Among the four players the Arizona Wildcats signed in 2022 out of Servite High School (Anaheim, Calif.), tight end Keyan Burnett was a projected day one starter. He was a four-star talent, a former USC player and the highest-rated tight end to sign with the UA since Rob Gronkowski.

However, the Wildcats did sign another tight end in that 1922 recruiting cycle: Tanner McLachlan, a transfer from Southern Utah who broke “Gronk’s” record for most passes caught as an Arizona tight end. He is now a rookie with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Although new Arizona tight ends coach Matt Adkins did not coach McLachlan, “Tanner has set a good standard as far as how Keys handles the younger kids in the group,” Adkins said.

Burnett, the son of Desert Swarm linebacker Chester Burnett, is now in his third year and one of the elder statesmen in Arizona’s tight end room after serving as McLachlan’s backup for the past two seasons. Even though the transfer portal was open, Burnett waited patiently.

“That’s always been my thing, patience, just waiting my turn,” Burnett said. “I think it’s important to trust the process. This is a facility that I love being in, I love coming here every day and working. I feel at home here, I love the city and the fans and this locker room and how the guys come in every day and do their jobs.”

Tight end Roberto Miranda, who has been with the team for five years and is Burnett’s counterpart when the Wildcats play with two tight ends (12-man), was brought to Arizona by Kevin Sumlin’s regime for the pandemic-hit 2020 season. The Berlin native has weathered two coaching changes and only got significant playing time on offense last season, when he played 111 offensive snaps, mostly as a blocker. Miranda has caught one pass in his UA career and is on pace to have a career year with a more demanding role. But he’s waited for this chance. And waited. And waited.

“Everything happens for a reason, especially for me,” Miranda said. “I knew I was underdeveloped as an international player when I came here as a freshman. I wanted to be patient and wait for my opportunity. Tucson has given me so much and I’m so grateful for everything I’ve received so far. I want to give back and one way to do that is simply to be dominant on the football field. There was never a moment where I thought about transferring and going somewhere else.”

The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Burnett’s patience is starting to pay off. Burnett “just processes things quicker,” he said. In fall training camp, Burnett has been one of the most effective pass catchers and red zone players. Burnett has won several one-on-one duels against members of Arizona’s starting defensive lineup, including box safety Dalton Johnson.

“I’m excited about Keyan,” Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said Friday. “I think everybody is. He had a great first week of camp. He’s playing great and running great. He’s a really hard worker. He’s kept that up all season. He’s a kid that’s always trying to get more footage, catch more balls, and I think so far it’s paying off.”

With Arizona’s star receiver Tetairoa McMillan returning from a leg injury and quarterback Noah Fifita taking the reins on offense, this season could be a return to the Servites’ days – and it could be a “last dance” of sorts, as McMillan, a projected first-round pick, is most likely declaring for the NFL Draft.

“It’s definitely special,” Burnett said. “Going into a year like this and having the opportunity to do the things we can do, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’m taking advantage of every opportunity, every moment with them.”

In Tucson, “Coach Olson” is sacred. Lute Olson, the late Arizona basketball coaching icon, is an integral part of Tucson and UA athletics history — likely a face on the Old Pueblo’s Mount Rushmore if there ever was one in the Catalinas.

Tight end Sam Olson (no relation), who transfers from San Jose State, isn’t a standout basketball coach, but the redshirt junior has coached Arizona’s rising tight ends despite being a freshman. Over the past four seasons, Olson played for Adkins at San Jose State and recorded 45 catches for 594 yards and six touchdowns.

“I think it’s good to have a guy who knows me and knows what’s expected of me to help me when I’m not there and understand me better,” Adkins said. “We’re really excited to have him here.”

Miranda said, “You can definitely tell (Olson) was coached by Coach Adkins for a number of years.”

“It’s definitely beneficial to the room and he’s almost like another coach on the field with us,” Miranda said. “He just gives us little details, things that maybe coach Adkins missed on the field. It’s definitely great for all of us. As a person, he definitely fits in with the group. It wasn’t awkward at all and there was a good vibe right away. We’re grateful to have him in the room.”

Burnett said Olson, who will take on the role of tight end this season, is “a great addition to our roster.”

“As a player, he’s definitely experienced and detail-oriented in everything he does, which is great and something to learn from,” Burnett said. “I’m glad Coach Matt brought him in.”

Adkins, who is also Arizona’s passing game coordinator, played quarterback at Southern Oregon and graduated from the NAIA school in 2012.

“I reached that weird age where you’re supposed to move in with your parents after you graduate from college,” Adkins said. “For me, that meant moving to Sweden and training with my dad.”

Adkins was the offensive coordinator for the Carlstad Crusaders in the Swedish Football League. The following season, 2013, he was named head coach of the Swedish spring league. In the fall, Adkins served as an assistant offensive coach at Southern Oregon. He called it “a perfect time in my life,” as the young and hungry coach called 30 games in a calendar year.

Adkins’ father, Doug, a former head coach at Humboldt State University in Northern California, originally comes from the defensive line, which forms the foundation for Adkins’ coaching career.

“The first two steps are everything,” the younger Adkins said.

When the tight ends meet in individual drills during training camp, “it’s all about running.” Adkins said “the group is really athletic (and) a lot of them come from a receiver background,” such as Burnett, redshirt freshman Dorian Thomas and redshirt sophomore Tyler Powell, but they excel at run blocking and “put themselves in great position depending on the play to be in the right position opposite the defender, that’s the first phase of that,” Adkins said.

“You can’t do the next phases well until you do the first phase well across the board,” he said. “We’re finally at a point where we’re doing the first phase well across the board, and now we’re talking about how we’re going to get people on board and ready. It takes time for them to get comfortable and understand those first two steps.”

The emphasis on blocking is to “just train muscle memory without thinking about it. Then the body does it naturally, and that takes time,” Adkins said. But Arizona is “on the right track with what I’m used to.”

Adkins said: “I think the trend is going in the right direction.”