The most notable aspect of Stanley Berryhill III’s career-best performance in the season opener wasn’t what he did but how he did it.
The veteran Arizona receiver notched personal highs with 12 catches for 102 yards against BYU last week. That shouldn’t be surprising given that Berryhill led the team in receiving last year and had a stellar offseason, earning the coveted No. 1 jersey.
The fact that 83 of his yards came after the catch? That’s a big deal.
Berryhill conceded that in the past he would look to avoid contact and head to the sideline after securing the ball.
“Try to take the least hits as possible,” Berryhill said Tuesday.
At the urging of his new coaches, Berryhill changed his approach this offseason. With their words — “We don’t run out of bounds. We fight for extra yards” — running through his head, Berryhill ran through and around the BYU secondary.
According to Pro Football Focus, 82.2% of Berryhill’s yards came after the catch. Entering this season, he had gained only 31.9% of his yards that way. He averaged 6.9 YAC against BYU. His average entering the game was 4.2.
“I just tried to be aggressive and physical when I got the ball in my hands, like Coach (Jedd) Fisch preaches,” Berryhill said amid preparations for Arizona’s home opener Saturday vs. San Diego State.
“It was the first time I probably didn’t run out of bounds when I was ready to get hit in my career. I felt like that changed a lot, and I see why they tell us to do that — because you could pick up a couple more yards that could be crucial to a first down.”
Half of Berryhill’s 12 receptions went for first downs. That’s all the more impressive when you consider that his average depth of target, per PFF, was only 2.8 yards.
Wide receiver Stanley Berryhill III lived up to his new jersey number — 1 — on Saturday, catching 12 passes for 102 yards. No UA receiver had more than 6 catches.
Berryhill ran like his father did back in the day. Stan Berryhill was a star running back at Cholla High School.
“Just always having your eyes up, being able to scan the field, having vision, seeing cutback lanes,” the younger Berryhill said. “Just trying to find holes and gaps to hit creases.”
It wasn’t just Berryhill’s mindset that changed this offseason. Working with strength coach Tyler Owens and his staff, Berryhill put on 13 pounds of muscle. The 5-foot-11 fifth-year junior is now listed at 190 pounds after playing at 177 each of the past two seasons.
Berryhill’s improved strength and conditioning enabled him to handle multiple roles against the Cougars. He played 80 snaps on offense. He also served as Arizona’s punt returner and as one of its gunners on the punt-coverage team.
It isn’t unusual for a top receiver or running back to return punts. Covering them is another story. Consider: Berryhill could run half a dozen pass routes immediately before having to run 40-50 yards downfield to cover a punt.
Berryhill volunteered to be a punt gunner nonetheless.
“I asked Coach Dudz (Keith Dudzinski, the special-teams coach) and Coach Fisch at the beginning of the year if I could be on as many special teams as possible ... anything I could do to help the team,” Berryhill said. “I played gunner in high school, and it was always fun.”
Offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll couldn’t think of another starting skill-position player who has taken on that role. Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas covered kicks for the Seattle Seahawks when Carroll was there, but they were defensive players.
“The great players want to play special teams,” Carroll said. “They want to do whatever they can to help their team out, and Stan is another great example of that.”
If playing receiver and covering punts sounds tiring, it is. But Berryhill doesn’t let fatigue get the better of him. He tries to play as hard as he can in four- to six-second bursts, which is how long most plays last.
“It’s just the mindset of one more play, just keep going, don’t fold,” Berryhill said.
Arizona’s Stanley Berryhill III tiptoes down the sideline after slipping out of the hands of Brigham Young linebacker Keenan Pili during Saturday’s fourth quarter.
That mentality helped Berryhill earn the No. 1 jersey, along with defensive end Jalen Harris. Berryhill proved in the opener that he deserved it.
“He earned his number. He really did,” Fisch said. “We talked all throughout camp ... if you’re going to try to change your number and wear No. 1, we really want you to do everything right and try to participate in a manner that you can affect the game. I thought what Stanley was able to do on Saturday night was affect the game in a very positive way.”
Dr. Blitz’s diagnosis
Defensive coordinator Don Brown was pleased with the way his group ran to the ball against BYU — an indication “that the guys have a clue what they’re doing,” he said.
He was less pleased with the two big plays the defense surrendered — a 67-yard touchdown pass and a 39-yard scramble by quarterback Jaren Hall that led to a TD.
Fisch said cornerback Malik Hausman was supposed to have safety help on the pass play. On the scramble, linebacker Kenny Hebert just missed sacking Hall.
“Those are two huge plays in the game for us,” Brown said.
BYU would have had only 262 total yards without those plays. But they happened. The defense also failed to get set in time on a couple of snaps, including the play that produced the Cougars’ first touchdown, a 15-yard rush by Tyler Allgeier.
“It’s called tempo for a reason. We gotta do a better job of lining up,” Brown said. “You just want to minimize that as much as you can.”
Extra points
Arizona played only six defensive linemen vs. BYU, and the two backups, Mo Diallo and Leevel Tatum III, combined for just 13 snaps. Diallo and Tatum both missed time during training camp. Regarding Diallo, who didn’t arrive until mid-August, Brown said: “We gotta get him more practice time, and we’re obviously working on that hard this week.”
Brown on safety Gunner Maldonado, who had seven tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup in his UA debut: “He’s flying. He’s just playing fast and playing hard and playing aggressive, all good terms when they’re associated with your name.”
Fisch said after the opener that as many as three of the four sacks Arizona allowed weren’t the offensive line’s fault. Carroll, who’s also the O-line coach, had a different take. He said the unit committed “a couple critical errors” and always will take the blame for sacks. “If the quarterback gets breathed on wrong,” Carroll said, “then we’re not doing our job.”
Carroll said left tackle Jordan Morgan‘s status for this week is “way more of a game-time decision than the last game-time decision.” Morgan didn’t dress vs. BYU because of a lower-leg injury.
SDSU defensive coordinator Kurt Mattix on Arizona’s offense: “The first thing just watching them is their pro personality. Coach Fisch spent so much time in the NFL. We’ve heard through the grapevine for a while now that they’re very similar to the Rams, taking some of the stuff that the Rams do. So we’ve studied them and looked at them a little bit because we just didn’t know.”
Arizona received five points in the Associated Press poll, but it’s believed that the Wildcats’ inclusion was an error. Voter Madison Blevins ranked the UA 21st. Arizona State came in at No. 23 and appeared on 45 of 63 ballots. Blevins did not rank ASU.
