B.J. Denker is back, and he couldn’t be happier about it.
“It feels a little weird,” the former Arizona Wildcats quarterback said, “but a good weird.”
Denker, who’s now an analyst for the team, considers Tucson to be home. It required a couple of other stops along the way to complete the journey, one closer and more conventional than the other.
Before joining the UA staff this spring, Denker spent two seasons as a graduate assistant for Texas A&M in College Station. Before serving as a student assistant at Arizona in 2014, Denker spent about three months playing quarterback for the Basel Gladiators in Switzerland.
But Denker has thought about coaching since he was a teenager, years before his breakout 2013 season for Arizona, when he passed for 2,516 yards, rushed for 949 and accounted for 29 touchdowns.
Denker established relationships with Rich Rodriguez, Rod Smith, Calvin Magee and others during his time in Tucson, and he parlayed those connections into a coaching gig.
Denker, 26, discussed his return to Arizona and other topics with local media during the final week of spring practice. Here’s a portion of that conversation:
How did this opportunity come about?
A: “I always stayed in contact with the coaching staff here – Coach Smith, Coach Magee, Coach Rod. Just asking them how they’re doing, congratulating them on wins. After the season, I had a conversation with Coach Smith. They said there might be a position opening. I just kind of went from there.”
When did you first realize you wanted to go into coaching?
A: “Probably in high school, freshman year. I always knew. I always played quarterback. I always tell everybody, quarterback is like an extension of the coaching staff. It fit me well. I always wanted to coach. I always wanted to stay in sports, in football. It’s been a fit like that forever.”
What can you provide this particular team?
A: “I’m just here to help the quarterbacks and help the team any way I can. I’ve got some experience. I played. I can put myself in their shoes. They can look at me and say, ‘He’s done this before. He might know what he’s talking about.’ This offense is the same one I played (in).”
What are your specific day-to-day responsibilities?
A: “Just helping out Coach Smith with the quarterbacks, anything that he needs. And helping out with junior-college recruiting, specifically in California and Arizona. I was a junior-college kid. I know what to look for and what it’s like.”
Was the way Arizona beat Arizona State last year straight out of the Denker playbook?
A: “Anytime you can beat Arizona State it’s a win, a positive, a plus, something to celebrate. The fact that they did it so dominantly on the ground just puts a little salt in the wound, which is always great for Wildcat fans across the country.”
What did you learn during your time at Texas A&M under Kevin Sumlin?
A: “Getting to see a different perspective on how things are done – how Coach Sumlin runs a program vs. how Coach Rodriguez runs a program. Right, wrong or indifferent, everyone has different philosophies and views. That was kind of cool to see. Working with coaches from different backgrounds, and players. We’ve got a lot more Texas players on Texas A&M obviously, a lot more East Coast kids. Being able to work with (different) personalities and see what the difference in talent is.
“It was a good learning experience. Also X’s and O’s. Anytime you can learn some new schemes that’s always great as a coach.”
Was there anything in particular that Coach Sumlin did that stood out to you?
A: “They throw the (term) ‘players’ coach’ around a lot. He really is. He’s big on recovery and treatment. Pre-maintenance – ‘prehab’ is what we called it. He ran it like a professional football team in a sense.”
What has RichRod meant to your career?
A: “He’s meant the world to me. He was the first coach that recruited me, the first that gave me a starting position, the first coach that gave me a ‘job’ out of college when I was a student assistant here. He helped me get my first real job at A&M, and now he’s brought me back.
"All my success as a player and coach goes to Coach Rodriguez and the staff. Coach Smith has been a mentor too. And Coach Magee’s been great. Those three guys specifically have helped me. Wherever I go from here has a lot to do with them, and Coach Sumlin too.”
Where do you want to go from here? Would you like to be a head coach someday?
A: “Oh yeah. I feel like that’s why you do it. That’s why you coach, to be a head coach. That’s why you play, because you want to be the best player. The ultimate goal is to be a college, Division I coach. If the stars align, I would love to coach here someday. That would be great.”
