In today’s college football recruiting landscape, several factors go into a player’s school choice.
Which school offers the earliest playing time? Which program can help with monetization of name, image and likeness (NIL)? Which school wins and plays on national TV the most?
There are other considerations, too.
Four-star quarterback Brayden Dorman said the combined years of NFL coaching experience on Arizona’s staff outweighed everything else when it came time to pick a school. The 6-foot-4-inch, 206-pound pro-style gunslinger from Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the Wildcats’ top-rated commit for 2023, according to 247Sports.com. Dorman will sign with Arizona on Wednesday, part of early signing day, and plans to enroll in school next month.
“The main difference from Arizona and the other schools was just the NFL experience and the direction of the program. I don’t think you can get that at a lot of other schools,” Dorman said. “It’s just Coach (Jedd) Fisch, but Coach (Brennan) Carroll and the rest of the staff. You’re one phone call away from Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll, etc. ...
“That’s where I want to end up in the future. When you’re going through the program, you have the NFL experience, NFL playbook and all of the athletes around you. When you’re in a position like that, you’re one phone call away from all of the other NFL head coaches. Being put in that position, in my eyes, that’s the biggest part to reach my goals.”
Fisch’s calm demeanor on the sideline and his quarterback-coaching prowess were also factors, Dorman said. Dorman chose the UA over scholarship offers from Mississippi State, Colorado, Wisconsin and Iowa State, among others.
Dorman said Fisch is “not a coach that’s going to straight-up just yell at you when you’re on the sideline. He’s a coach that’ll sit with you on the sideline and make sure everything is all right, talk you through things, be supportive through everything that’s going on.”
“That really stands out to me, and then just having that NFL experience, elevate your IQ and your game overall,” he said.
Dorman threw for 10,285 yards over four seasons at Vista Ridge High School, putting up 116 touchdowns against 37 interceptions. As a senior, Dorman completed 71.4% of his passes for 3,783 yards and 49 touchdowns against nine interceptions.
Vista Ridge coach Mike Vrana, who has mentored Dorman since the quarterback was a middle schooler attending VRHS football camps, runs a pro-style offense that’s similar to Fisch’s. Dorman had free rein to audible just before the snap.
“He does more at the line of scrimmage than any quarterback in our state, and we let him do that because he’s that smart and sees things that a lot of people couldn’t,” Vrana said.
Appearance-wise, Vrana compared the tall, redheaded Dorman to Todd Marinovich, the “Robo QB” who played for the USC Trojans and the Los Angeles Raiders. On the field, Dorman’s skillset and presence on the field is akin to someone else.
“His drops in the pocket are more similar to Tom Brady than anybody,” Vrana said. “He won’t take off and run 65 yards, but his feet and eyes in the pocket is Brady to a T.”
Vrana called Dorman “the perfect kid.” On Sunday, the QB traveled to Denver’s Empower Field at Mile High, where he was presented with the Gold Helmet, given annually to the top high school performer in Colorado.
“He doesn’t do anything wrong, he does what you tell him to do, he’s smart,” Vrana said. “I’ve done 100 interviews and I always have to think twice whenever someone asks, ‘What does he need to work on?’ He’s going to work, that part of his game has never changed. He’s never satisfied with where he’s at and he always wants to evolve.
“He’s a coach’s dream, really. He’s got it all. He will spend his time at Arizona refining all of that and that won’t ever change. He’s the hardest-working guy in the room, has a high football IQ and is a fantastic leader.”
Dorman plans to graduate early so he can participate in spring ball.
“Getting rolling early was always the plan,” he said. “Getting a head start, that’s the most beneficial thing to do, especially as a quarterback. Getting a head start on the playbook, getting a head start in the quarterback room. That’s the most beneficial thing an athlete can do. Obviously my mom isn’t all for it and she doesn’t want me to leave too soon, but they’re fully supportive of it and they’re behind it.
“Every high-schooler wants to finish their high school career, because you only go to high school once, but I’m looking at the long-term goals. Football is a job to me now. It’s not going to high school practices and hanging out with all of my friends. Now it’s the real deal. It’s gonna take full effort going forward.”
Dorman will join a quarterback room that includes returning starter Jayden de Laura and freshman Noah Fifita, who Fisch called the “clear-cut backup.” With de Laura under center, the Wildcats rose from 69th nationally in passing to seventh. The UA put an average of 318.4 passing yards per game.
“Jayden is a great quarterback and I love watching him play. He’s more of an athletic guy than I am and he can extend plays. I’m able to do the same stuff, but it’ll be a little more balanced, 50-50 balance, whether it’s under center or in gun,” Dorman said. “Going over the spring install they already have, being able to know what I can do on the field, I feel pretty confident going into the spring.”
Whether Dorman gets his shot as Arizona’s starter next season, in 2024 or ‘25, he wants to leave the UA as “the top program in the Pac-12.”
“With Coach Fisch being able to go from 1-11 to 5-7, with a Cal game they should’ve won, I think it already speaks for itself and that’s exactly what I saw when I made my decision,” Dorman said.
“The direction of the program caught my eye, along with the NFL experience as well. … We’re going to be a top program in the Pac-12 going forward.”
