Arizona receiver Isaiah Mizell ‘ready to play’ for Wildcats

The cocksure Mizell and freshman receiver Caleb “Jet” Smith argued about who was the fastest between the two.

“I’ll win in a race,” Mizell said.

With a smirk, Smith said, “Nah, I really think I can win. We haven’t raced yet, but I really want to. … We got too busy over the summer.”

Mizell’s parents were the ideal teachers for developing. His mother, Ebony Robinson-Mizell, was an All-American sprinter and national qualifier in the 400-meter event at Florida. Mizell’s father, Wil Mizell, was also a track star for the Gators. Before Isaiah Mizell’s older brother, Aidan, played football at UF and now UCLA, he was a standout at Boone High School in Orlando, Florida.

Mizell’s top speed was clocked at 22 miles per hour, the fastest time at the high school level in 2024, according to Reel Analytics.

“It’s been genetics,” Mizell said. “I’ve always been fast. … Coming here, I’m definitely the fastest guy on the team.”

When Arizona recruited Mizell for the 2025 recruiting class, “it was glaringly obvious” that Arizona was the best landing spot for the Orlando receiver, he said. Mizell also considered Notre Dame, Kansas State, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and UCLA, among others. Arizona’s authenticity, led by Mizell’s hosts in Chris Hunter and Montana Lemonious-Craig, won him over.

“Not going to name any schools, but the visit was trying to sell you on the dream,” Mizell said. “When I came here (to Arizona), they weren’t selling me on anything. They were just telling me straight up. I could see that the brotherhood that the players have was real.”

Mizell established himself as arguably the fastest player on the team, but the freshman was still developing — both physically and mentally. Mizell learned “prehab is the best rehab,” especially for a 6-1, 168-pound receiver like himself. Footwork and crisp route-running outclass brawn.

“Obviously I’m not a 200-pound receiver or anything like that, but technique beats strength every time,” Mizell said.

It’s one thing to have the speed. It’s another thing to know what to do with that speed.

“You gotta have some patience with young kids,” Doege said. “His skillset was that he was really fast, but that was really it. He didn’t know how to play receiver. He didn’t have a great feel for it, but he knew how to run.”

Mizell played in three games last year and briefly became a part of the rotation halfway through the season when Kris Hutson, Hunter “and some other guys were banged up,” Doege said.

“We were depending on a freshman who wasn’t really ready to truly play and there were some busted routes and all of a sudden it looks like ‘What the hell are they running?’” Doege said.

Mizell is “night-and-day (different) than where he was last year,” Doege said.

“Completely different player and, honestly, a completely different person, in a sense,” Doege added.

Doege said, “The greatest thing about Mizell is that not only has he developed as a receiver that we can depend on — now, he’s got some work to do still and he’s not a finished product — but I trust him.”

“I think that comes with maturity,” said Doege. “The way he approached the offseason, the way he approached winter conditioning, the way he approached summer, that’s what is paying off for him, his mentality and the way he’s been attacking. I’m excited about him.”

Mizell has emerged as one of Arizona’s top receivers behind Hunter, Tre Spivey and Giovanni Richardson. Next to Richardson and Hunter, Mizell has been one of Arizona’s top-producing receivers in training camp. However, for every few eyebrow-raising catches, Mizell has dropped routine passes. Arizona wide receivers coach Bobby Wade — and Apple TV hit show “Ted Lasso” — have taught Mizell to not dwell on the drops and move on.

“Every meeting, he harps on the next play and the next-play mentality,” Mizell said of Wade. “Anything that happens in the past, it’s going to hurt you in the future. … Just gotta move on. Goldfish mentality. Ted Lasso.”

Added Smith: “I just have a short mindset. If I drop a ball, the next play is more important.”

At this pace, Mizell is expected to become a mainstay in Arizona’s offense and fit into a receiver puzzle that has multiple pieces such as Spivey, Richardson, Hunter, Mizell, Smith, R.J. Mosley, Brandon Phelps and transfers in Rodney Gallagher III (West Virginia), D.J. Jordan (USC) and Jordan Ross (Colorado State).

As a sophomore, Mizell is hopeful to take that next step in his development as a receiver and elevate Arizona’s offense.

