Michael Lev: UA coach Brent Brennan must continue to develop NFL players for future Pro Days

The venue for Arizona’s Pro Day is about to change (more on this later).

But here’s what can’t change: The UA’s development of pro prospects.

Thursday was Arizona’s most anticipated Pro Day in over a decade. Thirty-one of 32 NFL teams sent representatives. Draft insider Tony Pauline reported that 46 scouts, position coaches and front-office personnel were in attendance. They were absolutely fixated as Jordan Morgan gracefully and powerfully executed a series of offensive line drills.

Morgan could become the Wildcats’ first first-round draft pick since Antoine Cason in 2008. At worst, Morgan will be a second-rounder. Either way, he’ll be the first UA O-lineman selected since Eben Britton in ’09.

As many as four of Morgan’s ex-teammates — Jacob Cowing, Tanner McLachlan, Michael Wiley and Taylor Upshaw — could be picked during the April 25-27 draft in Detroit. Arizona hasn’t had more than two players taken in a single draft since 2014. Five times since then, not a single Wildcat came off the board. None has gone higher than the fourth round since Nick Foles in 2012.

It took a keen eye for talent, determined recruiting and expert coaching to change Arizona’s draft fortunes. Former director of player personnel Matt Doherty, ex-head coach Jedd Fisch and his staff did a stellar job of identifying and developing NFL-caliber players.

It is essential that Brent Brennan and his staff take the baton and keep on running.

The best way to attract high-end talent — even in the NIL era — is by regularly sending players to “the league.” Although very few make it, they all at some point believe they can. It should be a program imperative to nurture those dreams.

Fisch and his staff had no such track record to bank on; as illustrated above, Arizona had done a terrible job of producing NFL players for nearly a decade.

But that staff did have something it could point to when talking to recruits and transfers: NFL experience. Fisch came to Arizona from the New England Patriots, one of several pro pit stops on his way to becoming a college head coach. Morgan and Wiley’s position coaches, Brennan Carroll and Scottie Graham, either coached in the league (Carroll) or played in it (Graham).

Of the five potential draftees, Morgan and Wiley are the two whom the previous UA staff inherited. They improved by leaps and bounds over the past three seasons.

Aside from receivers coach Bobby Wade, Brennan’s staff doesn’t have much in the way of NFL experience. That in and of itself isn’t a deal-breaker; they’ll just take a different approach.

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Per Brennan’s official UA bio, he has coached 12 future NFL players over the course of his career — all of whom are wide receivers and tight ends. Brennan tutored those positions before becoming a head coach for the first time in 2017.

During his time at San Jose State, three of Brennan’s players were drafted: cornerback Jermaine Kelly Jr. (seventh round), tight end Josh Oliver (third) and defensive end Viliami Fehoko Jr. (fourth; he was on the Dallas Cowboys’ roster as a rookie last season but did not appear in a game). That isn’t a huge haul.

But SJSU has had more players picked in the top four rounds in the past five drafts (two) than Arizona (none). Additionally, SJSU doesn’t swim in the same recruiting waters as Arizona. Brennan should be able to attract more NFL-caliber players simply by coaching here.

It isn’t all on Brennan, of course. Although his staff is extremely collegiate, his top two aides have sterling records when it comes to developing NFL players.

New offensive coordinator Dino Babers was the head coach at Syracuse from 2016-23. Eight of his players were drafted during that time — including four players picked in the top three rounds in the past three years. (It’s worth noting that six of those draftees were defensive players, and one was a punter.)

New defensive coordinator Duane Akina has been a premier developer of defensive backs for over 30 years. It isn’t difficult to find Akina-coached DBs on NFL rosters of the past and present, from Darryll Lewis and Chris McAlister to Michael Huff and Paulson Adebo.

This staff also has a head start. It inherits a ton of top-end talent, led by receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who’s on track to be a first-round pick in 2025, and offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea, who also could be a three-and-out pro.

Both were among several dozen current UA players on hand Thursday to cheer on their former teammates. McMillan was particularly vocal and supportive as the ex-Wildcats jumped and ran on the Arizona Stadium turf.

It was easy to picture how well T-Mac would fare in the vertical and broad jumps, among other drills; he’ll kill it. It was harder to envision his Pro Day taking place somewhere other than Tucson.

McMillan isn’t going anywhere. But the Big 12 is reimagining the concept of Pro Day. The conference the Wildcats will call home later this year is set to hold its inaugural league-wide Pro Days on March 27-28 at the Cowboys’ practice facility in Frisco, Texas. The mini-combine/job fair is replacing the traditional on-campus Pro Days and will provide an elevated showcase for all of the league’s draft hopefuls.

The “where” isn’t nearly as important as the “who” and “how many.” Brennan and his staff need to pick up where Fisch and his staff left off when it comes to procuring and cultivating NFL players. The continuing prosperity of the program depends on it.