Bear Down Wildcats

WIDE RECEIVERS

Starters: Austin Hill, Cayleb Jones, DaVonte' Neal, Nate Phillips.

Other key players: Samajie Grant, David Richards, Trey Griffey, Johnny Jackson, T.J. Johnson, Clive Georges.

2014 breakdown: This is UA's best position, featuring its hottest NFL prospect (senior Austin Hill), most buzzworthy newcomers (transfers DaVonte' Neal and Cayleb Jones) and deepest rotation of quality players.

Start with Hill, a redshirt senior who missed last season while rehabbing from a spring anterior-cruciate-ligament tear. He was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2012, a big-play artist whose 81 receptions for 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns made him one of 10 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's top receiver.

He used his rehab period to get stronger, especially in the upper body, and to work on his mental game. Early projections have Hill (6 feet 3, 210 pounds) as being a potential second-day selection in the NFL draft, with Rob Rang of CBSSports.com recently writing, "Hill's best attribute may be his hands and body control. He can contort his frame to adjust to poorly thrown passes and secures the ball quickly."

"I've always wanted to have a rotation of at least eight," Rodriguez said in June. "There will be a lot of times when there are four on the field at the same time, and then for as fast as we play and as much running as they have to do, if you can have at least a two-person rotation at every position, it's going to give us pretty good depth.

"This is certainly the first time in our three years here that we're going to be able to do this. In fact, this will be the deepest corps of receivers I've ever had. There's seven or eight that I wouldn't hesitate to put into a game."

If Neal and Jones had joined Arizona directly out of high school, they would have been two of the most-decorated recruits in school history. Neal, a sophomore transfer from Notre Dame, was azcentral sports' Player of the Year in 2010 as a junior at Scottsdale Chaparral. Jones, a sophomore transfer from Texas, is a former five-star recruit.

"Those guys are obviously talented, but the way they competed, you could tell they were hungry to get better," Rodriguez said.

Neal is a shifty slot receiver; Jones is a 6-3 target on the outside.

"Having Cayleb is something special," redshirt freshman quarterback Anu Solomon said. "DaVonte' is the same. Davonte' is like a speedy DeSean Jackson type of guy."

Phillips (5-7, 177) was a revelation last season as a two-star recruit out of Chandler Basha. He caught a team-high 51 passes for 696 yards and seven touchdowns. His tag-team classmate Samajie Grant -- the coaching staff nicknamed the pair "the mighty midgets" -- made good use of his small frame (5-9, 173) to catch 47 passes for 373 yards.

Griffey, the son of Ken Griffey Jr., emerged late last season as a redshirt freshman with all of his 14 catches coming in the final four games, including a pair of TD grabs in the bowl game against Boston College.

Lindy's rated Arizona's receiving corps the second-best group in the country behind those of Baylor, which features All-American Antwan Goodley and depth that comfortably goes six or seven deep.

"I could potentially become a good coach, huh?" joked Arizona receivers coach Tony Dews.

The Wildcats probably don't need help from the incoming freshman class. Cameron Denson is the one to watch, although the former two-way star at Tucson Salpointe Catholic figures to get an initial chance to contribute on the other side of the ball.

"The fact that we're really deep (at receiver) and a lot thinner at cornerback means that we'll start him at corner first," Rodriguez said. "And then we'll progress from there."

GREAT SHAPE

Stanford

Arizona: The Pac-12 blog believes that the Wildcats might end up having the best crew of receivers in the nation, but they don't top this list because there are some questions. For one, it remains to be seen if Austin Hill returns to his 2012 form after missing last year with a knee injury. Indications during spring practices were positive, but we'll only know when the games begin. Further, Texas transfer Cayleb Jones and Notre Dame transfer DaVonte Neal looked great this spring -- as in all-conference great -- but they haven't taken any Pac-12 snaps. Even with those questions, the Wildcats are still solid with 2013 leading receiver Nate Phillips, David Richards and Trey Griffey.

Washington State
USC
Arizona State
California

GOOD SHAPE

UCLA
Utah
Washington
Oregon State:
Colorado

WE'LL SEE

Oregon

jollything wrote:One of these QB's has to step up, it would be a shame to waste the talent we have at WR this year.

Merkin wrote:Or someone like Juron Criner, just throw it in his direction and he will come down with it.

