Arizona Wildcats Football

The University of Arizona announced Saturday that wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan signed a letter of intent to play at the school.

As part of the announcement, Arizona noted that McMillan is the highest-ranked recruit in the history of the program.

McMillan is the fifth-best wide receiver and 46th-best overall player in the 2022 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

He initially committed to Oregon in August, but head coach Mario Cristobal's departure for Miami led to obvious questions about whether that decision would hold. He allayed any fears about that to 247Sports' Greg Biggins.

"It's been wild," he said (h/t Ducks Wire's Zachary Neel). "My phone is blowing up right now. I’ve heard a lot from USC as well as Arizona and Clemson. Right now, my plan is to stay committed and I still want to go to Oregon."

Despite that, McMillan made the decision to flip to one of Oregon's Pac-12 rivals in the Wildcats.

McMillan's sophomore numbers (65 receptions, 851 yards, 12 touchdowns) don't necessarily jump off the page, but they were good enough to get him on to MaxPreps' All-American team for 2022 recruits.

Thanks to his 6'4", 185-pound frame, the Servite (Anaheim, California) star is easy to spot in any highlight reel.

Biggins wrote about McMillan in July 2019, noting one exciting aspect about him is how much more he could continue to fill out:

He's already 6'3", 185 pounds, and by the time he's a senior at Servite, will likely be in the 200-plus range. He's a rangy safety/corner right now but could even grow into a linebacker by the time he hits a college campus.

As a receiver, McMillan has exceptional hands and body control. He's an elite volleyball player and has tremendous leaping ability. He's a brutal matchup in jump ball and red zone situations and has the speed to get behind a defense as well.

McMillan's high school career in general is a great example of why student-athletes should pursue multiple sports. Not only is he a star on the gridiron, but he's also an all-league volleyball player and a member of Servite's basketball team. The skills he honed in those disciplines are bound to come in handy on the gridiron.

Because of his size, McMillan should be a red-zone threat right out of the gate. Over time, he should grow into one of FBS' top pass-catchers.

Arizona has finished with a losing record in each of the past four seasons and has gone just 1-16 combined over the past two seasons.

Jedd Fisch's first season as the head coach at Arizona in 2021 was rough with the Wildcats finishing 1-11, but securing a top-flight recruit like McMillan could be a sign that the tide is turning.

Two of the all-time greatest University of Arizona football players will play a role in the Wildcats' spring game April 24.

According to Justin Spears of Tucson.com, Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch revealed that Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski will serve as a coach in the spring game, and he will coach against former New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi, who is now a senior adviser to Fisch.

Spears noted that it will mark Gronk's first appearance at Arizona Stadium since the 2011 spring game following his NFL rookie season with the Pats.

Gronk, 31, played for the Wildcats from 2007-08, registering 75 receptions for 1,197 yards and 16 touchdowns in 22 games.

He was selected by the Pats in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft and went on to become one of the best tight ends in NFL history.

In his nine seasons with the Pats, Gronk recorded 521 catches for 7,861 yards and 79 touchdowns. He was also named a Pro Bowler five times and First-Team All-Pro four times while winning three Super Bowls.

Gronk retired for one season, but he returned in 2020 and followed quarterback and close friend Tom Brady to Tampa. That decision paid dividends, as Gronk won his fourth Super Bowl, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the Super Bowl LV win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

The 47-year-old Bruschi was a defensive lineman at the University of Arizona from 1991-95. He was a three-time All-Pac-10 selection, two-time Consensus All-American and the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 1995.

Bruschi was selected by the Patriots in the third round of the 1996 NFL draft and quickly converted to linebacker.

He went on to become one of the most beloved figures in franchise history, spending all 13 of his NFL seasons in New England. Bruschi was a three-time Super Bowl champion, one-time Pro Bowler and the 2005 NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

With the spring game, Arizona will look to get the 2021 season off on the right foot, as it went 0-5 last season and finished with a losing record in each of the past three campaigns.

That led to the firing of Kevin Sumlin and hiring of Fisch, who was the Patriots' quarterbacks coach last season.  

The Arizona Wildcats football team has officially hired Jedd Fisch as its next head coach.

Adam Schefter and Field Yates of ESPN first reported the news.

Fisch has spent this season as the quarterbacks coach for the New England Patriots and has nearly 20 years of experience as a coach at both the college and NFL levels.

