ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV

Maybe some bumps and bruises, but nothing that would sideline him for weeks or even months.

The Arizona freshman receiver and Chandler Basha product suffered the worst injury of his career in the biggest game of his career, the Open state championship against Peoria Liberty.

In the first half of Basha’s 35-17 loss to Liberty, Richardson ran a shallow route and was “head-drop tackled� by a Liberty defender, snapping his fibula.

“I’ve never broken a bone before that moment, so I was like, ‘Dang, is it going to be as hard as everyone says an injury is?’� Richardson recalled. “Truthfully, it wasn’t really that bad. I just kept my spirits up. It’s football, things happen.�

It was a bitter ending to a productive and successful career at Basha. Richardson had 2,531 all-purpose yards and 22 touchdowns in three seasons as a receiver and returner at Basha.

Basha went 33-5 with Richardson on its roster and won the Open state title in 2022. The Bears also had former Arizona quarterback signee Demond Williams, who followed former head coach Jedd Fisch to Washington, and highly-touted cornerback Cole Martin, who’s now at UCLA. Basha has four straight appearances in the Open state playoffs.

“Basha is on the rise and I don’t think they’re going to fall any time soon,� Richardson said.

Richardson was also a track star at Basha and has the third-fastest time (10.76 seconds) for the 100-meter dash. He’s also a part of Basha’s all-time fastest 4x100 relay team (41.22 seconds).

Richardson, who was first recruited by Arizona receivers coach Bobby Wade at the end of his junior season at Basha, verbally committed to the Wildcats on Independence Day last year and selected ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV over ASU, Vanderbilt and Kansas State, among others. Richardson signed with Arizona just three days before his fibula injury.

Two weeks after Richardson’s leg surgery, he became an early enrollee at the UA and joined the Wildcats for their spring practice schedule, but in limited fashion.

Not practicing while recovering from an injury “was kind of a good thing in a way because I learned the playbook off of that, just sitting back and watching,� said the 5-10, 173-pound Richardson.

“Coming here, it was a quick recovery,� he said. “Our training staff did a great job getting me back on the field. ... I came back quicker than I was supposed to. The mental reps was what really helped me know the whole playbook now. Sitting back, watching, asking questions in the meeting room, it was really just a benefit. ... Now I’m full-go, which is fun.�

Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said Richardson “is really smart� and has quickly adapted to playing at the Power 4 level and the Wildcats’ offensive scheme under first-year offensive coordinator Seth Doege.

“Sometimes that’s one of those things that’s a hurdle for freshmen because there’s so much more volume, so much more inventory of plays and concepts,� Brennan said. “The defenses are different and there’s more disguising, so sometimes they struggle learning those things and putting it all together. He’s so diligent with his process, that he’s really improving and accelerating his process deeper and deeper into camp.

“Because he’s doing that, he’s playing better, so he’s getting more reps and he’s making the most of those reps. I tell every player that, ‘If we give you two reps, those two reps need to say that you should get four. You need to prove it. If you want to be on the first team, prove it. You’re going to get a chance, let’s see what you got.’ So far, Gio is taking advantage of the reps that he’s been getting.�

Richardson has been one of Arizona’s top performers from its 2025 recruiting class in training camp, and has taken reps with the Wildcats’ second unit on offense. Brennan said “it’s been great to see him push and get healthy and find ways to get in the mix this fall,� and called Richardson a “tough-ass kid.�

“You saw that in high school,� Brennan said. “He played both ways on a really good high school football team. He’s competitive as all get-out and he’s got real speed. He plays with a nice confidence, a nice swagger out there. He’s young, but he does not look like a young player running around out there with the offense.�

Brennan is a wide receivers coach by trade and “comes into our meeting rooms and sits down to give us tips and notes on everything we should do,� Richardson said.

“He’s literally a receiver, so everything we do, he knows how to do it and helps us,� said Richardson.

Sometimes freshmen, especially in Power 4 football, have lowered expectations and are more often than not contributors on special teams or they redshirt to spend a year in the weight room to develop their bodies.

“Coming in, I set a high standard for myself, really,� Richardson said. “Recover from my injury and get on the field as fast as I can.�

Brennan was candid about his plan for freshmen.

