Arizona held its seventh practice of fall training camp on Thursday at Dick Tomey Practice Fields. Here are notes and observations from the UA's latest training camp session, as they prepare to practice at Arizona Stadium on Friday night.
* Arizona junior tight end Keyan Burnett, who's been rock-solid in training camp, had his best practice. Burnett hauled in a touchdown during one-on-one drills, then caught a pass from reserve quarterback and Northern Arizona transfer Adam Damante in a 7-on-7 period. During a team period towards the end of practice, Burnett ran a deep crossing route and caught a pass from quarterback Noah Fifita. Burnett was also effective in dump-off passes on Thursday. The 6-6, 248-pound Burnett is trending towards a potential breakout season after playing behind Tanner McLachlan the last two seasons. Between a much-improved pass-catcher in Roberto Miranda and San Jose State transfer Sam Olson, coupled with rising players in Dorian Thomas and Tyler Powell, the Wildcats have a panoply of tight ends.
* New Mexico transfer running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt had arguably the most eyebrow-raising play of training camp, taking a hand-off to the right, cutting back inside and slicing through multiple defenders before switching gears and bursting for a 50-60-yard touchdown. Croskey-Merritt, a highly-touted player in the transfer portal, is as advertised.
* Projected starting left tackle Rhino Tapa'atoutai was in full uniform, but didn't participate in team drills. True freshman and Phoenix-area native Matthew Lado took reps with Arizona's first-team offense. New Mexico transfer Shancco Matautia, who's taken reps at guard, is also training to potentially become Arizona's backup center. With starter Josh Baker out and redshirt sophomore Grayson Stovall exiting practice, Matautia played center in the final team period.
* Linebacker Jacob Manu jumped a pass and intercepted Fifita in a 7-on-7 period.
* Sophomore defensive back Genesis Smith intercepted a pass attempt from backup quarterback Brayden Dorman to Olson in a 7-on-7 period. Dorman threw a deep touchdown pass to wide receiver AJ Jones.
* Defensive tackles Chubba Ma'ae and Isaiah Johnson have proven to be strong interior linemen. Ma'ae recorded a sack, and Johnson powered his way to pressure the quarterback multiple times on Thursday.
* Longtime Arizona booster Cole Davis, who helped fund the Davis Indoor Sports Center, was in attendance for Thursday's practice.