Jordan Morgan WR – Arizona (greyshirt)

The first team all-state wide receiver committed early to the Wildcats but will not join the University of Arizona until after the season.

He is a big target with good speed for his size and specialized in gaining yards after contact. He must now adjust from a pro-style offense at Southridge to Rich Rodriguez’s spread system.

TuiTouchdown wrote:Nice write-up. Just have to find the guy who will throw them the ball.

ANGCatFan wrote:
The Wildcats probably don't need help from the incoming freshman class. Cameron Denson is the one to watch, although the former two-way star at Tucson Salpointe Catholic figures to get an initial chance to contribute on the other side of the ball.

"The fact that we're really deep (at receiver) and a lot thinner at cornerback means that we'll start him at corner first," Rodriguez said. "And then we'll progress from there."

TIGHT ENDS

Starter: TBD

Key players: Aaron Lacombe, Josh Kern, Trevor Wood, Darrell Cloy

Key loss: None

2014 breakdown: Arizona's tight end spot has barely existed in two years under coach Rich Rodriguez, but that doesn't mean he'll continue to ignore the position.

Rodriguez has effectively used a fullback/H-back (Taimi Tutogi) and a big receiver/H-back (Terrence Miller) in his zone-read offense, with Miller's contribution as a blocker in 2013 going largely unsung. But a traditional tight end hasn't really existed on the roster.

That will change with the addition of true freshman Trevor Wood from Scottsdale Chaparral High.

"He's really the first true tight end we signed in a couple of years," Rodriguez said. "He has a big body, is athletic, can catch. Trevor is going to be thrown into the mix right away."

Wood, who also played out wide at Chaparral, has a tight-end's frame, listed at 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds when he signed in February. Wood, whose father Dave Wood was a first-team all-conference defensive tackle for Arizona in 1984, held offers from Alabama, Oregon, UCLA, Oklahoma, Michigan State and others when he committed to Arizona last August.

The Republic rated him as the top tight end in the state.

Arizona also signed three-star recruit Darrell Cloy, listed as a tight end, although he is more the size of a hybrid receiver/tight end at 6-3, 220.

The Wildcats' summer roster includes two converted tight ends and walk-on sophomore Hunter Layton, who was added in June.

Former quarterback Josh Kern, a sophomore, will be entering his second season at tight end. Redshirt freshman Aaron Lacombe, who walked-on last summer, was moved from receiver in the spring. He earned some positive reviews last fall, but the receiver position is far too crowded for him to make a dent, leading to his change of positions.

The task for both has been to get bigger and stronger.

"Josh Kern has gotten bigger. I'm excited to see what he can do," Rodriguez said. "Aaron Lacombe made the switch and has gotten bigger. Those two kind of seem to fit the Terrence Miller role."

More help at the position is on the way. Arizona has commitments from a pair of three-star tight ends -- Brion Anduze from Silverdale, Wash., and Ricky McCoy from Fresno, Calif. -- for its 2015 class.

ANGCatFan wrote:Nice article by Steve Riverea at Fox Sports on Trey Griffey. Humble young man who's sister will is now also a Wildcat joining the basketball team.

Merkin wrote:

ANGCatFan wrote:Nice article by Steve Riverea at Fox Sports on Trey Griffey. Humble young man who's sister will is now also a Wildcat joining the basketball team.

Feel bad for his sister though going to the UA's worst athletic program. 19+ straight losses to ASU?

BibbysTowelDude wrote:I honestly believe we have 8-10 potential pros in our Receiving Corp.

BibbysTowelDude wrote:I honestly believe we have 8-10 potential pros in our Receiving Corp.

catinfl wrote:Griffey, Jones, Richards, Jones, and Neal. That's it imo unless Denson moves back.

ANGCatFan wrote:

catinfl wrote:Griffey, Jones, Richards, Jones, and Neal. That's it imo unless Denson moves back.

You probably meant Hill instead of one of those Jones.

Catstatic wrote:I would include Phillips. The kid is a football player. May not have the speed or height, but the kid is as strong as an ox and can really play the game.

Go Cats!!

catinfl wrote:

Catstatic wrote:I would include Phillips. The kid is a football player. May not have the speed or height, but the kid is as strong as an ox and can really play the game.

Go Cats!!

Way to small

dc4azcats wrote:

catinfl wrote:

Catstatic wrote:I would include Phillips. The kid is a football player. May not have the speed or height, but the kid is as strong as an ox and can really play the game.

