Receiver Tayvian Cunningham has his eyes glued to the ball while running routes during day seven of the University of Arizona's pre-season practices, Tucson, Ariz., August 2, 2019.
Arizona received a surprisingly large contribution in the season opener from one of its smallest players.
Receiver Tayvian Cunningham, who’s listed at 5 feet 7 inches and 181 pounds, tied for team-high honors with four receptions for 65 yards against Hawaii. Not a bad Division I debut for a player who essentially had been an afterthought, added in late spring to fill a hole on the roster.
“It’s interesting,” Wildcats coach Kevin Sumlin said. “He’s the last guy we signed, just about.”
The UA was seeking an experienced, speedy slot receiver after parting ways with Devaughn Cooper and Jailen Bailey. The coaching staff put the word out, narrowed down the pool of candidates and zeroed in on Cunningham, who also had excelled as a track sprinter at Sacramento City College.
Linebackers coach John Rushing, whose recruiting territories include Northern California, visited Cunningham. The relationship grew from there.
“We kind of talked,” Cunningham said. “Then we started talking more.”
Cunningham had been waiting for a big-time football opportunity to come along. He had several other options, “but nothing really came that was all-in on me like how Arizona was,” Cunningham said. Some schools only wanted him for track, where he competed in the 100- and 200-meter events.
Cunningham enrolled in June. He didn’t have the benefit of participating in spring practice or having long-term relationships with coaches to get a jump on learning the playbook. So Cunningham took it upon himself.
“Not knowing the plays makes you want to know,” he said. “So I started doing things different. I started studying at home, taking like little notes, little tests, so I would know what to do.”
Coming off the bench against the Rainbow Warriors, Cunningham fit right in. Half of his receptions came on Arizona’s final, desperate drive, when the Wildcats had to advance downfield.
“He’s continuing to get better, continuing to figure it out,” Sumlin said. “He hasn’t played a lot of football. But I think you can see his explosiveness. I like where he is, and I like where he’s headed.”
Cunningham plans to join the UA track team in the offseason. He ran the 100 in 10.47 seconds and the 200 in 20.82 while at SCC.
Cunningham claims to have never run or been timed in the 40-yard dash. Any guess on a time?
“We’d have to see,” he said. “It’d be something fast, though.”
