Friday morning marks the start of training camp — and the official beginning of Jedd Fisch’s first season as Arizona’s new leader.
The Wildcats will welcome more than 30 new players to their roster between freshmen, transfers and walk-ons. It’s all-hands-on-deck time for a program that hasn’t won a game since Oct. 26, 2019.
Here are five notable newbies to watch during training camp. Here’s the kicker: None of the Wildcats mentioned below participated in spring ball:
Texas, cornerback Jakelyn Morgan, pictured with his father, Johnny, is a three-star defensive back in the Arizona Wildcats’ 2021 signing class.
Jakelyn Morgan, CB
Height: 6 feet 1 inch
Weight: 175 pounds
Hometown: Tyler, Texas
Previous stop: Tyler Legacy High School
The rundown: Arizona’s starting cornerbacks this year will most likely be returning star Christian Roland-Wallace and Notre Dame transfer Isaiah Rutherford, who was one of 13 players Fisch and Co. scooped from the transfer portal. The reserve scholarship cornerbacks? Junior McKenzie Barnes and redshirt Malik Hausman, walk-on Treydan Stukes — and Morgan, an incoming freshman.
Barnes had a promising start to his Arizona career, playing in nine games as a freshman, but his productivity on the field has tapered since the 2018 season, while Hausman has mostly served as a special teams player in four years. Initially recruited by Kevin Sumlin, Morgan remained committed and signed with the Wildcats. He told the Star in April: “I’m 100% confident they can coach me and turn me into a man and a great player and get me to my goal, which is the NFL.” Morgan’s lengthy frame and athleticism coupled with Arizona’s lack of scholarship cornerbacks could get him on the field sooner than later.
Salpointe's Bijan Robinson has a pass slip through his arms late in the game against Chandler's Malik Reed during their Open Division semifinal game at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Saturday, Nov 23, 2019.
Malik Reed, LB
Height: 6-2
Weight: 220
Hometown: Chandler
Previous stop: Wisconsin
The rundown: Arizona’s linebacker corps was slim during spring ball, but an influx of transfers and freshmen will add more bodies for Don Brown’s defense. One of those transfers is former Chandler High School star linebacker Malik Reed, who returned to Arizona after one season with the Wisconsin Badgers.
Reed was a high priority for the Wildcats’ 2020 recruiting class, but he ultimately selected Wisconsin over the UA, UCLA, Nebraska and Colorado, among others. Reed was recruited as an outside linebacker out of high school, but could shift to inside linebacker alongside Anthony Pandy, Jabar Triplett and transfers Treshaun Hayward (Western Michigan), Jerry Roberts (Bowling Green) and Kenny Hebert (Vanderbilt).
Leevel Tatum, DT
Height: 6-2
Weight: 275
Hometown: Fresno, California
Previous stop: Fresno State
The rundown: Sports runs deep in Leevel Tatum’s bloodline. His uncle, Jack Tatum, was an All-Pro safety for the Oakland Raiders. Leevel’s other uncle, Jarvis Tatum, played baseball for the California Angels for three seasons, while Vestee Jackson played seven years with the NFL’s Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins.
Leevel Tatum is a transfer from Fresno State, where he played in 27 games — mostly as a reserve interior defensive lineman — and recorded 20 tackles over four seasons. The seasoned veteran will compete for snaps with returning starters Kyon Barrs and Aaron Blackwell. Expect the 6-5, 315-pound Trevon Mason to compete for snaps, as well as Paris Shand, Nahe Sulunga and others.
Treshaun Hayward, left, will be an Arizona Wildcat after all.
Treshaun Hayward, LB
Height: 6-1
Weight: 235
Hometown: Ypsilanti, Michigan
Previous stop: Western Michigan
The rundown: Hayward was arguably Arizona’s most important transfer-portal addition. Expect him to be an anchor, alongside Pandy, in Brown’s first defense at Arizona. When Brown was the defensive coordinator at Michigan, Hayward was a star for a Western Michigan team that played just two hours away from Ann Arbor.
In 39 games at Western Michigan, Hayward recorded 229 tackles and 16 stops for losses. His best season came in 2019, when he broke out for 142 tackles, 10 TFLs and five sacks, and was named the MAC’s Defensive Player of the Year. Hayward earned second-team All-America honors from Sporting News following his 2019 campaign.
The addition of Hayward gives the Wildcats experience and productivity at a position that lacked depth a year ago.
South Florida quarterback Jordan McCloud throws a pass against Tulsa during the first half of their game in October. McCloud joins a UA quarterback competition that includes fellow newcomer Gunner Cruz, a transfer from Washington State, and returner Will Plummer.
Jordan McCloud, QB
Height: 6-0
Weight: 193 pounds
Hometown: Tampa, Florida
Previous stop: South Florida
The rundown: Here was Fisch’s message about the Arizona quarterbacks battle following the spring game: “Get ready for a war. If they want to be the starting quarterback here in September, then they better be ready to compete. We’ve got another guy coming in, we’ve got a bunch of guys here, and I hope they’re ready for a lot of battles to see who’s going to come out on top.”
Gunner Cruz and returner Will Plummer split most of the snap in spring ball. That other “guy” is ex-South Florida starter Jordan McCloud, who is one of three quarterbacks Arizona has added via transfer portal; Cruz (Washington State) and walk-on Nick Moore (Oregon State) are the others.
McCloud was the only quarterback on Arizona’s roster who didn’t participate in spring ball, so he’s behind schedule in terms of understanding verbiage and experiencing Fisch’s offense first-hand. But McCloud stayed engaged as much as he could, and even attended a spring practice as a spectator.
In two seasons at South Florida, McCloud completed 244 of 418 passes for 2,770 yards and 21 touchdowns while being intercepted 10 times. He also rushed for 357 yards and five touchdowns. In the final game of the 2020 season against Central Florida, McCloud went 32 for 46 for 404 yards and five all-purpose touchdowns.
