Of the four scholarship running backs Arizona has on the spring roster, only two have appeared in a college game and just one has done so at the power-conference level. But even with that overall lack of experience, each already feels like they’ve known their position coach for a long time.
Because in some cases, they have.
Speaking to reporters after Tuesday’s fourth practice of spring, it was clear that even in that short time running backs coach Alonzo Carter has formed a bond with his players. It helps that one played for Carter last season at San Jose State and two others were recruited by him coming out of high school.
“I think he knows everybody in California,” said senior Quali Conley, a transfer from San Jose State who picked that school after playing three seasons for FCS Utah Tech partly because of Carter, whom he’d met while playing prep football in Fresno.
Sophomore Rayshon ‘Speedy’ Luke and redshirt freshman Brandon Johnson were both offered by Carter before each picked Arizona, with Luke announcing he was going to play for the Wildcats during the 2022 Army All-America Bowl.
“We actually thought we had him,” Carter said, noting the other two hats on the table in front of Luke were Louisville and San Jose. “He was my No. 1 recruit on the board at the time.”
It’s Luke that is the “veteran” of the UA running back room, at least in terms of tenure at the school. He’s appeared in 20 games over two seasons, getting the start in last year’s Territorial Cup, and has rushed for 258 yards and one touchdown.
“I was being a teammate, just waiting on my turn,” said Luke, who spent the past two years behind Michael Wiley, Jonah Coleman and DJ Williams. “My turn is finally here now.”
Johnson redshirted in 2023, part of what he called a “year of humbleness” after having to that point been the guy. From Palmdale, Calif., which he described as a “small dirt town,” he believes watching veterans from the sideline helped him for this season.
“I’ve been able to accept it and move forward,” he said.
Washington, part of the 2024 recruiting class, was in Hawaii preparing for the Polynesian Bowl when Jedd Fisch left and Brent Brennan was hired. Despite the change he says he never wavered in his commitment to the Wildcats.
“It was fine,” he said. “The whole staff from San Jose State had offered me the same time as Arizona offered me.”
Conley ran for 842 yards and nine TDs last season at San Jose, giving him a leg up on the rest of the competition—including New Mexico transfer Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who will arrive in the summer—because of his time with Carter. But not so much for his performance in a Spartans run game that graded 14th-best in FBS by Pro Football Focus (Arizona was tied for 9th) in 2023.
“Having him knowing how I teach is really important, but he had to learn the verbiage in the playbook just like everybody else because we didn’t carry over (the playbook),” Carter said. “We may have carried over 20 percent of the verbiage, but we’ve changed 80 percent … so it would fit the team. Him knowing how I work is important. He’s just a detailed worker and he brought that with him.”