Trey Griffey aims to fill Arizona’s big-receiver void

The Arizona Wildcats don’t have as many “big” wide receivers as they’ve had in recent seasons. How big a deal that is remains to be seen.

Arizona lost the 6-foot-3-inch Cayleb Jones and 6-4 David Richards from last year’s team. Among returning scholarship receivers, only senior Trey Griffey is taller than 6 feet. He’s 6-3.

Size often matters in football, especially when teams are in scoring range.

“When you’re down at the goal line and you want to throw a fade, you need somebody who can go up and get it,” Arizona receiver Nate Phillips said Wednesday. “It’s a little easier when you’re 6-3, 6-4 vs. 5-9.”

Phillips is listed at 5-7. He is Arizona’s leading returning receiver after hauling in 44 passes last season. Fellow wideout Samajie Grant is next on that list with 31 receptions. He’s 5-9.

Griffey caught only 11 passes in a season that was derailed by injuries. His role will increase substantially this year.

“Trey’s already been a guy that we haven’t hesitated to throw the ball to,” UA coach Rich Rodriguez said. “The difference now is, he’s going to play an expanded role because we’re not as deep. I wish we were, and I hope we will be at some point. But starting off the season, he’s going to have play a lot more snaps than he’s ever played.”

Griffey knows what’s expected of him. He has been working on being more physical, using his size and strength to ward off pressing defensive backs at the line of scrimmage. Griffey regularly duels with 6-1, 204-pound cornerback Dane Cruikshank during one-on-one drills. Griffey also has studied longtime NFL standouts Calvin Johnson and Andre Johnson, two of the game’s most physically imposing receivers.

“They go after the ball,” Griffey said. “They do what they have to do in order to get (it).”

Does Griffey have that in his game?

“They’re superstars in the NFL,” he said. “I’m trying to get to that point. But still a long ways to go.”

Griffey possesses what Rodriguez considers the ideal skill set: size and speed. Entering his fifth season, Griffey has started to figure out how best to utilize those traits. It’s a mistake to underestimate him, quarterback Anu Solomon said.

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“Trey is a dark horse,” Solomon said. “Not everybody sees Trey as a Cayleb Jones or a David Richards. But what everyone doesn’t realize is, Trey comes (up big) in the clutch moments. I think he’s a clutch receiver. He doesn’t miss a ball. He doesn’t drop a ball. He’s very hard on himself, and he competes. That’s what I like about him.”

Arizona will add 6-6 junior-college transfer Shawn Poindexter come fall, and landing more big-bodied wideouts is a priority in next year’s recruiting class. Ideally, Rodriguez would like to have a combination of big receivers and fast receivers. Even better, big receivers who are also fast.

“Going forward, we want to recruit guys that look like Trey and Cayleb and David and Austin (Hill),” receivers coach Tony Dews said. “In a perfect world, if you take two, you take one that looks like that and one that looks like Nate (or) Samajie.”

Jones not practicing

Senior safety Tellas Jones is “going through some personal issues right now” and isn’t practicing with the team, Rodriguez said. No timetable was given for Jones’ return.

Jones, playing the “Bandit” safety position, had a breakout season in 2015. He ranked fifth on the team in tackles (55) and tied for second in tackles for losses (seven). Jones also had two pass breakups and a forced fumble. His absence means Arizona is without its top four safeties from last season for the time being.

Extra points

• Rodriguez said Grant was never 100 percent healthy last year. Grant endured knee and wrist issues. Like Griffey, he’s being counted on to step up.

• Rodriguez said he likes what he’s seen so far from redshirt freshman safety Anthony Mariscal. As Rodriguez noted, any and all safeties are going to get a ton of spring reps.

• Freshman quarterback Khalil Tate apparently had a nifty touchdown run at the end of practice to give the offense a victory over the defense.

• Arizona conducted walk-on tryouts after practice. Brandon Dawkins and Anthony Medina (himself a walk-on) served as the quarterbacks.

• Receiver Darrell Clark, a former Arizona signee who was supposed to enroll in January but couldn’t qualify academically, is on the roster at Grambling State. The Tigers visit Arizona Stadium on Sept. 10.