The Arizona Wildcats have a good problem within their pass-catching corps.
Arizona has several talented freshmen who play wide receiver and tight end. But only one of them, Tetairoa McMillan, is playing a substantial number of snaps because the veterans above them on the depth chart are playing at such a high level.
Transfer Jacob Cowing leads the Pac-12 in receptions (28) and receiving yards (386), and he’s tied for first in receiving touchdowns (six).
Dorian Singer ranks third in the conference in catches (23) and ninth in yards (287).
Tanner McLachlan ranks third among Pac-12 tight ends in catches (15) and yards (199), trailing only Utah’s Brant Kuithe and Dalton Kincaid. (Kuithe got hurt Saturday vs. Arizona State and is out for the season.)
“It’s just always been my philosophy, anywhere I’ve ever been, that we haven’t played a ton of receivers,” said UA coach Jedd Fisch, whose team hosts Colorado on Saturday. “We play at a fast tempo. We don’t substitute a lot. When we do substitute, we substitute guys to come in for certain plays or packages or for need-be.
“But the whole idea is, you play your best, just like you do in the NFL. And then if there’s somebody that has an opportunity to spell a guy or develop, you develop on the practice field.”
Tight end Keyan Burnett was one of Arizona’s highest-rated recruits. Receivers Kevin Green Jr. and AJ Jones were close behind.
Burnett has played only 21 snaps, per Pro Football Focus. Green has played eight, and Jones has played 10.
Fisch is OK with the idea of bringing them along slowly.
Arizona's Tanner McLachlan, top, is on pace to post one of the best seasons for a tight end in UA history.
“Keyan is going to be a special tight end for us,” Fisch said. “Kevin Green is going to be an outstanding slot receiver for us. AJ is going to continue to grow and be a really good wide receiver for us in the future.
“The beautiful thing that you have in college football is, you have time. You don’t have to make those decisions immediately. You just let the best guys play and the next group work really hard to find a way to get on the field. And then as they continue to improve, your depth improves and your team improves.”
It’s a lot easier for players to change schools now thanks to the NCAA transfer portal and the one-time transfer exception (not having to sit out a year). Arizona will have at least one opening next season as Cowing is expected to enter the NFL draft at the end of this one. McLachlan will have one year of eligibility remaining, Singer two and McMillan three.
Alex Lines, who shares time with McLachlan, will be a fourth-year junior next season. Anthony Simpson, the No. 4 wide receiver, will be a true junior.
Regarding the run defense
Fisch got a chance to take an in-depth look at the run defense while reviewing Arizona’s 49-31 loss at Cal last week. The Golden Bears rushed for 354 yards, including 274 by freshman Jaydn Ott.
Fisch saw two main problems: shoddy tackling and poor gap integrity.
The Wildcats don’t tackle ball-carriers to the ground during in-season practices, and that won’t change, Fisch said. The team will double the number of periods it spends doing tackling drills, from one to two, to try to improve in that area. Arizona had a season-high 17 missed tackles in Berkeley, per PFF.
Most teams limit tackling during the season in an effort to keep players healthy. Fisch said the Wildcats don’t do it “for that exact reason.”
Fisch explained the gap issue as follows:
“We weren’t as gap-sound as we would like to be. All of a sudden you have two guys in one gap and nobody in the other gap, and next thing you know that run can go. When you’re a one-gap defense – meaning everybody’s responsible for one gap – if you have two guys in one gap and no one in the other, that’s where you can get caught. And that’s really what got us.”
Ott was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week as well as Freshman of the Week. He has won the Freshman of the Week award three times.
Delay of game explained
Arizona got flagged for delay of game at an extremely inopportune time at Cal. The Wildcats were facing third-and-16 at the Golden Bears’ 27-yard line, trailing 35-24 in the third quarter. The penalty turned it into third-and-21. On the next play, Jayden de Laura was hit from behind and fumbled.
The UA was late getting the play off because the coaching staff was trying to determine whether to challenge the previous play. Singer was engaged in a jump-ball battle with a Cal defender in the back of the end zone and appeared to come down with the ball, or at least to simultaneously possess it (which would result in a reception).
“There was a little bit of communication going on,” Fisch said. “Is that being reviewed? Are we looking at that? We’re trying to get information to not have to use a timeout.
“By the time we were told that it’s gonna stand, I think there were nine seconds on the play clock. We have to look at the mechanics of that.
“At that point in time, I needed to call time out or Jayden needed to call time out. We didn’t.”
‘Beautiful’ boot
Fisch had de Laura punt on fourth-and-13 from the Cal 48 late in the first quarter. Singer and Cowing tried desperately to keep the ball from bounding into the end zone but couldn’t quite pull it off.
“We missed by about a quarter of an inch,” Fisch said. “That would have been fantastic, being up 14-7, making them drive 99-and-a-half there.”
The kick was de Laura’s first official punt in a UA uniform. It wasn’t the first time he booted the ball during a game.
The previous week against North Dakota State, two balls ended up on the field while Arizona was operating without a huddle. De Laura booted the second one toward the UA sideline.
“Singer had a ball, the ball was spotted and no one knew what to do with the second ball,” Fisch said. “So they just threw it right to Jayden. Instead of him chucking it, he just turned around and punted it. It was beautiful.”
Extra points
Freshman Owen McCown will make his second straight start at quarterback for the Buffaloes, Colorado coach Karl Dorrell announced. McCown, the son of former NFL quarterback Josh McCown, completed 26 of 42 passes for 258 yards with one touchdown and one interception against UCLA last week.
Fisch didn’t have a definitive update on safety Jaxen Turner, who missed the second half of the Cal game because of a shoulder injury. Redshirt freshman Isaiah Taylor logged a career-high 49 defensive snaps after Turner exited.
Arizona’s Family Weekend home game against No. 13 Oregon on Oct. 8 will kick off at 6 p.m. It will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.
UA Athletics is having a 25% off sale on tickets for the Colorado game. The school also is offering a bundle package where fans can pair ticket purchases for Colorado or Washington State with one of Oregon, USC or Arizona State.
