He’s playing more lately, and while he’s not playing a lot, he is playing more than just receiver. At his primary position, though, he’s still making plays at the alarming rate he has throughout most of his stop-and-go career. What’s the biggest difference slow-to-praise Dana Holgorsen sees? “He’d padded up.”

Translation: He’s healthy and actually practicing. Both are prerequisites for establishing trust.

“We’ve had conversations with him and said, ‘Look, it’s all about trust with us. We can’t put you into a critical situation or position until we feel that we can trust you,’ ” Roberts said. “And to his credit, we were very hard on him because we felt like he was an upperclassman who could take it and he withstood a lot of criticism and a lot of hard coaching. He’s really done well for us and he’s going to continue to get chances to play.”