Arizona's pro-style offense, 'stability' lured receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig to Wildcats

During Deion Sanders’ first team meeting as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, Coach Prime encouraged his players to enter the transfer portal if they weren’t ready to brave the heightened competition level, because Sanders was “bringing my luggage with me, and it’s Louis (Vuitton).”

Colorado wide receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig erupted for three catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns, including a 98-yarder from Jackson State transfer quarterback Shadeur Sanders, in the Buffaloes’ spring game that drew over 47,000 spectators.

Sometimes when you fumble the bag, it’s of the designer variety — and Colorado discovered that once Lemonious-Craig entered the transfer portal after CU’s spring game. Just over a month later, Lemonious-Craig committed to the Arizona Wildcats, becoming another weapon for an offense that finished sixth in passing nationally last season.

He’s the second former Buffalo to join Arizona this season, joining edge rusher Taylor Upshaw.

“I love Colorado, love CU. I’m glad I had an amazing opportunity to go there for a couple years there, get a degree,” Lemonious-Craig said. “I owe them everything. We had some ups and downs, but the brotherhood and the camaraderie, man, I’ll always be a Buffalo.

“I’m glad Coach (Karl) Dorrell, Coach (Mel) Tucker and Coach Prime all coached me the way that they did, because it made me a better player.”

In three seasons at Colorado, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Inglewood, California, native had 33 catches for 482 yards and five touchdowns. Most of his production happened during Colorado’s 1-11 campaign in 2022, hauling in 23 receptions for 359 yards and three touchdowns.

Lemonious-Craig noted Sanders “is doing something special at Colorado,” but the veteran wide receiver was ready to embrace change somewhere else and be a part of a program that’s further along in the rebuilding process.

“I just felt like it was time for me to move on. ... I’ve been through two coaching changes for three different head coaches, so I just wanted some stability,” he said.

Days after announcing his decision to transfer, Lemonious-Craig emerged as one of the top pass-catchers and playmakers in the portal, landing offers from the UA, Auburn, Penn State, Cincinnati, BYU and West Virginia, among others.

Insert Arizona defensive analyst and assistant director of recruiting Armond Hawkins, a former Colorado staffer, who is not only a fellow Inglewood native but has a relationship with Lemonious-Craig going back to the receiver’s high school career. Lemonious-Craig said Hawkins “played a big factor in getting me down to Arizona.”

The next part to wooing Lemonious-Craig to Arizona is head coach Jedd Fisch’s pro-style offense and NFL mindset for the program.

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“By the time I do get to the next level, I’ll already be prepared in terms of what I’m seeing, the verbiage and everything going on,” Lemonious-Craig said. “I’ll be familiar with it and it won’t be new to me.”

When Arizona wrapped up spring ball, Fisch said the Wildcats would take a “eyes wide open” approach in the transfer portal and “we’re only going to try and bring in guys that can really help us at this point in time, because I like the commitment that the team we have here has made.”

Until this past weekend, all of Arizona’s additions in the transfer portal for 2023 were defensive linemen and linebackers.

If Lemonious-Craig is an instant-impact player for the Wildcats this season, how does he fit in with Arizona’s receiver corps? Despite the loss of All-Pac-12 receiver Dorian Singer, who transferred to USC, the Wildcats return superstar outside receiver Tetairoa McMillan and inside receiver Jacob Cowing, the Pac-12’s receptions (85) leader and a likely NFL Draft pick next spring. In the spring, Cowing took over Singer’s “Z” role in the offense, while former USC commit Kevin Green Jr. started at slot in place of Cowing.

“Jacob can play all over the field,” said Arizona wide receivers coach Kevin Cummings. “Jacob has the ability to be savvy and creative in the slot, but he’s got the top-end speed for route-running to play on the outside, too, and that’s something we’ve been looking for this next season.

“Obviously we threw the ball pretty well last year, but we were looking for that guy who could take the top off and allow us to be even more explosive, and Jacob is going to give us the ability to do that on the outside.”

Lemonious-Craig could conceivably assume Singer’s role, and Cowing could return to slot receiver, or vice versa. The Wildcats could also keep their McMillan-Cowing-Green trio, with Lemonious-Craig as a potential fourth or fifth option sprinkled in the receiver rotation.

“I’m looking to just go over there and contribute. ... I’m here to do whatever coach wants me to do,” Lemonious-Craig said. “I’m not too sure exactly where I’ll be playing — probably inside and outside. Wherever they put me is where I’ll be.”

Wherever he fits in the offense, a playmaking receiver like Lemonious-Craig could elevate an offense that is already among the top returning units in college football.

“It’s special over there, man, and I wanted to be a part of it,” Lemonious-Craig said. “I feel like the program is going in a great direction, the offense has a lot of firepower, and I can’t wait to be an addition to it.

“I just want to play football and win games. I’m looking forward to this opportunity over there, that’s for sure.”