ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV

Arizona football coach Brent Brennan recalled a time when the math was much simpler.

“In years past, before the portal, it used to depend on how many kids you graduated,� Brennan said. “You might sign 17 players. Now ... you’re looking at 40, 50, 60 players.�

The UA on Wednesday announced a — 25 from other four-year colleges, 23 from high schools and five from junior colleges. It’s the second-largest haul in the Big 12, . West Virginia is first with 62. It’s no coincidence that both schools have new coaches.

But they aren’t the only ones turning over large portions of their roster.

Oklahoma State has 45 new players. UCF has 41. Utah has 40. The leaguewide average is 38.6.

Every team is fighting a recruiting war on two fronts. They’re all trying to build for the future while at the same time striving to win now.

This is especially true at Arizona, where Brennan already is in his second year on the job. (He’s barely into his second year, by the way; he was hired Jan. 16, 2024.) After a 4-8 first season, Brennan needs to win now. And he knows it.

But Brennan also wants to set up the Wildcats for the long haul. He has described the UA program as developmental, and he’s not wrong. Since 247Sports, and their ilk began ranking recruits, Arizona mostly has landed three-star prospects. Most of them aren’t ready to play right away.

All of which begets the question: Can you do both?

Can you plan for the present and future simultaneously? Are those objectives at odds with each other?

“I think both things can be true,� Brennan said. “I think we can be developmental and also ... recruit for the immediate team. That was Coach Tomey’s thing. He always said, ‘We are recruiting for this year’s team.’�

The late Dick Tomey retired from coaching long before the transfer portal came into being. Brennan’s front-office staff, spearheaded by GM Gaizka Crowley, compiled data that shows that power-conference teams now have to replace 40-45 scholarship players annually.

Some schools, such as Colorado, have leaned heavily on the portal; in 2024, for example, the Buffaloes brought in 43 transfers and 12 traditional recruits.

Brennan’s first full class — which won’t be finalized until summer — is currently about 50/50. He had to supplement the high school signees with a robust transfer class after 30 players departed via the portal.

Crowley suggested that slapping the “developmental� label on only one of those two groups misses the point.

“No matter what grade you’re in — senior, freshman — everyone’s developmental. Everyone’s got to improve,� Crowley said. “So just because we bring in a senior in January, he’s still very much developmental, whether that be with Coach (Cullen) Carroll in the weight room (or) with the coaches on the field in the spring.

“Everyone in our program is looking to improve — coaches, myself, recruiting staff and then the players, too. You’re gonna have different levels of development. You’ll have different starting points. A freshman offensive lineman is gonna be in a different spot than a senior offensive lineman. But at the end of the day, to answer your question, everyone is developmental.�

No athlete who has a competitive spirit considers themselves a finished product at any point. College, in particular, is meant to be a time to learn, grow and mature.

But, as Crowley noted, the timelines don’t necessarily overlap. Ideally, the transfers will be more ready to play in 2025 than the freshmen. Tetairoa McMillan — the highest-rated recruit in program history — and Jonah Savaiinaea were exceptions. That’s why they’re preparing for the NFL Draft after just three years in school.

The tricky part during the portal era is keeping young players happy if they’re not playing. Transferring is virtually barrier-free now. The deterrent of having to sit out a year no longer exists.

So how do you keep them happy? That’s where culture and structure come into the picture.

“That’s part of it,� Crowley said. “Just like you, or just like any of us, if you enjoy going to work every day, regardless of what your role is, if you like the people you’re with, you like the city you’re in, if the weather is nice, if you’re getting a good education, that helps.

“The other thing that helps is, are the developmental players, the young players, active in the process of the practice environment? Are they being coached? Do they see themselves getting better? If you’re a freshman and you’re watching the tape and you see yourself improving, that will (compensate for) the quote-unquote ‘lack of playing time.’

“But if you come in and you watch the tape and you don’t feel like you’re getting any better, you’re not getting stronger in the weight room, that’s where a little of those wandering eyes can pop up.

“So that’s a big part of it. Are they developing in the weight room? Do they enjoy their social experience here at U of A? Are they improving on the practice field?�

Arizona’s 2025 class has been layered in such a way that playing-time opportunities should come sooner than later. Seventeen of the transfers are seniors or redshirt seniors entering their final year of eligibility (although the way things are , you never know).

It’s probably an exaggeration to describe the execution of this dual plan — winning today and building for tomorrow — as threading a needle. There’s a preferred outcome, and it’s attainable.

“You’re hoping,� Brennan said, “that the guys that are ready to play help push the younger guys and accelerate their development.