Nicolas Grigsby has fumbled the ball five times this season, and four have become turnovers.

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Most Arizona Wildcats fans are concerned about tailback Nicolas Grigsby's head.

Grigsby is focused on his hands.

The Wildcats' sophomore tailback has been working on ball-placement during practice this week, after fumbling in the second half of Arizona's 55-45 loss at Oregon. Grigsby is holding the ball "high and tight" vertically against the bottom part of his shoulder pads.

"You have to protect it always, cover up when you're in traffic — stuff like that," he said. "Everybody's better when they create. But when you create, you've gotta have the ball high."

The new style could help Grigsby stay on the field. He has fumbled five times this season — and lost four of them.

Grigsby was pulled in the third quarter of Saturday's game after fumbling on a third-and-one play from the Ducks' 49-yard line.

Grigsby said he never had full control of the ball on what he called "a blown play." He said that getting pulled from the game "hurts, but you've got to get over it and support the team."

But was he benched?

Running backs coach Dana Dimel said Grigsby likely would have returned if not for backup Keola Antolin's performance. The true freshman rushed for 87 yards, and tied a school record with four touchdowns.

"It was more that Keola got in there and was stroking it hot," Dimel said. "Keola was playing well; and if you're playing well, I'm not going to move guys around too much."

Plus, Grigsby was nearing his maximum payload for carries. Grigsby is best when he carries 17 to 20 times a game; Saturday's fumble came on his 17th, and final, touch.

Dimel said Grigsby's turnovers are best viewed with a bit of perspective. The Cats' tailback has rushed 166 times for 941 yards and 11 touchdowns this season.

"Nic's approaching 1,000 yards rushing. He has a lot of touches. With that comes fumbles," Dimel said. "One's too many, but they're going to happen. Everybody we play fumbles every Saturday. I don't think it's a dramatic problem; I think it's something you want to learn from."

Grigsby said he's all ears.

"Every time you run the ball," he said, "you learn."

Rob Gronkowski's 12-catch, 143-yard performance against Oregon earned him the John Mackey Tight End of the Week Award.

But it won't get him any national respect. The Mackey Award committee — the same group that has given Gronkow-ski two weekly awards this season — has the Wildcats' sophomore off the list of semifinalists for the annual award, given to the nation's best tight end.

Missouri's Chase Coffman, South Carolina's Jared Cook, Oklahoma's Jermaine Gresham, Houston's Mark Hafner, Western Michigan's Branden Ledbetter, Oklahoma State's Bradon Pettigrew, BYU's Dennis Pitta and Arkansas' D.J. Williams all made the list.

Gronkowski has caught 34 passes for 500 yards and eight touchdowns since making his season debut in Week 4.

Honors or no honors, Oregon State coach Mike Riley said he isn't sure how he'll try to stop the Wildcats' tight end.

"Frankly, it could be any of our defensive backs, depending on what formation they're in," he said. "It could be always with a linebacker involved."

● Offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes said he hasn't "given any thought" to the newly open head coach position at New Mexico. Dykes' family knows the school's president and a few others at the school, but the coach said there has been no contact.

"They beat us the last two years, so I don't know why they'd want to hire me," Dykes said with a laugh.

● UA coach Mike Stoops reported no progress in wide receiver Terrell Reese's suspension. Stoops said he's hopeful Reese can rejoin the team by the end of the season.

● Backup kicker Alex Zendejas could see more playing time in the final two games of the Wildcats' season, Stoops said. Zendejas replaced senior Jason Bondzio on two kickoffs against Oregon, averaging 59.5 yards per kick.

"Alex has done a great job. He keeps getting stronger and stronger," Stoops said. "He's going to be our kicker next year, so we have to get him comfortable."