As part of Jedd Fisch’s pro-style offense, very seldom did anyone outside of Arizona’s starting receiver trio play a significant amount of snaps last season.
Between Jacob Cowing (749), Tetairoa McMillan (741) and Dorian Singer (804), the corps that elevated the Wildcats to the sixth-best passing offense in college football combined for 2,294 snaps.
Next in line: Anthony Simpson (76), who transferred to UMass, along with Kevin Green Jr. (18), AJ Jones (10) and Tucson native Jamarye Joiner (4), who reunited with former UA head coach Rich Rodriguez at Jacksonville State.
“Best guys are going to play,” said Arizona wide receivers coach Kevin Cummings. “But if you can have a fresh rotation, that always makes your group even better.”
Green, a 5-11, 170-pound Los Angeles-area native, took first-team reps during the spring at slot receiver while Cowing manned the “Z” receiver position left behind by Singer, who transferred to USC. After the spring, the Wildcats acquired former Colorado transfer Montana Lemonious-Craig through the transfer portal, and the ex-Buffalo is projected to start at “Z” receiver, moving Cowing, who led the Pac-12 in receptions, will return to slot receiver.
In the spring, true freshmen Malachi Riley and Devin Hyatt, brother of New York Giants wide receiver and Biletnikoff Award winner Jalin Hyatt, and redshirt freshman AJ Jones emerged as potential pass-catchers to open up the Wildcats’ rotation.
Devin Hyatt can’t reel in a difficult throw running routes with the receivers during the University of Arizona’s spring practice session on March 28, 2023.
“The guys keep getting better and better and competing. ... The talent level is raising, so you feel more comfortable and so you feel more comfortable putting more guys in,” Cummings said.
Besides Cowing, McMillan and Lemonious-Craig, the 6-4, 210-pound Jones has been arguably the top performer at receiver in training camp, between catches in traffic and maneuvering around the field. On Thursday, Jones hauled in a 50-yard touchdown reception despite smothering coverage by safety Isaiah Taylor; great defense, better offense.”
The most noticeable difference in Jones this season compared to his first year in the program is he’s “playing with confidence, playing with physicality,” said Cummings.
Receiver AJ Jones watches the ball into his hands, running route drills with the quarterbacks during spring practice.
“A.J. is young, so he’s growing. He had to get used to his lower half,” he said. “I think as he’s gotten confident in his lower body, he’s been able to stop and start more. ... He knows he can play this game, he knows he has speed, he knows he’s got size, he knows he’s got good hands.”
Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura said Jones “didn’t really believe in himself last year” and was easily discouraged with his progress as a first-year receiver.
“When he had a dropped pass, he’d carry that burden on his shoulders the rest of practice,” de Laura said. “I feel like him being able to bounce back, being aggressive, running after the catch, aggressive with the ball, aggressive with the catch, it shows he’s making plays now and that’s kind of what we need from him.”
UA quarterbacks coach Jimmie Dougherty added that he’s “been really proud and happy to see (Jones) playing with some confidence.”
“He’s always had the talent,” said Dougherty. “For a young player, especially a receiver, to start to have that confidence is so big. You don’t see the mental errors or things like that. He’s playing so well and confident right now, that’s why you see him catching the ball better. He’s making some plays and showing up right now for us, there’s no question.”
AJ Jones, a wide receiver, executes a drill during a University of Arizona spring football practice at the Dick Tomey Practice Fields in March.
Another budding talent in Arizona’s receiver room this training camp is freshman Carlos Wilson, a 5-11, 175-pound Sacramento native and former Utah Utes commit, who flipped to the UA during the early signing period in December.
“That guy is electric,” Cowing said. “He reminds me a lot of myself when I first got to college. That guy has a bright future. I’m excited to see what he does.”
With an abundance of rising receivers, the Wildcats are open to potentially opening up the receiver rotation to more than the starting trio.
“We’re getting better there. ... Those guys have all gotten better,” Fisch said. “There’s a lot of places for these guys to improve and make an impact.”
Added Fisch: “I think guys will play more, we’ll substitute more. Our goal is to develop, develop, develop and get them ready. When they’re ready, we’ll play them. We don’t worry about how many reps a guy has. We’re going to play the three best and when the fourth-best is ready to go in, the No. 3 guy will take a break.”
Arizona running back Rayshon Luke, left, leaves North Dakota State safety Michael Tutsie (25) and defensive end Loshiaka Roques (56) crashing into one another on his run in the third quarter of their game at Arizona Stadium last year.
Running backs shine in scrimmage
Arizona’s scrimmage on Saturday was a productive outing for the UA’s running backs. Sophomore Jonah Coleman had 46 yards and a touchdown in one possession, and redshirt freshman Rayshon “Speedy” Luke had a 69-yard run along with a 19-yard dump-off touchdown from quarterback Noah Fifita. Senior Michael Wiley also broke off a 37-yard touchdown run, and was among the players returning kickoffs.
Luke, a former four-star recruit and All-American at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California, still appears to be fourth on the pecking order of Arizona running backs behind Wiley, Coleman and graduate senior DJ Williams.
The 5-9, 175-pound Luke lives up to his nickname “Speedy” and is among the top fastest players on the UA roster, but has struggled with fumbling, according to Fisch.
“The biggest thing with Speedy, and we’ve talked about it, is you can only play if you protect the football,” Fisch said. “If the ball is on the ground in practice, the ball is on the ground in different situations, it’s much harder to play you. ... We can be a really good team, a good team, an average team or a not-so-good team depending on how many times we turn the ball over this year.”
Fisch added that Luke is “taking great pride” in improving ball security.
“’I’m going to take care of the ball, I can pass protect and, of course, when I get the ball in open space, I can go.’ But what we can’t do is a) Telegraph what we’re doing every time he’s in the game, and then b) We have to make sure there’s a trust factor between he and everyone on that offense that he’s going to be able to lift up the offense in a way he showed today.”
Fisch said Luke is “one of the four bodies working on kick return,” along with Wiley, junior-college transfer Charles Yates Jr. and rising cornerback Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine.
Arizona offensive linemen Raymond Pulido (79) and Sam Langi (58) chat during a UA fall practice on Aug. 4, 2023. Pulido, a true freshman, already has worked his way into the starting lineup.
UA offense line ‘a strength for our team’
Arizona’s first offensive line during Saturday’s scrimmage had left tackle Jordan Morgan, who’s ramping up his reps in training camp and continues to rehab his knee injury, and left guard Wendell Moe, center Josh Baker, freshman right guard Raymond Pulido and guard-converted-right tackle Jonah Savaiinaea. Besides Pulido, a 6-6, 335-pound freshman, all members of Arizona’s starting offensive line started multiple games.
Sam Langi, a 6-5, 320-pound redshirt senior who started three games at guard and left tackle once Morgan left for the season, was a part of the second offensive line group on Saturday.
Fisch said Arizona’s offensive line is a “strength for our team.”
“I don’t know how many times that’s been said in Tucson over the years. ... All eight guys are giving you power and are able to move guys around and give you multiple position value,” Fisch said. “So Coach (Brennan) Carroll has done an incredible job of not only recruiting the right players but developing them.”
