UA wide receiver Delashaun Dean reaches in vain for the ball as Devin Ross closes in during a brief practice at Arizona Stadium.

DAVID SANDERS / arizona daily star

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The Arizona Wildcats could start the football season without their biggest target.

Sophomore tight end Rob Gronkowski has been diagnosed with strep throat and is being tested for mononucleosis, UA coach Mike Stoops said Saturday.

Gronkowski was not in attendance at Saturday's "Meet the Team" practice and autograph session at Arizona Stadium, and is questionable for Saturday's season opener against Idaho.

Gronkowski's test results should be available early this week, Stoops said. Mononucleosis would almost certainly sideline him for a month, if not longer.

"We're all kind of unsure right now," Stoops said. "Hopefully, we'll have him back as quickly as possible."

Gronkowski, 19, caught 28 passes for 525 yards and six touchdowns as a true freshman in 2007.

The Wildcats tweaked their offense during the off-season to include more plays to the tight end. Gronkowski responded with a dominant training camp: He caught three passes for 82 yards and a touchdown in the Cats' Aug. 16 scrimmage in Sierra Vista.

Gronkowski met with team trainers Friday afternoon after feeling sick, and was diagnosed with strep throat. Depending on the outcome of his mononucleosis test, Gronkowski could be back sometime this week.

Or he could be out for a while.

"He could be here tomorrow. That's the thing with him — I don't know how long he's going to be gone," offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes said. "We'll have a plan if he's here, and we'll have a plan if he's not."

Sophomore A.J. Simmons would take Gronkowski's place in the starting lineup if he is unable to go. Simmons played in 10 games a year ago as a redshirt freshman, but had just one catch for 3 yards.

Simmons, a 6-foot-3-inch, 250-pounder from Oakland, Calif., said he will be ready if needed.

"I've been working on my route-running, blocking — everything," Simmons said Saturday. "I feel like I'm a more complete player. I'm not sure what they're going to do with me, but I'm excited for the opportunity."

Simmons said he knew Gronkowski was sick, "but I didn't know how severe it was."

The Wildcats don't necessarily need to play a tight end. Coaches could replace Gronkowski with another receiver, notably freshman David Douglas or redshirt freshman David Roberts.

Both have played well during training camp.

"We'll adjust our game plan according to what Rob's availability is," Stoops said. "We're not sure exactly how long we're dealing with right now. Hopefully, it's not an extended period of time."

The Wildcats signed autographs for an hour after Saturday's practice, a tradition that the players say never gets old.

"It's kind of funny when you think about it: All we do is play football, but these people, these fans, find a lot of inspiration in us," junior tackle Eben Britton said. "I embrace it … it makes all the tough days worth it."

Tucsonan Chad Gilmartin brought his 4-year-old daughter, Paige, to Arizona Stadium to meet the team.

Paige, dressed in a UA cheerleader's outfit, seemed more impressed with Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat, the team mascots.

"This is all we have, the U of A — we don't have any pro teams," Gilmartin, 36, said. "It's good for them to meet the community, and for the community to meet them. We want to know who they are; they all seem like good kids."

Saturday's "Meet the Team" event was held at 9 a.m., a change from past years, when it was a nighttime event.

Attendance suffered because of it — only 1,500 arrived for Saturday's event, about 6,000 fewer than a year ago.

Those who attended Saturday's workout received free posters, caps and energy drinks but saw very little in terms of football.

The Wildcats worked on special teams for the bulk of the practice. Most of their starters watched from the sidelines.

"We usually don't do much on this day, but since we had all these fans out here today, we wanted to do a little work," Stoops said. "We went through a lot of kicking and a little two-minute drill. We're in pretty good shape heading into game week, so I'm excited."

Arizona will take today off before starting its game-week schedule in preparation for Idaho.

The Wildcats will hold a light practice Monday and go full-tilt Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday will bring a light workout, and Friday will be a walk-through.

All practices are closed to the public.