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Arizona sophomore wide receiver Giovanni Richardson, who was Gio Richardson last season, has "been called Gio my whole life," but will officially be known as Giovanni Richardson, the name on his birth certificate.  

"Gio has been something I was called since I was young, so now that I'm grown, I'd like to hear Giovanni," said Richardson. "All my friends and people still call me Gio. I have no problem hearing Gio. It's just for the announcers and when you look my name up. It's Giovanni for my mom, because she likes Giovanni."

Richardson's mother hails from an Italian background and grew up in Des Plaines, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Richardson also changed his hometown on the from Chandler to Rockford, Illinois.

Richardson kept the changes under wraps and texted his mom a screenshot of his player bio on the Arizona football website.

"She hearted (the text message) and was super excited, so I guess she was happy about that," Richardson said. 

Any significance to the name Giovanni?

"Not really, just an Italian name," Richardson said with a smile. 

With Mother's Day around the corner, Richardson made his mom proud. Since arriving in Tucson, his production and work ethic has made the UA coaches proud of the second-year player who starred at Basha High School in Chandler prior to his Arizona career. 

Last year at this time, Richardson was just a few months removed from a fibula injury he suffered in Basha's state championship game. As an early enrollee, Richardson missed the entirety of the spring and was limited in fall training camp. 

Richardson blossomed into one of Arizona's most promising freshmen last season, recording 21 catches for 299 yards and two touchdowns. His second touchdown was a crucial touchdown in the fourth quarter of Arizona's upset win over Cincinnati, which also pushed quarterback Noah Fifita ahead of Nick Foles for the most career touchdowns at the UA. 

"Really proud of his perseverance," Arizona wide receivers coach Bobby Wade said of Richardson. "Obviously, walking in with the injury that he had, missing the spring and a lot of the summer, that was tough on him. But the focus he had in the classroom right away gave him an opportunity to line up correctly and give him a chance to play early.

"Those guys come in with high expectations, so you try to find a way to balance playing time along with their expectations in what they wanted to get done this season. When we look back on it, Gio — Giovanni would tell you he's proud of how his freshman year went; I'm the same way. I'm excited about his progression in the winter and where we're at in the spring. Very happy with where he's at." 

Wade said Richardson's "want-to is really high. He has a care factor that is extremely high, he wants to be really good. With that comes eagerness to want to learn and open himself up to the coaching." 

Richardson's maturity and confidence stems from having two older brothers and being the youngest sibling. 

"My confidence was always through the roof," Richardson said. "Getting here, it was like, 'OK, this is college football. I'm a grown man, I live by myself and I need to start acting like it.' I still joke around and be a kid. I just carry myself the same way I've done since I was young, just with a whole bunch of confidence." 

Last season, Richardson and Orlando native Isaiah Mizell were the two freshmen in a rotation heavy with experience, with veterans like Kris Hutson and Javin Whatley — the two leading receivers — and Luke Wysong, who was a reliable receiver and punt returner. 

"You saw it during the season, that confidence just grew and grew," Arizona redshirt senior receiver Chris Hunter said of Richardson. "That's why you saw him on the field, making big-time play after big-time play. ... His maturity at this point, barely being a second-year player, it's remarkable to see, especially after his growth from last year." 

Something old, something new

Tre Spivey, Richardson and Hunter could conceivably be Arizona's starting trio at receiver in 2026, but the Wildcats needed reinforcements, which is why they signed transfers Rodney Gallagher (West Virginia), DJ Jordan (USC) and Jordan Ross (Colorado State). 

Jordan was a highly touted recruit as a Los Angeles-area native and Sierra Canyon High School product in 2023. After redshirting his freshman season, the 5-11, 178-pounder had five catches for 38 yards in his second season at USC.

Ross, who's also from L.A., had 26 catches for 302 yards and a touchdown during his two-year career with the Rams.

In three years at West Virginia, Gallagher had 64 receptions for 605 yards and three touchdowns. He had the second-most receptions (28) for the Mountaineers this past season — his only season under former Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez.

When Gallagher signed with Arizona, former WVU head coach Neal Brown texted ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV offensive coordinator Seth Doege: "'Hey, man. That was one of my favorite players that we had.'"

Added Doege: "A head coach in the Big 12 texting you that you got a good one, that makes you feel good, too." 

Gallagher's size, speed and special teams prowess puts him in line to replace Wysong.

"They're both great, great workers," Doege said of Gallagher and Wysong. "They work their tails off and they attack everything they do. There's a little bit of a difference in their game, like Luke is straight-line speed and will run through a wall for you, where Rodney has a little bit more feel for the space; but they're both bulldogs and they'll run through you."  

Richardson said, "even off the field, Rodney and Luke are the same person."

"Just goofy and love to have fun and joke around," Richardson said. "Luke and Rodney do play a little similar on the field. They're both technical receivers. They know how to get it done the right way. They have their own swag, but it's the right swag to keep it in the path of how it's supposed to be done." 

Adding fast receivers to complement the returners was "very important" this offseason for Arizona. 

"Probably because the guys we lost in Javin Whatley, Luke Wysong and Kris Hutson, those were all fast guys who can run," Wade said. "Being able to find a way to get those other guys in here that can help in that space. We believe in the guys we have in the room, and obviously retention was very important, getting the guys we have now. Getting those pieces was big for us.

"I'm really happy with their progression. There's a lot of learning happening right now, a lot of lessons taking place, but there's no doubt in my mind that they'll give us an opportunity this year to be good." 

Retaining Richardson, Spivey, Hunter and others "gave us an opportunity to go out and find some unique pieces" in the transfer portal, even if they don't have as much experience as the last recruiting cycle.

Ross, Gallagher and Jordan have combined for 1,732 offensive snaps (Gallagher with 1,253). The previous batch of receivers had just under 5,100 snaps. So, the Arizona coaches examined practice tape and talked to the receivers' previous coaches to properly vet them. However, with a lack of playing experience, "you're also taking a shot in the dark, as well. There's no way of finding out until they get here," Wade said. 

"You try to find guys that are a little bit different than the guys that are in the room," Wade said. "DJ Jordan brings a little bit of that. He's very unique with his ability to drop his weight, change direction, and he's very fast with the ball in his hand. He's very competitive by nature, so having that piece in the room really boosts the competitiveness. 

"Rodney Gallagher is a super savvy vet. A guy that immediately when he stepped on campus, I knew he was a person we'd be able to trust, and you're seeing him play at that level. He has picked up the offense extremely fast and knows his role. He's going to play and help us this year. 

"Jordan Ross, just another unique speed with a lot of speed. ... He has snaps in college. I thought the combination of those three give us an edge." 

Gallagher's "track record spoke for itself," which is why the Arizona coaches signed him to mentor Richardson and step in just in case Richardson is unavailable. Wade said finding a similar receiver as Richardson was the "first priority" in the offseason for him, "just making sure Gio had a guy that was in there with him just in case something happened." 

Richardson dubbed him and Gallagher "the best duo in the country." 

"We complement each other's game," Richardson said. "We're both fast, but he's going to hate this, I'm a little faster than Rodney. But Rodney is a smooth player."

Richardson is not just entering his second season at Arizona, but the second year under Doege, Wade and head coach Brent Brennan, who hails from a wide receiver background. His first year as Giovanni could translate to one of the Wildcats' top receivers. 

"The second year is always the biggest leap," Richardson said. "(Wade) expects the big step this year and hopefully I take it."