In the first meeting he had with his group after spring practice, Arizona Wildcats receivers coach Theron Aych discussed that most American of concepts: opportunity.
Jobs are available. Spots are open. The UA receiversโ room is in the midst of its most significant turnover in years. Who will form the next iteration of prolific Arizona pass catchers?
โItโs not time to sit back,โ Aych told the wideouts. โNowโs the time somebody needs to step up and grab the ball and take that leadership.โ
The Wildcats are looking for leaders and playmakers at a position that lost most of the prominent ones to graduation. For the first time in Rich Rodriguezโs tenure, Arizona does not return a receiver who caught at least 42 passes the previous season.
That stat comes with a couple of asterisks. Austin Hill had 81 receptions in 2012 but missed the โ13 season after injuring his knee toward the end of spring practice. And no one on last yearโs team caught as many as 35 passes, let alone 42, as quarterback injuries and inconsistency undermined the passing game.
The Hill injury led to the emergence of Nate Phillips and Samajie Grant, who caught 51 and 47 balls, respectively, as freshmen in 2013. They would provide stability and production for the next four seasons. Trey Griffey did as well, albeit less consistently.
With all three having used up their eligibility, the receiving corps will have a different look.
โA lot different,โ Rodriguez said. โWe had all the veterans. There was a comfort level. I think weโre more talented there than maybe what a lot of folks think, because a lot of them havenโt played a great deal. Theyโve done OK. Weโre going to be OK at wideout.โ
Junior Shun Brown is the leading returning receiver and the only known quantity in the group. He has a masterโs level grasp of the playbook, and Rodriguez dubbed him โone of the most valuable players that we have on offense.โ
When training camp opened Monday, Shawn Poindexter and Cedric Peterson joined Brown with the first unit. This is subject to change, of course, but the early camp buzz on both is promising.
Poindexter is a relatively raw former volleyball player blessed with excellent size (6-5, 212) and an intriguing upside.
The transfer from Glendale Community College caught only six passes in limited duty in his first season at Arizona last year but averaged 13.7 yards per reception.
Rodriguez praised Poindexterโs conditioning, and Aych lauded the seniorโs work ethic.
โHe cares,โ Aych said. โHe wears that on his sleeve. He probably is the guy that works harder than anybody besides Shun Brown out there. He always takes things seriously.โ
At 5-11, 188, Peterson doesnโt possess Poindexterโs physical gifts. But Peterson has shown the coaches enough to put himself in the running for a significant role. Peterson has done it despite a foot injury that ended his 2016 season prematurely and hampered him during the offseason.
Peterson, a redshirt freshman last year, made his first career start against Stanford on Oct. 29. He had caught one pass in each of the previous three games, including a nifty 31-yard sideline grab against Utah.
But the following Tuesday, Peterson heard an โawkward popโ in his right foot. He had season-ending surgery three days later, and he wasnโt fully cleared until the final spring scrimmage March 31.
After being somewhat restricted during summer workouts โ a precautionary move to limit stress on the foot โ Peterson said he felt โgreatโ several days into training camp. He isnโt taking his current status for granted.
โAs of now Iโm running with the ones, but anything can change,โ Peterson said. โItโs a competition. Itโs a job. Iโve just got to go out there every day and do the best I can do to make sure my day, today, was better than yesterday.โ
Peterson knows others will push him. That group includes speedy senior Cam Denson, whoโs working his way back from a foot injury of his own, and redshirt junior Tony Ellison.
โObviously, weโve got some new faces out there,โ said Aych, himself a new face after joining the program in spring. โWeโve got to replace some great players from last year. Each and every day, I see those guys getting better.โ
A sweet surprise
About an hour and 20 minutes into practice Wednesday, Rodriguez blew his whistle and gathered the team.
โWe never do that, to come in as a whole in the middle of practice,โ senior defensive end Jack Banda said.
Rodriguez had an ulterior motive. He told the team a story about a being a youth in Chicago and how everything would stop when kids heard music blaring from an ice cream truck.
Just then, an ice cream truck rolled onto the field. Practice ended, and the Wildcats indulged in frozen desserts.
โIt was about that time the ice cream truck came by,โ Rodriguez said. โIt kind of breaks up camp a bit.โ
The team lifted earlier in the day and is about to enter the hardest stretch of training camp so far: consecutive days in full pads.
โTomorrow is going to be an ultra-competitive day,โ Rodriguez said. โProbably two-thirds, almost three-fourths of practice will be some kind of competitive situation.โ