He will replace Kevin Sumlin, who was fired earlier this month after going 0-5 in 2020. Arizona suffered a 70-7 loss in the final game of the season, marking the 12th straight loss for the team dating back to last season.

The Wildcats had three losing seasons and a 9-20 overall record under Sumlin.

"When we hired Kevin three years ago, we had very high hopes for our football program," Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke said in a statement (h/t Adam Rittenberg of ESPN). "Unfortunately, we simply have not seen the results and upward trajectory in our program that we needed to, and I believe now is the time for a change in leadership."

Sumlin will receive a $7.5 million buyout based on the two years remaining on his contract.

Fisch will hope to turn things around despite limited experience as a head coach. His only time running a team came in 2017 with UCLA when he went 1-1 as the interim coach, replacing Jim Mora. He and Josh Rosen led the Bruins to a win over Cal before losing to Kansas State in the Cactus Bowl.

The 44-year-old has also worked as an assistant with the Los Angeles Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans in various roles, including two years as offensive coordinator for the Jaguars in 2013-14.

In addition to being the offensive coordinator at UCLA, Fisch has also spent time with Michigan, Miami and Minnesota at the college level.

This stretch has allowed him to work for an impressive collection of coaches, including Bill Belichick, Sean McVay, Pete Carroll, Brian Billick, Mike Shanahan and Jim Harbaugh, plus Steve Spurrier as a graduate assistant for Florida in 1999-2000.

It could help Fisch turn things around for Arizona after a disappointing run under Sumlin.

The University of Arizona fired head football coach Kevin Sumlin after going 0-5 this season. 

Arizona is in the midst of a 12-game losing streak dating back to last season and got throttled 70-7 by Arizona State in a rivalry game Friday night.

Sumlin, 56, went 9-20 with the Wildcats in three losing campaigns. Once considered one of the brightest offensive minds in college football, Sumlin fell on hard times during the latter half of his tenure at Texas A&M and fared no better at Arizona.

The Wildcats went 5-7 during Sumlin's first season at the helm, showing potential offensively but ranking among the Pac-12's worst defenses. They gave up 30-plus points in five of their final six contests.

The defense did not fare much better in 2019, opening with an abysmal performance against Hawaii before continuing to struggle throughout the season. Arizona ranked 118th in the nation last season with 35.8 points allowed per game.

This season, the Wildcats got off to a late start since the Pac-12 delayed the beginning of its campaign amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Things didn't get any better for Arizona once things got underway, though, as it allowed 39.8 points per game, 121st in the country.

Sumlin's departure continues a precipitous fall for a coach who once looked destined for an NFL future. His partnership with Johnny Manziel was one of the most thrilling coach-quarterback duos in recent college football history, but Sumlin failed to mesh with Kyler Murray or Kyle Allen after him. Murray and Allen both transferred from Texas A&M to find a much higher level of success and eventually land in the NFL.

Sumlin's resume reads similar to Chip Kelly's, though with less success. Like Sumlin, Kelly's offense burned white-hot in the collegiate spotlight before he got an NFL look with the Philadelphia Eagles. The NFL soon figured out Kelly after one solid season, and he's returned to the college level at UCLA but has yet to regain the same level of success.

Overall, in 13 seasons as a college head coach at Houston, Texas A&M and Arizona, Sumlin owns a 95-63 record with seven bowl appearances.

Arizona head football coach Kevin Sumlin has contracted COVID-19 and will continue to work remotely while he quarantines, the school announced Monday.

"My family and I have been aggressive in our efforts to remain safe and healthy throughout these past seven months," Sumlin said in a statement. "My positive test result, while a shock, is a stark reminder how we must all remain vigilant in our focus on hand washing, physical distancing and face coverings.

"I am feeling well and will be engaged in our ramp-up activities on a virtual basis until I complete the isolation protocol. I look forward to being back on the field in time to begin preparing for the season."

CDC guidelines recommend a person who tests positive for COVID-19 to self-isolate for at least 10 days. 

Sumlin is heading into his third season at Arizona, where he's posted a 9-15 record. The Wildcats will play a six-game conference schedule beginning next month as part of the Pac-12's altered 2020 slate. The conference initially canceled all fall sports before allowing football to resume amid advancements in rapid testing and the Big Ten's return.

Provided he makes a full recovery, Sumlin should be back with the team well in advance of its Nov. 7 opener at Utah. 

