The struggles of the junior college lifestyle paid off for Arizona junior receiver Tayvian Cunningham as he was one of the last additions to the 2019 recruiting class for Kevin Sumlin's program.

Before Cunningham became a Wildcat he was dual athlete at Sacramento City College in California, running track and playing football. Coming from a junior college where sometimes seven to eight athletes shared a house, Cunningham said it was a struggle but it brought his teammates closer together.

Before Cunningham committed to Arizona in late spring he had been getting offers to run track but it was football he always knew he wanted to pursue. Talking with the media this week he admitted that if he was not at Arizona he has no idea where he would have ended up.

Sumlin explained that the recruiting process was very specific for Cunningham’s position after a spot opened up with the departure of veteran inside receiver Devaughn Cooper after spring practice.

“He’s the last guy we signed just about," the UA head coach said. "And we talked about it during camp with what happened in the offseason at that position, if we could find a junior college, older guy – particularly at slot – a dynamic guy we’re gonna take one.

“And this guy he’s a track guy, which you saw on the other sideline he’s got real speed. You know he got here right before we started camp so he is continuing to get better, continuing to figure it out, hasn’t played a lot of football but I think you can see his explosiveness.”

The adjustment to an FBS school has not seemed to faze the junior receiver, who finished his first game at Arizona with four receptions for 65 yards.

“It was different, the crowd was real loud, we were well conditioned so it was like we didn’t get tired at all,” Cunningham said. "It was just thrilling."

He said Arizona is everything he expected with high energy games and harder practices than he had during his time at the junior college level. Transitioning from SCC to Arizona, Cunningham said one of the biggest differences he has noticed is there are a lot more cameras and people watching.

Cunningham is also getting used to the perks of being an athlete at a Power Five program.

“There’s way more help here," he said. "There’s food there’s everything here. You got drinks, unlimited drinks. It’s lovely here. It’s way better than junior college."

Along with learning how to transition on the field, Cunningham is getting used to his new teammates and admitted that his fellow UA players made it an easy transition for him.

“He’s a quiet kid," said UA defensive and and Cunningham's roommate, Jalen Harris. "You gotta like talk to him to get him to talk but he’s a cool dude. ... He is a confident kid. He believes in what he can do, but he’s not gonna go around yellin’ and tellin’ everybody how good he is. He is a confident dude but he’s also quiet and humble.”

A topic Cunningham is not so quiet about is the 5-foot-7 height listed for him on the official UA roster.

“Definitely not 5-9, definitely not 5-7, I’d say I’m close to 5-11. No, I'd say I'm 5-11. Definitely. I think I’m 5-11. ... Whatever they say is whatever they say," he said this week.

"On the football field I’m definitely 5-11, six-foot with the cleats on. ... Really size doesn’t really matter to me. I’ve never been afraid. I already know everybody’s gonna be bigger than me so it really doesn’t matter."

Even Sumlin understands how much Cunningham’s height on the official website bothers the junior receiver.

“He’s not 5-7, so he’s bigger than that anybody whose seen him in person," Sumlin said. "He's not much bigger, but I’d say he’s probably closer to 5-9, 5-10. He gets mad about the 5-7 or whatever it is in the program. He takes that personal.”

Cunningham has taken a unique path to arrive at the point where he will take the field Saturday night at Arizona Stadium as a contributor for the Wildcats, and he is appreciative of the opportunity he has been given.

“Being humble and just being thankful for what you got," he said. "You know, I’m not used to all of this stuff, so I’m just thankful and that just makes me go harder everyday.”

Arizona (0-1) hosts FCS program Northern Arizona (1-0) in the home opener for the Wildcats Saturday night at 7:45 p.m. MST inside Arizona Stadium.