Breaking Down Arizona’s WR Room Ahead of the Bye Week
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The Arizona Wildcats are now 4-3 following a two-game skid, dropping heartbreaking one-possession matchups to BYU 33-27 in double overtime and Houston 31-28 on a walk-off field goal with seconds remaining.
With those losses comes the bitter pain of being so close to a win, but not doing enough to get the job done. Head coach Brent Brennan knows all too well what that feels like and will do whatever it takes to make sure his team does not feel that pain again for the remainder of the 2025 season.
- "When you lose two games that way and it's so hard and it's so challenging, the thing that we talk about with the players is what choice do you have?" Brennan said. "
- "You want to choose to believe you can or you can't. And so with this team, this team believes they can. And that's the way they showed up for work yesterday, and that's the way they'll show up for work tomorrow."
- ... Helping our players navigate that and doing those things the right way and continuing to live redline and continuing to dive into our process is what's given us a chance to play better football. And if we stay the course, we will get it. Keep We have to keep pounding the rock. Eventually, it's going to break."
With the Wildcats heading into the bye week, they will have plenty of time to correct any blemishes they have had so far.
The Arizona wide receiving corps has seen a ton of improvement from last season, which was desperately needed after the departure of Tetairoa McMillan, who was drafted by the Carolina Panthers with the eighth pick in the 2025 NFL draft this past April.
Added depth
One of the most significant problems the Wildcats faced in 2024 was not dispersing the ball as effectively as they did this year. McMillan had 1319 yards, while the next best receiver, Chris Hunter, had 323.
This year, quarterback Noah Fifita has had no problems in dispersing the ball to a high number of receivers.
The addition of Tre Spivey, Luke Wysong, Javin Whatley, Kris Hutson has added so much depth to a wide receiver room that already consisted of Chris Hunter, Devin Hyatt, and Jeremiah Patterson.
Because the Arizona staff has been so diligent in adding weapons to Fifita's arsenal, he has passed the ball to 12 different receivers this season.
Grade: B
The wide receiving corps has received a B for the way they all have formed as a cohesive group with one goal in mind, which is to dominate the opposing secondary and making sure that at least one of them is open so the chains keep moving.
It has seemed that every wide receiver on the roster has had their shining moment. Tre Spivey has scored six times on 11 possessions and shone against Oklahoma State. Javin Whatley amassed 168 yards on five catches for two touchdowns against Weber State.
Welcome to Tucson, Wysong.@LukeWysong finds the end zone for the first time as a Wildcat. pic.twitter.com/H72rps3NvS
— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) October 4, 2025
Wysong and the Cowboys, along with Spivey, logged 92 yards and a score, that being for 47 yards. Hutson had two huge games, amassing 67 yards and a touchdown against Iowa State and 106 yards with a core against BYU, etc.
The wide receiving corps doesn't receive a higher grade because, at times, it has had trouble separating from DBs. Arizona's loss to Iowa State is the biggest example of that, as Fifita struggled in finding open receivers downfield for the entirety of the game.
The Wildcats' receivers also have dropped 11 balls before playing OK State, which needed to be addressed as soon as possible. Lastly, there is yet to be a receiver to emerge as the No. 1 target.
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Nathaniel Martinez and a set of shoulder pads at 7 years old. He later graduated from Pima Community College in 2023, where he began writing for the Pima Post. He is working to achieve a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication and Media Studies.