Jamarye Joiner is staying after all.ย
After meeting with Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch and wide receivers coach Kevin Cummings between Tuesday and Wednesday, the UA redshirt sophomore, who left the program after Kevin Sumlin's dismissal, announced that he will return to the Wildcats for the 2021 season.ย
Joiner, a 6-1, 214-pound Tucson native and Cienega High School product, tweeted the news Thursday morning.
And he wasn't the only one.
Receiver Ma'jon Wright, perhaps the Wildcats' top freshman in 2020, also announced he will be returning to the program. Like Joiner, Wright had put his name in the NCAA transfer portal last month.
Joiner, a former Salpointe Catholic and Cienega star, arrived at the UA as a quarterback before switching to receiver. In three seasons, he caught 46 passes for 663 yards and six touchdowns โ including a 34-yard score in the Wildcats' 34-30 season-opening loss to USC.ย
The bulk of Joiner's production at Arizona came from the 2019 season, which included a 140-yard, two-touchdown performance in the season-ending Territorial Cup loss to Arizona State. Joiner finished the season with a team-high 552 yards and five touchdowns on 34 catches. His one-handed touchdown grab at Stanford checked in at No. 5 on "SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays."ย
In October, Joiner revealed he most likely played the 2019 season with a fractured foot, which he thought was discomfort from his cleats.ย
Joiner missed Arizona's brief spring practice period after it was discovered the pain in his foot was a Jones fracture โ a breakage at the base of the fifth metatarsal. After walking around in a boot, Joiner's pain didn't progress, so he underwent surgery for his injury in May, sidelining him for a few months.
Wright, a product of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, ranked second on the team with 15 catches for 176 yards this season. He has excellent size at 6-2, 197 pounds and displayed an impressive catch radius while climbing the depth chart in 2020.
The Star has confirmed that one other player is returning for 2021: defensive tackle Myles Tapusoa.
Tapusoa became the latest "super senior" to take advantage of the NCAA granting all players an extra year of eligibility because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Tapusoa (6-1, 345) joined the program as a junior-college transfer in 2019. He has recorded 19 tackles, including three stops for losses, in 16 games.
