What a strange sport college football has become.
In Arizona’s spring “game” Saturday night — using that term as loosely as possible — one of the defensive starters was cornerback Tacario Davis. There’s nothing inherently strange about that; Davis emerged as an all-conference performer last season for the Wildcats.
Michael Lev is a senior writer/columnist for the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson.com and The Wildcaster.
What’s unusual is that Davis entered the transfer portal in January and, as of this writing, still hadn’t withdrawn from it.
Davis participated in the entirety of spring practice when healthy. He dressed and played in the spring game. He seemed as engaged as any player on the field at Arizona Stadium.
Yet, when I asked UA coach Brent Brennan afterward whether Davis had told him he’s here to stay, Brennan said the rising junior had not.
So unless Davis makes an announcement or pulls out of the portal in the next few days, May will arrive and Brennan won’t know for sure whether one of Arizona’s best and most important players will be on the team come training camp.
Arizona cornerback Tacario Davis kneels in the end zone as the Pride of Arizona marches up behind him, leaving the field prior to the start of the Wildcats' home game against Utah in 2023.
Davis hasn’t done anything wrong, by the way. He doesn’t have to exit the portal, even though doing so would calm a lot of nerves among Arizona coaches and fans. He’s simply operating within the framework that’s been established.
First rule of the transfer portal? There are no rules.
You need to enter within the designated windows. You don’t have to leave. You can transfer as many times as you want.
It has to be incredibly unsettling for coaches, who are all control freaks to some degree.
Earlier, I asked Brennan when he’d know what his roster would look like for the 2024 season — which is only four months away.
“If you know the answer,” Brennan said, “go ahead and tell me.
Sorry, Coach. I got nothing.
He continued.
“I think that’s just the world we’re living in now, and everyone’s trying to find the best way to navigate it,” Brennan said. “It’s definitely complicated.
“Everyone’s trying to figure out the best calendar and how it can serve the players and serve the game of football. I don’t think we’ve figured that out yet.”
Roster tinkering after spring ball isn’t new. Before midyear enrollment became the preferred route for signed-and-sealed recruits, most incoming freshmen arrived in summer. Arizona still has several on the way.
The Wildcats got a big post-spring bump last year when two Colorado castoffs, defensive end Taylor Upshaw and receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig, committed to Arizona in May. Upshaw led the team in sacks. Lemonious-Craig started nine games and should have a prominent role again this year.
Arizona likely will lose a few more players to the portal — including four-star freshman tailback Jordan Washington, who posted purple umbrellas on social media Saturday yet was allowed to attend the spring game in his UA jersey. Purple umbrellas = University of Washington. A lesser man than Brennan would’ve barred Jordan Washington from the building.
Star receiver Tetairoa McMillan wheels around the field at Arizona Stadium, missing the University of Arizona’s spring game with a foot injury.
The transfer portal and roster fluidity aren’t the only causes of consternation as we head toward offseason workouts.
Tell me you didn’t freak out when you saw Tetairoa McMillan on a scooter with a cast of some sort on his left foot.
I have no inside information about the “little procedure” Arizona’s superstar wide receiver recently underwent. But I do know this: Anytime a receiver, running back or defensive back has a foot issue, it’s concerning at a minimum.
Brennan said McMillan would be back in time for the season — but also declined to give a specific recovery timetable. The vagueness of it all worries me too.
I might be making something out of nothing — or a big deal out of a little deal — but I’ve seen these things go the wrong way. Remember Jamarye Joiner’s lingering foot issues? He was never quite the same.
Arizona Tetairoa McMillan runs by defensive back Tacario Davis (1) during spring football practice on April 11. Nine days later, McMillan suffered an apparent foot injury that sidelined him for the Wildcats' spring game.
One key difference here is that whatever was ailing McMillan — apparently suffered during an innocuous-looking one-on-one rep vs. Davis on April 20 — already has been treated. Joiner, meanwhile, might have played the bulk of a season with a foot fracture.
We are all hopeful that McMillan will be 100% by August. But what if he isn’t? What if he’s compromised? What if — and this is by far the worst-case scenario — the foot isn’t quite right, and McMillan and his advisers make a “business decision” to sit out the ’24 season before entering the ’25 NFL Draft?
Remember: Rob Gronkowski missed his entire junior season after undergoing back surgery. He never appeared in a UA uniform again.
Forgive me for being pessimistic (some would say alarmist) about this. It’s just that hopes and expectations are sky high for McMillan and the ’24 Wildcats. He’ll be on every watch list, every preseason All-America team, every magazine cover, every way-too-early first-round mock draft. He’s That Guy.
Quarterback Noah Fifita catches a stuffed Pikachu doll thrown down to him for an autograph after the University of Arizona’s spring game on Saturday, April 27 at Arizona Stadium. Fifita was one of the last ones to leave the field, signing autographs and taking photos for fans.
Even the possibility, however remote it might be, of T-Mac missing time or not being himself makes my stomach churn. By recommitting to Arizona, McMillan’s legacy is secure. But his GOAT status as a player is now at risk. And that stinks — for him, the team and Wildcat Nation.
Maybe I need to take the lead of T-Mac’s BFF, Noah Fifita, the quarterback who’s wise beyond his years. Fifita put a positive spin on McMillan’s absence, noting how it has provided others with opportunities they wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.
Fifita spoke after joining tight end Roberto Miranda and receiver Malachi Riley at the postgame podium.
“These two, along with a lot of other guys, have stepped up,” Fifita said. “You could go down the list. Not having T-Mac gives room for a lot of people to step up into that role.”
It’s a different experience for Fifita too. He and McMillan have played together since they were in junior high.
“It’s difficult from a friend perspective because this is the first time I’ve been out on the field without him,” Fifita said. “Obviously, he played (his) freshman year without me; this is the first time the tables are turned.”
This could be a growth opportunity for Fifita, who lauded his supporting cast for having his back, “winning their one-on-ones, giving me the trust to be able to give them the ball.”
Fifita sure made it sound like everything would be just fine. Maybe it will be.
But I can’t help but feel uneasy as summer approaches, for a variety of reasons.
Arizona head coach Brent Brennan spoke to reporters following the Wildcats' annual spring game on Saturday at Arizona Stadium. (Video by Justin Spears / Arizona Daily Star)
