Arizona WR Jamarye Joiner enters NCAA transfer portal

Dec 2, 2022 - 8:59 PM

One of the last remaining recruits of the Rich Rodriguez era at Arizona is moving on.

Wide receiver Jamarye Joiner announced on Twitter Friday that he’ll be entering the NCAA transfer portal, ending a UA career that was defined as much by position changes and injuries as on-field performance. As a graduate transfer, he’d have one season of eligibility remaining.

From nearby Cienega High School, Joiner committed to the UA in 2016 but did not sign during the early period in December 2017. Rodriguez was fired shortly after that, with Kevin Sumlin taking over, and Joiner inked with the Wildcats in February 2018 after taking visits to Alabama, Baylor and UCF.

Recruited as a quarterback, Joiner briefly played at that position in two games as a true freshman before getting converted to receiver ahead of the 2019 season. That fall he was the Wildcats’ top target, with 34 catches for 552 yards and five touchdowns including seven receptions for 140 yards and two TDs in the 2019 Territorial Cup.

But a foot injury suffered that season required surgery, causing him to miss the following spring. He played in all five games during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, catching 12 balls for 111 yards and a TD, and was having a solid spring in 2021 when he re-injured the foot during the Spring Game.

Following a second surgery, Joiner missed the first three games of the 2021 season and only had four receptions for 48 yards, getting used more as a Wildcat quarterback for Arizona’s struggling offense.

A third foot surgery earlier this year caused him to miss another spring, and in the just-completed season he had just 21 snaps with most coming on special teams.

For his career, Joiner had 50 catches for 711 yards and six TDs, adding 66 rushing yards with a score and 106 passing yards with two TDs.

Joiner is the second player who finished out the 2022 season with Arizona to enter the portal. Running back Drake Anderson, who was the Wildcats’ leading rusher in 2021 but appeared in only one game in 2022, entered on Monday.

Three other players who were on Arizona’s roster at the start of the season left the program along the way, with quarterback Jordan McCloud already committing to James Madison.