In the spring, the wide receiver room was tasked with finding their roles. Training camp is now showing how well each player is fitting into their role and it has created a very high level of competition.
One competition that is proving to be very productive is the battle between sophomore Giovanni Richardson
and senior Rodney Gallgher III. Wide receivers coach Bobby Wade knows that this competition will only bring the best out of both players.“It also lets Gio know that you know there’s a quality
candidate that is going to push him if things aren’t right for him,” said Wade. “That healthy competition really allows both of them to really play at a high level.”
While Richardson showed his talent last season with 21 catches, two touchdowns, and 299 yards, a starting spot is not guaranteed and Gallagher brings the battle to continuously push Richardson to keep getting better. Gallagher transferred in from West Virginia with 64 receptions, 605 yards and three TDs in his career.
“Rodney, he’s a professional, you can see just in the locker room and around the building how guys treat him,” said Wade. “The guys show a lot of respect towards Rodney, coaches as well, because of how he carries himself within the building, very professional, always on time, doing everything right.”
Gallagher only needed one trip to Tucson to know he was home. Not only did he want to help the Wildcats contend for a Big 12 title, but he wanted to go somewhere that he knew would push him to be at his best day in and day out. In choosing Arizona, he was told that playing time would not be guaranteed, so in typical “redline” fashion he took that as a challenge.
“For Rodney to be able to take that as a nod of confidence, but also a challenge for him to still choose to want to come to Arizona and play that role, knowing that he’s going to have plenty of opportunities to help this football team win, it says a lot about who he is and what he thinks about this team,” said Wade.
While both Richardson and Gallagher are striving in their roles, the elder statesmen of the room are junior Tre Spivey and senior Chris Hunter. The experience that both bring to the room is invaluable, and even though this isn’t their first rodeo, their strive to get better never stops and Wade makes sure of it.
“I promise you that that room and those two particularly are getting pushed to be their very very best,” said Wade. “They get graded as hard as anybody else, and I’m not letting my guard down on that at all. I’m gonna continue to push them to be their very best.”
Spivey, Hunter, Richardson, and Gallagher III will get the majority of snaps this season, but that has not stopped young guys like R.J. Mosley and Caleb Smith from showing their playmaking ability. Their drive to prove themselves helps to push not just each other, but the older guys in the room.
“Their eagerness to learn reminds me a lot of Gio and Mizell were last year, and so I think that’s their edge,” said Wade. “Iron sharpens iron, I see one of them typically I see the other one right behind them. So, they’re doing a great job getting acclimated to what college football requires.”
Between the veterans and the young bucks, transfers DJ Jordan and Jordan Ross are still adjusting to the culture that is built by the players who live the redline life. The on-field process is something they have down, but what is required off the field is still being worked on.
“The demands about being on time, the demands in the weight room for being 15 minutes early, the demand of being five minutes early to your team meetings, all these things are new to them,” said Wade. “So I think the sense of urgency when they’re in the building, they’re starting to understand what that what that wiring is about, and at the same time being able to let their guard down to be able to let us in so that they can trust us. It’s not easy, but they’ve done a great job with trying to allow us to coach them and coach them hard.”
Not every player lives the Redline life 24/7, 365 days, but that’s when Redline shows the most. When the players keep each other accountable in doing the extra, the in between, and the unrequired, then that becomes the norm.
Each receiver is pushing each other to earn their snaps and reps. Wade is making sure that regardless of experience or inexperience, everyone is getting a fair shot to see the field this season.
“I do believe the boys trust me in understanding that they’re getting their fair shot,” he said. “We also do a great job to be able to evaluate guys based off of the reps they’re in on and the plays that they’re actually making.”
“Not necessarily about who’s throwing the ball or was the ball completed, but more or less, are you lining up correctly, are you making the right reads. are you making the right adjustments, are you blocking the right guys?”
