Two key members of the Arizona Wildcats will miss spring practice after undergoing foot surgeries.
Defensive tackle Kyon Barrs and receiver Jamarye Joiner will miss spring ball, which starts Wednesday, UA coach Jedd Fisch announced.
Both underwent surgery Tuesday in Los Angeles.
โWe needed to get it done now,โ Fisch said. โThat will enable us to be full go for the first day of training camp.โ
Barrs, who will be a fourth-year junior in the fall, made All-Pac-12 second team last season after recording 33 tackles and a team-leading five sacks. He appeared in 10 games, including seven starts.
Barrs had been wearing a walking boot on his right foot for precautionary reasons. It was then determined he had a stress fracture, prompting the need for surgery.
Joiner, who will be a fifth-year junior, has had two previous surgeries on the same foot. The first took place in spring 2020, the second after spring practice last year. Joiner, who attended Cienega High School, missed most of training camp and the start of the โ21 season. The foot never healed properly, forcing him to undergo another procedure.
Joiner split time between receiver and quarterback in 2021. He caught four passes for 48 yards; rushed for 67 yards and one touchdown; and completed 4 of 10 passes for 89 yards and two scores.
About that schedule ...
Fisch explained the advantages of Arizonaโs unusual spring schedule.
After practicing Wednesday, the Wildcats wonโt return to the field again until March 15. Theyโll be off the entirety of the UAโs spring break.
But by having one practice this week, the coaches are able to spend 20 hours with the players instead of the standard offseason amount of eight. The Wildcats also will get extra time for strength and conditioning after practice concludes with the spring game April 9.
โWe get an extra week at the front end,โ Fisch said, โand then we get an extra week of conditioning on the back end.โ
Fisch said the schedule wonโt be changed because of the menโs and womenโs NCAA basketball tournaments โ with one possible exception.
โIf we are playing on Saturday, April 2, we will not be practicing on Saturday, April 2, at the same time, that I can promise you,โ Fisch said.
The football team is scheduled to scrimmage at 7 p.m. that day, which is also the date of the menโs Final Four semifinals.
Extra points
Linebacker Jerry Roberts, who broke his leg in the next-to-last game of the season, will be a limited participant at the start of spring but could be full go by late March. Returnee Malik Reed and newcomer Anthony Solomon are expected to take the first snaps at linebacker in Arizonaโs base 4-2-5 defense.
Hunter Echols, a transfer from USC, will play at the โCatโ defensive end position, Fisch said.
Quarterbacks Jordan McCloud and Gunner Cruz, who both missed the second half of the season, are expected to be full participants. McCloud is coming back from knee and ankle injuries, Cruz from an injured thumb. Theyโre two of six quarterbacks on the roster.
Young players to watch in spring, per Fisch, include defensive end Jason Harris and receiver AJ Jones. Harris, who transferred from Colorado last year, has added good weight and should be a factor in the D-line rotation. Jones, a freshman who enrolled in January, has stood out so far in the classroom and weight room, Fisch said.
Another player to keep an eye on is cornerback Treydan Stukes, a former walk-on who became a starter down the stretch as a second-year freshman last season. โThat kid is as talented of a corner for someone so young as Iโve seen,โ Fisch said.
Offensive lineman Davis DiVall will not participate Wednesday because of what Fisch termed โpersonal issues.โ DiVallโs status for the rest of spring is TBD.
Arizona has 22 new players this spring and will add 19 more for training camp, Fisch said.
Tight ends coach Jordan Paopao also will serve as the Wildcatsโ primary special-teams coach.
