While messing around with his teammates during a photo shoot Wednesday, Arizona receiver Trey Griffey balled his hands into fists, put them together, raised them over his shoulder and cocked his head to the side.
Don’t worry, Wildcat fans: Griffey’s batting-stance gesture does not mean he’s considering a career change.
Despite being drafted by the Seattle Mariners in June — and taking an unforgettable trip to Cooperstown — Griffey is thinking about only one sport this fall.
Football.
UA players reported for training camp Wednesday. They begin practice for the 2016 season Thursday.
Griffey received as many questions about baseball as football after the Mariners picked him in the June draft and he attended his father’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony late last month. Griffey signed with Seattle and has not ruled out the possibility of giving the sport a try if football doesn’t work out.
“You never know,” the redshirt senior said. “Right now I’m focused on … Arizona football — going out there and winning.”
Despite being around major-league ballparks through high school, Griffey said football always has been the sport he loves the most. He is expected to play a sizable role this year after a promising but injury-shortened 2015 season.
Griffey said being drafted by the Mariners was an “amazing” experience, “an honor” and a complete surprise. He found out while watching ESPN. He excitedly ran out of the room to tell his dad. Ken Griffey Jr. was in on the secret.
“I just got drafted!” Trey told his father.
“Yeah, I knew that three days ago,” Ken replied.
They have that sort of relationship. During his Hall of Fame induction speech last month, Ken described eldest son, Trey, as his “partner in crime.” The former Mariners and Reds center fielder told a story about Trey, 2 or 3 years old at the time, hitting the family TV with a bat.
Trey’s mom, Melissa, was furious. Ken wasn’t. She asked him why.
“Girl,” Ken told her, “you can’t teach that swing.”
Trey used his first trip to Cooperstown as a learning experience. He picked the brains of the Hall of Famers he met. The biggest takeaway: “Never let somebody outwork you.”
Griffey was most excited to meet Rickey Henderson.
“He knew that he was good,” Griffey said. “But he wanted to go out and prove to everybody that he was.”
Griffey described the signing process as painstaking. He wanted to make sure signing with the Mariners — who now retain his rights — wouldn’t affect his eligibility to play for the Wildcats.
“My priority was football,” Griffey said, “making sure I was eligible for football, making sure there were no problems down the road.”
Defenders healing
Two UA defensive players on the mend from injuries provided positive prognoses for themselves.
Senior linebacker Cody Ippolito said his surgically repaired left knee feels 100 percent. Ippolito missed the 2015 season after suffering a torn ACL during training camp. He participated in spring practice, but only on a limited basis.
Ippolito said he felt hesitant upon initially returning. Would his knee hold up? Now, he said, he doesn’t even think about it.
“I’m definitely excited to get to the first game,” Ippolito said, “and start hitting people again.”
Ippolito has dropped 10 to 15 pounds since spring and appears to be much fitter.
Defensive lineman Luca Bruno missed the end of last season and all of spring drills because of a foot injury. Rehab was a struggle at times, he said, and he’ll be “a little limited” at the start of camp. But the redshirt junior, who started 11 games last season, expects to be ready for Arizona’s opener against BYU on Sept. 3.
“I’ll be good then,” Bruno said. “Definitely.”
Cats, Hokies to play series
Arizona continues to add high-profile opponents to its future football schedules.
The UA will face Virginia Tech in a home-and-home series in 2029 and 2030, the schools announced Wednesday.
The game in Tucson is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 8, 2029. It would be the first meeting between the schools, assuming they don’t face each other in the postseason between now and then.
Arizona’s future nonconference opponents also include Houston, Texas Tech, San Diego State, Mississippi State, Kansas State and Nebraska.
Extra points
- Bruno said Arizona’s defense had become too predictable under the previous coaching staff and would be less so under new coordinator Marcel Yates. Bruno said the Wildcats would present different fronts and pre-snap movement to confuse opposing offenses. Asked which young defensive linemen stood out to him during summer workouts, Bruno cited a pair of redshirt freshmen: Justin Belknap and Finton Connolly.
- Receiver Samajie Grant had high praise for fellow wideout Tony Ellison, lauding his extreme competitiveness. Ellison, a redshirt sophomore, had a strong spring.
- Griffey came away from summer impressed with junior college transfer Shawn Poindexter. A late add to the UA’s 2016 recruiting class, Poindexter played at Glendale Community College. At 6 feet 5 inches, he adds much-needed height to Arizona’s receiving corps.
- The Wildcats’ first practice is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. It is not open to the public.
