Arizona's Star Running Back Will Reportedly Redshirt the Rest of This Season
Arizona is coming off a massive upset win against Utah that gets their season back on track in terms of the national spotlight.
Many people counted them out following their disappointing showing against Kansas State in Week 3, but after a bye where head coach Brent Brennan said their issues would get fixed, the Wildcats were able to make good on that and beat the No. 10 ranked Utes on the road.
Against Utah, Arizona was able to offer a balanced offensive attack, something that hadn't been present in their first three games.
Quarterback Noah Fifita spread the ball around to other weapons outside of Tetairoa McMillan, completing a pass to eight total players with the superstar wide receiver only catching six of his 19 total completions.
What might have been the biggest storyline, however, was Arizona rushing for 169 yards on 26 attempts when facing the stout defense that Utah possesses.
The balance between the running and passing game is something Brennan wants from his offense, and after the change in play caller occurred, that's exactly what he got.
But, the Wildcats will be without one of their running backs for the rest of the season.
Per Justin Spears of The Arizona Daily Star, Rayshon "Speedy" Luke has decided to redshirt after appearing in four games, opting to preserve another year of eligibility.
"Luke will continue to help the Wildcats with week-to-week prep in practice and return next season ... Luke could still play for the Wildcats in the postseason, including the Big 12 championship game," he reports.
This is an unexpected turn of events, but is perhaps not truly surprising.
The junior was projected to receive much more of the workload coming into this year since he was their leading returning rusher, however, when Brennan and his new coaching staff brought in some transfer running backs to the room, Luke slipped down the depth chart.
So far this season, he's accumulated 13 rushing yards on only four carries, 12 of which came this past Saturday against Utah.
In his three years with Arizona, he's totaled 56 carries for 271 yards and a touchdown.
After Luke's decision to redshirt, the Wildcats only have three scholarship running backs available in Quali Conley, Kedrick Reescano and redshirt freshman Brandon Johnson.
They're still without transfer Jacory Croskey-Merritt, whose eligibility is under question which has kept him out since the opener.
