll be playing with each other. Being able to get him and learn the offense. He’s going to be a little behind, because he’s not here, but we talk a lot, so he understands he’s part of this; he’s not separated.

“He’s a part of our backfield even though you don’t see him out there. He knows he’s coming and the players know he’s coming. They’re open to the competition, he’s open to the competition. We’re excited to have him on our side. It’s my job to get him coached up so he can help us Week 1 against New Mexico.”

Conley is one of four Spartans to follow Brennan and his staff to Arizona, along with offensive lineman Ryan Stewart, All-Mountain West defensive end Tre Smith and defensive back James Smith.

“They’re awesome kids, and I feel very fortunate that we were able to get them here,” Brennan said. “It’s one of the hardest parts about college football, it’s just complicated. But at the same time, we’re always looking to add guys to our program who are good people and good players. That’s the simplest way to say. Those guys are great kids. We fought some really good fights with them over the years, and we’re excited to continue to do it with them.”

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Conley finished seventh in the Mountain West with 842 yards and nine touchdowns this past season.

“He just knows how to work and makes my job easy. ... He’s one of those young men you can count on,” said Carter. “He’s very mature, not a big talker, but I told him, ‘You don’t lead by yourself, you lead by bringing people with you.’ That’s one of the things he’s done.”

Before his career at San Jose State, the Fresno, California, native played three seasons at Utah Tech, then became the backup running back to Kairee Robinson, who rushed for 1,194 yards and 18 touchdowns this past season at SJSU. Taking a backseat and learning from older running backs has paid off for 5-10, 200-pound Conley.

“I was always behind somebody, and they taught me how to be a complete running back. ... Being behind those guys helped me in the long run, because I have an extra year and now I’ll be an older brother to these guys right here,” Conley said. “All those years, I’m grateful.”

Redshirt freshman running back Brandon Johnson, who didn’t play in 2023, said last season was a “year of humbleness, year of growth ... being able to sit back and see so many NFL-caliber running backs.” Carter said Johnson and true freshman Jordan Washington, a track star from Long Beach, California, “are very talented” and “they’re trying to learn the core of the offense.”

Washington signed with Arizona in December under the previous coaching regime but “stayed committed because of my relationship with Coach Zo.”

“He knows everybody in California. ... He has a lot of connections,” Conley said of Carter.

Experience suggests Croskey-Merritt, Conley and Luke are the Wildcats’ top three running backs in the rotation, “but we know the nature of this business,” said Carter.

“The running back thing can change with one injury,” he said.With a relatively new redshirt rule by the NCAA, players can play up to four regular season games and the postseason and still preserve a redshirt year.

“There’s opportunities for (Washington and Johnson) to get a lot of experience playing,” Carter said. “But the biggest thing is making sure they know what they’re doing and not overwhelming them too much.”

Extra points

Brennan, on the first two weeks of spring practices: “There’s been a lot of good. I’m really excited. The team is really, really coachable. They’re intentional in practice They like to play and it’s really obvious. I love how our defense is running to the football. The effort side of that has really shown up well so far. Offensively, our offense has done a good job marrying what we’re trying to marry together from what they’ve done and how they called things in the past and what we’re trying to bring to it. It’s been a lot of fun. Some really, really good stuff. I’m excited with where we’re at. ... We’re off to a great start.”

The final day of Arizona’s coaching clinic was Saturday morning. The guest speaker for the clinic was longtime NFL coach Hue Jackson, who is connected to Carter through the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches. Said Brennan: “We focused on having one guy like that for this clinic, because we want the coaches in Arizona an opportunity to get to know us and know our staff. ... We want that time for high school coaches in Arizona and getting to know them and start building our relationships with them.”