The University of Arizona is temporarily halting its plan to bring student-athletes back to campus in Tucson due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

"The health, safety and well-being of all members of our community is our number one priority," director of athletics Dave Heeke said, per ESPN's Adam Rittenberg. "We will continue to work in conjunction with campus partners and our local government agencies to support and evaluate a safe and healthy return to campus."

With states relaxing business restrictions and stay-at-home guidelines in recent weeks and months, the number of coronavirus cases is rising across the country.

The pandemic is hitting Arizona especially hard. On May 19, the state had confirmed 432 new cases. On June 19, officials confirmed 3,534 cases, and Arizona's 3,858 cases on Sunday are a single-day high.

In order to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced Monday the state will close select businesses for 30 days, per CNN's Kimberly Berryman and Theresa Waldrop.

The NCAA Division I Council opened the door for schools to resume activities for football and basketball teams starting June 1. 

According to Rittenberg, Arizona began bringing back athletes for voluntary workouts in groups of about 20 on June 15. The school is waiting to hear from Ducey about the ability of those already on campus to continue working out.

The consequences of reopening college sports—even on a limited basis—have mirrored that of the United States as a whole. A number of universities have reported positive COVID-19 cases. At Clemson, Andrea Adelson of ESPN noted almost one-third of the football team (37 players) have tested positive for the coronavirus.

University of Arizona President Dr. Robert Robbins does not envision that college football will be played this fall because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Appearing on Arizona radio station KVOI-AM (h/t ESPN's Mark Schlabach), Robbins expressed doubt over whether the 2020 season can go on as scheduled: "I'm really concerned about whether we're going to be playing football in the fall. My sense, right now, I just don't see that happening."

Robbins added:

"We're waiting to see what the NCAA does, what the Pac-12 does. As much as I want it, you know, it just seems as though if we do play any football in the fall, it's going to be delayed because I've heard nothing and we're headed to May 1. My hope is we're going to get some clarity on this very soon, but it seems unlikely to me. I'd love to see it happen, but we're waiting every day to get some guidance."

Essentially every major American sports league is shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the NBA, MLB and NHL. The coronavirus also prompted the NCAA to cancel the men's and women's basketball tournaments, as well as all spring sports' seasons.

The 2020 college football season is scheduled to start in late August, but with stay-at-home orders in place and large gatherings banned across the nation, those plans could be in jeopardy.

It is also increasingly unlikely that teams will be able to hold spring practices, so they may not be ready to start playing in late August even if coronavirus-related measures are softened or no longer in place.

Robbins noted that he expects the start of the season to be delayed at the very least and has heard the possibility that fall and winter sports begin in January or February 2021 and run through the spring.

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit discussed the situation during a conference call this week and said he too has heard the season could start as late as February or March with the College Football Playoff postponed until June.

Herbstreit also noted that he would be "shocked" if the college football and NFL seasons begin in the fall.

While a winter start into the spring may be on the table for college football if starting in August isn't possible, several issues could arise with such a decision.

If the NFL still holds its 2021 draft in April next year, it may require players who want to enter to sit out the college football season so as not to risk injury. Even if players are willing to risk it, they may not be eligible to play after getting drafted and signing a contract.

That would seem to suggest it could only work if college football and the NFL both agree to start their seasons at roughly the same time. Otherwise, college football would have to be played primarily with underclassmen. 

Arizona Wildcats quarterback Khalil Tate won't play in Saturday's game against UCLA.

Per Jason Scheer of Wildcat Authority, Tate is dealing with a hamstring injury.

Tate has managed to maintain relatively good health since taking over as starter in the fifth game last year, missing just one contest. An ankle injury sidelined him for an Oct. 20 tilt against the UCLA Bruins, a 31-30 Wildcats loss.

The 6'2", 215-pound quarterback burst on to the scene as a sophomore thanks to his ability to make plays with both his arm and his legs. However, under coach Kevin Sumlin, the dual-threat star has run significantly less.

He has 684 passing yards, 238 rushing yards and eight total touchdowns in three games in 2019.

Arizona is off to a 2-1 start this season. Losing Tate for any amount of time is a big blow to the offense, making winning games that much tougher.

Without Tate available, the Wildcats would likely turn to freshman Grant Gunnell. The 6'6", 225-pound signal-caller is 9-of-11 for 151 yards and three touchdowns in his lone appearance against Northern Arizona on Sept. 7.