Arizona spring football notes, practice 3: Heavy dosage of tight ends in Wildcats offense

To wrap up Arizona's first week of spring ball, the Wildcats moved their practice on Saturday morning to the big field. 

Here are notes and takeaways from a sunny Saturday afternoon at Arizona Stadium:

* The offense had several drills centered around mesh concepts and crossing routes with tight ends and wide receivers. Tight ends also caught a considerable amount of passes during team periods on Saturday, too. Redshirt junior Roberto Miranda, a fifth-year player from Berlin, Germany and junior Keyan Burnett started at tight end during team periods, with redshirt sophomore Tyler Powell and redshirt Dorian Thomas rotating in. Tight ends will have an essential role in Arizona's offense this season. 

* Redshirt freshman cornerback Emmanuel Karnley intercepted a pass during Arizona's first team period. 

* San Jose State transfer running back Quali Conley and redshirt junior offensive lineman Leif Magnuson didn't participate in practice on Saturday. Magnuson was seen rehabbing on the sideline. 

* With Conley out, third-year running back Rayshon "Speedy" Luke started at running back and showed great burst running the ball. After two-plus years of experience in the weight room and understudying Michael Wiley, DJ Williams and Jonah Coleman, Luke appears ready for a featured role in the UA offense, both as a running back and pass-catcher. Redshirt freshman Brandon Johnson and early enrollee Jordan Washington were the running backs behind Luke on Saturday. 

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* Another player having an impressive spring is wide receiver Chris Hunter, a 6-1, 195-pound redshirt sophomore from New Orleans. Hunter made two impressive catches on deep routes in back-to-back practices, including a one-handed snag over defensive back Devin Dunn down the sideline on a fade route on Saturday; backup quarterback Brayden Dorman threw the pass.  

Chris Hunter my goodness 🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/lwyNHt35TO

— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) March 30, 2024

* Saturday was a productive day for the defensive line. Junior-college transfer Cyrus Durham, who hails from a martial-arts background, showed impressive speed and handwork firing out his three-point stance; he had at least tackles for loss in the team period. Junior Ta'ita'i Uiaglelei, who started alongside defensive tackles Bill Norton and Keanu Mailoto and edge rusher Dominic Lolesio, was among the defensive linemen often seen making tackles in the backfield. 

* Redshirt junior JT Hand earned reps at right guard with the projected starting unit of right tackle Jonah Savaiinaea, center Josh Baker, left guard Wendell Moe and left tackle Raymond Pulido. Northwestern transfer Alexander Doost, a 6-7, 295-pound Phoenix-area native, started at right guard on Saturday. 

* There was a large contingent of recruits, local youth football players and high school football coaches in attendance for Saturday's practice.