Arizona receiver Gio Richardson ‘out for a little bit’ with leg injury

Richardson “has a lower extremity injury and he’s going to be out for a little bit. That’s all I know today,” Brennan said.

Richardson, who’s Arizona’s leading receiver with 14 catches for 161 yards in two games, was tackled out of bounds by BYU linebacker Cade Uluave and cornerback Evan Johnson on the BYU 21-yard line on Arizona’s sideline.

Even though Richardson didn’t play the final three quarters, he led the Wildcats in receiving with five catches on six targets for 48 yards — all from the first quarter.

“He was pretty hot, so the impact was significant,” Brennan said of Richardson’s loss on Saturday.

Excluding Richardson, Arizona’s five receivers used on Saturday — Chris Hunter, Tre Spivey, Caleb “Jet” Smith, Brandon Phelps and Rodney Gallagher III — had a combined 10 catches for 87 yards. Hunter was targeted six times and had one reception for 12 yards. Gallagher had five catches for 26 yards, the second-most behind Richardson.

“I think Rod stepped up in a big way,” said Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita. “He has a lot of game experience. He’s a dude. He’s been a dude for a long time. I don’t think we missed too much of a beat. Gio brings some explosiveness to our offense that we’re going to need when we get him back. Rod and Jet, they’re both really good players, running routes and also with the ball in their hands.

“I gotta take it upon myself to get my guys the ball. Tre Spivey and Chris Hunter didn’t touch the ball enough today and that’s my fault.”

Gallagher and Smith took over for Richardson at slot receiver on Saturday. Gallagher, a fourth-year transfer from West Virginia, played 37 offensive snaps while Smith, who’s Arizona’s starting punt returner and kick returner, logged four offensive snaps.

Gallagher’s catch on fourth-and-4 with just over eight minutes remaining on Saturday nearly picked up the first down, but Gallagher was stopped short. After initially ruling a first down, the spot of the ball was overturned, resulting in a turnover on downs and BYU scoring a touchdown to move ahead by two possessions, 28-17.

Despite a lackluster performance by Arizona’s receivers in the final three quarters, “I love that group,” Brennan said.

“That group is deep, there’s talent there,” added Arizona’s head coach. “There’s some plays to be made for some of those guys. When we look back on that, we know we want to get the ball in the hands of Tre Spivey and Chris Hunter. I thought Rodney went in and made some good plays and did some good stuff in the slot. (Phelps) made some plays in that game. We feel good about the depth in that room. I’m excited to see those guys attack practice tomorrow and I’m excited to see what they do on Saturday.”

Richardson’s absence could result in an elevated role for Smith, a freshman who had a 34-yard kick return against BYU, behind Gallagher.

“He’s going to build more reps into that thing,” Brennan said of Smith. “It’s unfair to throw a freshman out there and say, ‘Go do it.’ The game is moving fast. Now, Jet is fast, so that helps but the game moves fast and there’s a lot more scheme, there’s sight adjust, coverage variation and way more volume and all that stuff. (Arizona wide receivers coach) is doing a great job with his process of developing those young players and how their roles are going to continue to grow.”

Arizona (1-1) faces NIU (0-2) at Casino Del Sol Stadium on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. on TNT, HBO Max and TruTV.