Arizona running back signee Jordan Washington reaffirms commitment

The Arizona Wildcats have been hard at work shoring up their roster in recent days and that includes the retention of dozens of key players both on the roster and in the recruiting class.

You can add another big one to the list for new coach Brent Brennan.

On Wednesday, four-star running back signee Jordan Washington announced that he would be remaining committed to Arizona, rather than seeking greener pastures elsewhere. Washington announced the news on his Twitter account.

“Staying committed to UA,” Washington wrote, with a ‘Bear down’ set of emojis attached.

Washington signed with Arizona in the early signing period, but that was before head coach Jedd Fisch left the program to take the Washington job. That job came open when Nick Saban suddenly retired following the season and Alabama targeted Washington’s Kalen DeBoer as its next head coach.

Arizona moved swiftly after Fisch’s departure to hire Brennan, who has been tasked with keeping Fisch’s success rolling.

And Fisch really did have the program rolling. After inheriting a team that won no games the season prior to his arrival, Fisch built the program rapidly. By Year 3, Arizona had won 10 games.

Brennan will be charged with keeping the program competing at a high level as it moves to the Big 12 this year. He’s already had several key wins.

Along with keeping Jordan Washington in the fold, Brennan has also been able to secure the return of a number of key players.

Chief among them are quarterback Noah Fifita and star receiver Tetairoa McMillan.

The offensive duo made their announcement during the first-half under-16 timeout at a recent basketball game. A video played on the Jumbotron before some Arizona football players gathered at center court. Everyone in the crowd went crazy, knowing how important Fifita and McMillan will be moving forward.

While McMillan was an instant impact addition, Fifita took some time to get on the field. Jayden De Laura suffered an injury early in the 2023 season and when Fifita took over, he never gave the job back. The quarterback wound up throwing for 2,869 yards, 25 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in 12 appearances.

To no surprise, McMillan was on the receiving end of a bunch of those stats. He hauled in 90 receptions for 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns. Had he decided to enter the portal, nearly every single big-time program in college football would have fought for his services.

The program also returned a pair of key offensive linemen on Sunday, with Jonah Savaiinaea and Wendell Moe announcing their returns.

Throw in the retention of signee Jordan Washington and Arizona has a very nice nucleus of offensive players to work with in 2024.