“If they can help us win, they’re going to play,� he said. “To me, there’s no balance there. ... If they’re good enough to help us win every game, they’re going to play.�

Richardson cracking Arizona’s rotation is still to be determined considering the Wildcats have multiple wide receivers entering their last season of eligibility, like Kris Hutson, Javin Whatley, Luke Wysong and Jeremiah Patterson. Plus, the Wildcats also have multi-year veterans in Chris Hunter, Tre Spivey, Devin Hyatt, Brandon Phelps and Rex Haynes in rotation, as well.

Wade said his ideal rotation of receivers in a game is “at the very least six,� but “that’ll get settled over the course of a game,� Brennan added.

Brennan has coached offenses that highlighted anywhere from four to nine receivers in a game.

“It just depends on the effort and production you’re getting out of whoever you got out there,� Brennan said. “It has been a lot of fun to watch because a lot of those guys have made a lot of plays over the course of training camp so far. I’m excited because we have a lot of practice left, so there’s still a lot of time for that competition to get more intense and continue to increase.�

Hutson, Fifita ‘building some good chemistry’

The chemistry on the field is sometimes created off the field.

Hutson has prioritized that with Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita, who he called a “righty Tua� — a comparison to Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

“He throws the ball just like (Tagovailoa),� Hutson said of Fifita. “The timing is perfect. All the routes are perfect. We have a great connection off the field. That’s the one thing I try to harp on a lot. On the field, it’s going to come naturally, but off the field, I try to harp on having a connection with my quarterback.�

In the offseason, Hutson and Fifita often ate Chipotle together and watched the NBA Finals at Fifita’s house.

When Hutson was at Oregon, he had a similar relationship with current Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix.

“We had a great connection off the field,� Hutson said. “Going out to eat, talking about life and things like that. That’s what I try to do with Noah. We build that connection, so when we get on the field, it’ll be easy.�

That connection was on display Saturday night at Arizona Stadium for the Wildcats’ third evening practice of training camp.

Hutson pirouetted near the right sideline and hauled in a pass from Fifita for a gain of roughly 40 yards. However, the catch was ruled out of bounds. In a different team period, Hutson caught another deep pass over cornerback Jay’Vion Cole for huge gain.

In Arizona’s practice on Friday, the 5-11, 173-pound Hutson sprawled out for a touchdown catch from Fifita near the front pylon in a red zone period. In Arizona’s seventh training camp practice on Thursday, Hutson fell to the ground and still managed to make a catch despite smothering coverage by cornerback Michael Dansby.

Hutson, who’s wearing Tetairoa McMillan’s No. 4 jersey number, doesn’t have the catch radius and high-point ability as the former star receiver and longtime teammate of Fifita, but he has become one of the Wildcats’ top playmakers on deep passes.

“Our expectations for Kris are really high,� Brennan said. “He’s a young man that has played a lot of football. He matches high-level talent with a lot of experience. He plays with a lot of confidence out there and I think that’s one of those things that’s a lot of fun. He’s a technically sound receiver. Technically, he’s fantastic. ... It’s fun to see him make plays. Him and Noah are building some good chemistry and I’m excited to see the things he’s going to do this fall.�

UA set to host ‘Meet the Cats,’ open practice

Two weeks before the season opener, Arizona fans can catch a glimpse of the Wildcats at the team’s “Meet the Cats� event at the Davis Sports Center on Saturday, along with their open practice Sunday night, Aug. 17, at Arizona Stadium.

Meet the Cats is from 3-4:30 p.m. on Saturday and each attendee will receive a season poster and have a window to receive autographs. The open practice on Sunday begins at 7:15 p.m.

Extra points

– Richardson, on his debut in the College Football 26 video game: “I got the game and threw a touchdown to myself. I was not throwing it to anyone else but myself.�

– Richardson, on learning from Hutson and Whatley: “They’re older guys, so they have played a lot more snaps than me, obviously. Every tip they give me, I take it and remember it.�

– Brennan, on McMillan getting inducted into the Arizona Stadium Ring of Honor: “It’s an incredible honor and well-deserved. T-Mac has been one of those guys that was always a great representative of the University of Arizona. ... He loves this place and this place is special to him.