UA receivers are bigger, but will they be better?
No position group on the 2019 Arizona football team will face more earlyseason scrutiny than the wide receivers. When you lose four of your top five pass catchers — and most of the replacements have minimal experience — that’s what happens.
Don’t expect the Wildcats’ wideouts to shrink from the challenge.
“There’s gonna be a lot of people throwing shots at us, trying to see who we are,” inside receivers coach Theron Aych said this week. “We’ve gotta be nasty. We’ve gotta be physical.”
There’s no telling whether this year’s receiving unit will be better than last year’s or the one before it. Initially, it probably won’t be.
But there’s no disputing that the composition of the receiving corps has changed, in more ways than one.
Arizona’s wide receivers, across the board, are larger. Not that bigger is always better — the Wildcats’ best allaround player might be tailback J.J. Taylor, who’s 5 feet 6 inches and 184 pounds — but Kevin Sumlin prefers that his wideouts have length. It gives them a better chance to win one-onone battles, whether they’re blocking or fighting for the ball.
“Obviously, speed is important,” Aych said. “But since Coach Sumlin’s been here, we’re trying to get bigger. We’ve got to be physically able to match up with the people that we play.”
Even after the departure of 6-5 Shawn Poindexter, Arizona’s receiving corps has grown in stature. Eight of the 11 scholarship wide receivers on the current roster are listed at 6 feet or taller. Last year it was 5 of 11. The Wildcats never had more than three in any of the previous three seasons.
The average weight, meanwhile, has steadily increased, going from 184 pounds in 2015 to 196 this year.
It’s not all about size, though. Outside receivers coach Taylor Mazzone urges his charges to be the “tone-setters” for the team. What does that mean exactly? Mazzone’s reply to a question on a slightly different topic provided the answer.
Mazzone was asked what he looks for when recruiting players.
“Toughness through and through,” Mazzone said. “I need a guy that understands, mentally and physically, being tough. When the ball’s in his hand, is he a guy that avoids contact? Or is he a guy that likes contact?”
The ’19 receiving corps appears to have plenty of guys who like contact.
Redshirt senior Cedric Peterson — who was listed at 5-11, 193 last year and is 6-1, 197 this year — takes as much pride in blocking as he does receiving. The same goes for 6-3, 205-pound redshirt sophomore Drew Dixon, whose claim to fame to date at Arizona is driving an Oregon State defender through the back of the end zone last season.
Mazzone’s mantra is simple and succinct, Dixon said: “Be physical. Do your job.” It applies to the inside receivers too.
Jamarye Joiner is expected to bring a physical presence to the slot. Safety Tristan Cooper, who often guards Joiner in practice, recently expressed surprise at how physical the ex-quarterback is, remarking that he’s “strong as heck.” Joiner is listed at 6-1, 210. “He’s a big, strong guy,” Mazzone said. “He can go in there and block the big ‘Sam’ linebacker.
“He might do a little talking on the field, which is great. It gets the intensity going, the competition going. Whenever you get receivers out there buying in, and want to throw their hands on some Dlinemen or linebackers, it’s fun to watch.”
Quarterback Khalil Tate has noticed. He believes Joiner will present a mismatch for whoever tries to cover him.
“Most of the time in the slot, either you’ve got a guy that’s too small but can run a great route, or you’ve got a guy that’s really big but not that fast,” Tate said. “He brings a combination of both.”
How quickly Joiner learns to use his size to his advantage remains to be seen. All the reports from training camp have been positive. The Aug. 24 opener at Hawaii is less than two weeks away.
It took Dixon, another converted quarterback, a bit of time to figure that out. Mazzone believes Dixon gets it now. He’s slated for a much larger role, along with 6-4, 195-pound Tre Adams, opposite Peterson.
“He’s a big boy. He knows that if the ball’s in the air, it should be his,” Mazzone said of Dixon. “I feel like he’s found out that if you want to play in the Pac-12, you better have that aggressive gene when the ball’s in the air, because that DB on their side, he has the same gene.”
The UA receiving corps isn’t entirely composed of big men. It has three sub-6footers in Stanley Berryhill III, Jaden Mitchell and Tayvian Cunningham.