“When I got here, I was really fresh and raw,” Mizell said. “I needed a year of development, learn the playbook, the route tree and everything like that. That year, it was needed for me. I wasn’t ready to be out on the field as a freshman. Coming into my sophomore year, I’m ready to play.”

Mahdi, Harris take team reps

The last cluster of Arizona football training camp is underway. 

As the countdown to kickoff continues, the Wildcats are implementing game-planning periods. Therefore, our notes and observations are light, because we can't share the game-prep goods. 

The most notable part of Arizona's latest training camp practice: running back Ismail Mahdi and linebacker Max Harris continued to take reps during team periods on Tuesday. 

The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit granted a stay request in the Wisne v. NCAA class-action lawsuit in Colorado, pausing the preliminary injunction that allows high school athletes from the 2022 recruiting class — like Mahdi and Harris — the ability to participate this season.

The stay, for the moment, pauses Harris and Mahdi’s eligibility to play in games this upcoming season. 

The decision to stay the preliminary injunction will only lead to further lawsuits and restraining order requests for the student-athletes who successfully filed restraining orders against the NCAA following the federal ruling in Colorado.

With the college football season kicking off this week, and the Wildcats kicking off in just over a week, it’s uncertain when Mahdi and Harris will be eligible to play this season.

If Harris and Mahdi are ruled ineligible for the season, it’s likely they’ll still be a part of the program and practice with the team, similar to former UA running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who was ruled ineligible by the NCAA but practiced with the team in front of NFL scouts throughout the season and was drafted in the seventh round of the NFL Draft by the Washington Commanders.

Arizona Athletics said Mahdi and Harris “remain eligible” and “will continue to practice with our football team as we continue to monitor the judicial process.”

Harris, who had the third-most tackles for the Wildcats last season, took first-team reps at linebacker on Tuesday. 

Mahdi took second-team reps at running back and nearly caught a pass over the middle from backup quarterback Sawyer Anderson, but the pass was broken up by Arizona safety Quinn Olson. 

"The team loves Mahdi," said Doege. "Our guys love Mahdi, the running backs room loves Mahdi, the coaches love Mahdi, the O-Linemen love Mahdi, Noah (Fifita) loves Mahdi, so having Mahdi around has been valuable for us.

"Obviously I can't predict the future nor get into what's going on with the appeals and the court rulings. I love having him here, he's having a great time and he looks really good. Hopefully it all works out for him." 

Extra points

— Doege, on Richardson: “He’s fast, he’s really tough, he’s got great route-running ability, he’s got great feel for space, he’s extremely intelligent and all of those are exactly what I want in a slot (receiver). He’s crushing it. He’s like the receiver version of Noah (Fifita) when it comes to processing. We can draw up a significant (and) complex (play) and Gio is going out and executing it. … I’m really pleased with his development. I think he’s going to have an unbelievable year. … Gio is kind of a prick and I like that about him.”

— Mizell, on being one of roughly a dozen players from the southeastern part of the U.S.: “In my personal opinion, the south produces dawgs. When you look at the history of people who made it to the NFL, especially at skill positions, we’re the best.”

— Arizona running back Kedrick Reescano was named to the preseason Doak Walker Award watch list. The annual award is given to college football’s top running back. Reescano led the Wildcats with nine rushing touchdowns last season, the most by a UA running back since Zach Green in 2017. Seven of Reescano's touchdowns were inside the red zone.

— Former Arizona tight end Tanner McLachlan spoke to the team following practice on Tuesday. McLachlan played at Arizona from 2022-23 and had 1,152 yards and eight touchdowns in his college career, the most productive UA tight end since Rob Gronkowski. McLachlan was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but was waived the following year. McLachlan had brief stints with the Los Angeles Chargers and San Francisco 49ers. The Niners waived McLachlan on Monday.

— Arizona 2028 offensive line commit Karmello Calloway decommitted from the Wildcats. Calloway, a 6-6, 295-pound offensive tackle from Centennial High School in Peoria, has offers from Texas A&M, Washington, Kansas and Wisconsin. Calloway was previously Arizona’s lone commit for ‘28.