Go Cats!!

Way to small

This from the guy who says our current recruiting class sucks? None of these guys have even stepped foot on campus yet but you know whether it's a good class or not? Sorry, but you have zero creditability. Phillips and Grant showed they can play and 3 years from now when they're seniors and killing it make sure you come back and talk about how small they are.

Austin Hill: Total snaps - 45 (36 in the first half, 9 in the second); Targets: 7; Final stats: 3 catches, 110 yards, 1 touchdown.
Samajie Grant: Total snaps - 46 (28 in the first half, 18 in the second); Targets: 5; Final stats: 4 catches, 101 yards, 1 touchdown.
DaVonte' Neal: Total snaps - 40 (30 in the first half, 10 in the second); Targets: 5; Final stats: 2 catches, 29 yards, 1 touchdown.
Cayleb Jones: Total snaps - 50 (26 in the first half, 24 in the second); Targets: 7; Final stats: 3 catches, 30 yards
Nate Phillips: Total snaps - 32 (14 in the first half, 18 in the second); Targets: 3; Final stats: 2 catches, 56 yards, 1 touchdown.
Trey Griffey: Total snaps - 45 (13 in the first half, 32 in the second); Targets: 6; Final stats: 4 catches, 52 yards.
David Richards: Total snaps - 36 (9 in the first half, 27 in the second); Targets: 5; Final stats: 5 catches, 30 yards.
TE Blair Tushaus: Total snaps - 25 (11 in the first half, 14 in the second); Targets: 1. No catches.
T.J. Johnson: Total snaps - 8 (1 in the first half, 7 in the second); Targets: 2. Final stats: 1 catch, 8 yards. (NOTE: Johnson's "catch" was essentially a fly sweep run, but was counted as a pass because Anu Solomon flipped it to him).
Jonathan Haden: Total snaps - 19 (0 in the first half, 19 in the second); No targets, no catches. (All of his snaps came on the UA's final drive of the game, which spanned 19 plays).
TE Josh Kern: Total snaps - 11 (2 in the first half, 11 in the second). No targets, no catches.
TE Trevor Wood: Total snaps - 10 (0 in the first half, 10 in the second). No targets, no catches.
Abraham Mendivil: Total snaps - 10 (0 in the first half, 10 in the second). No targets, no catches.

cordera89 wrote:UTSA Is going to have a hard time defending our WR this week. I cant wait until we shred there Defense.

OSUCat wrote:

cordera89 wrote:UTSA Is going to have a hard time defending our WR this week. I cant wait until we shred there Defense.

I'm not sure you handle our WRs this year. Having Hill in the slot has to be a crime. I mean, who do you guard him with? We literally have 5 guys that are a handful and constant threats.

How do you build chemistry with a particular quarterback?

Hill: It just takes time. Just a lot of route running, a lot of completions during practice. A lot of just getting the consistency down and letting the quarterback know that you're going to be consistently catching the ball for him. I think those are really important things that just take time and we'll eventually get to where we're perfect and we have the consistency we want.

(With Anu Solomon) it's going great. Anu is really mature for how young he is and he's been playing really great. He's been maturing every single day. We have a lot of time, but he's progressing really well and I'm really proud of him for it. But there's nowhere but up for us.

whatisee wrote:Did Neal play last night? Anything wrong with Griffey?

Also, it didn't look like Grant came back in the game after getting the wind knocked out of him? any updates

Johnson was a nice surprise last night

Salty wrote:Neal did return a punt.

azgreg wrote:

Salty wrote:Neal did return a punt.

No he didn't. The TV guy announced he did but corrected himself.

TheBlackLodge wrote:

azgreg wrote:

Salty wrote:Neal did return a punt.

No he didn't. The TV guy announced he did but corrected himself.

Kills me to agree with Salty, but he did fair catch a punt in the fourth quarter. Unless someone other than Neal was wearing his number 19 jersey.

azgreg wrote:

TheBlackLodge wrote:

azgreg wrote:

Salty wrote:Neal did return a punt.

No he didn't. The TV guy announced he did but corrected himself.

Kills me to agree with Salty, but he did fair catch a punt in the fourth quarter. Unless someone other than Neal was wearing his number 19 jersey.

The play by play has Nate Phillips and Samajie Grant fielding all the punts.

UAEebs86 wrote:Were all these guys wrong too?