Arizona coach Jedd Fisch believes there’s a four-step process for a quarterback’s mental maturity at the college level.
There’s the “Can I do this?” stage. That’s followed by an “I can do this” belief.
The next step: “I’m excited about doing this.” And ultimately, the final building block of “Let it rip.”
“We’re not at the ‘Let it rip’ part yet,” Fisch said Thursday.
As Will Plummer prepares to make his fourth career collegiate start on Saturday at USC, the sophomore has hovered around the second stage.
There’s been glimpses of Plummer’s maturation process trending in the right direction, most recently going three full quarters without a turnover against Washington and building a 16-7 lead.
There have also been head-scratching plays, like his fourth-quarter turnover against the Huskies. Fisch described that as a “Here we go again” moment — not just for Plummer, but the entire team.
“That first half of football (vs. Washington), I think Will really felt a great amount of confidence from his guys,” Fisch said. “I think he would tell you that it diminished a little bit in his own mind when we made a mistake. And you can’t do that.”
During this week’s practice, Fisch saw something he had been waiting to see from his young quarterback.
“(Wednesday) was his best day of practice that he’s had here, since I’ve been here,” Fisch said, before stressing, “I hope that correlates.”
Fisch said he watched a quarterback that displayed confidence and played free and easy, not paralyzed by the fear of making a mistake. The best case scenario for Arizona is that’s the version of Plummer that takes the field Saturday.
“Where you feel like you actually go out there and not just make a play, but make the play,” Fisch said.
‘Four-man shuttle’ at RB
Arizona will have a full healthy backfield on Saturday, with Drake Anderson and Michael Wiley returning from injury.
Fisch said the Cats now have a “four-man shuttle” in the backfield.
The recent success of Jalen John and Stevie Rocker Jr. means they will continue to see carries, even with the return of UA’s top two backs on the depth chart. John has 136 yards on the ground over the last two weeks, while Rocker Jr. led Arizona with 87 rushing yards against Washington.
More Markoff?
The Wildcats have shown a more physical approach by bringing in a fullback, either Clay Markoff or Rocker Jr., for run and play-action plays.
The different looks have been helpful for the offense to force their opponent to sub out a player in the secondary, and it gives Arizona the option to double-team block a potential tackler.
“Really it depends on the type of fronts we’re getting. What (the opponent) is playing to our personnel groupings,” Fisch said. “It’s a way for us to kind of go more downhill rather than a zone scheme where you’re bouncing it.”
Arizona has had just shy of 50 snaps with a fullback in the game and a majority of those sets coming in the last two weeks. It’s something the coaching staff will continue to utilize.
“Probably like to get to a little bit more of that,” Fisch said. “Certainly moving forward, there’s a place for it.”
Trick or treat
The Wildcats celebrated Halloween a few days early inside their facility. After Wednesday’s practice, coaches brought in their kids dressed up in costumes and handed out candy.
UA wide receivers coach Kevin Cummings posted a video on Twitter of his daughter taking handfuls of candy out of a basket held by defensive line coach Ricky Hunley.
During Thursday’s press conference, Fisch talked about his favorite Halloween costume from when he was a kid. Fisch, a Philadelphia Eagles fan, dressed as Eagles coach Buddy Ryan for three consecutive years.
“Had the green sweater, ‘Eagles’ across the middle, headset on,” he said.
