Arizona WRs BJ Casteel, Boobie Curry enter NCAA transfer portal

The NCAA transfer portal is filling up with Arizona Wildcats, and the latest entries have left the wide receiver room a little bare.

Receivers BJ Casteel and Boobie Curry have entered the portal, the eighth and ninth Wildcats to do so since the 2021 season ended. Casteel, a fourth-year junior, will have one year of eligibility remaining while Curry, a third-year sophomore, will have two.

Casteel was Arizona’s second-leading receiver in 2021, catching 33 passes for 326 yards with a touchdown and also rushing for 18 yards, starting five games and playing in all 12. In his UA career he had 90 receptions, including a career-best of 45 in 2019, for 880 yards and four scores while starting in 19 of the 39 games he played.

Curry had 21 catches for 233 yards and three TDs in 2021, and in three seasons had 39 receptions for 390 yards and three scores. He started three games this past season, playing in all 12, and for his career had 11 starts.

Combined with the departure of Stanley Berryhill III, who declared for the 2022 NFL Draft and has accepted an invitation to the 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl, as well as senior receiver Tayvian Cunningham, senior tight end Bryce Wolma and senior fullback Clay Markoff, the UA is losing 60.5 percent of its catches and 59.3 percent of its receiving yards from this season. Its top returning receiver is Dorian Singer, a freshman walk-on who had 18 catches for 301 yards despite only playing the last five games of 2021.

In addition to Casteel and Curry, Arizona’s other transfer portal entrants are running back Bam Smith, receiver Jaden Mitchell, tight end Stacey Marshall Jr., linebacker Rourke Freeburg and defensive backs Javione Carr, Malik Hausman and Rhedi Short.