Jedd Fisch is relentlessly optimistic. He’s persistently positive.
When it comes to assessing his quarterbacks, the first-year Arizona Wildcats coach tells it like it is. It’s the position he’s most involved in coaching and that one that matters the most. His standards are high, and he expects them to be met — or even exceeded.
So when the three quarterbacks competing for the UA starting job started slowly and scuffled at times during the first practice of training camp Friday, Fisch was blunt in his evaluation.
“I thought all the quarterbacks did OK,” Fisch said. “We had too many misses, not what we're looking for in regards to ... completion percentage. I think we need better velocity on the ball.
“All three of them, I think, had a little bit of those butterflies, a little bit of that nervous jitters. You don't have to win the job on the first day. ... They all can throw the football.
“But all of them, I could sense, were just a little bit hesitant on pulling the trigger. Probably pretty normal on the first day.”
The Wildcats practiced as a team, with footballs, for the first time since late April. It was a two-man quarterback duel back then between Gunner Cruz and Will Plummer. Transfer Jordan McCloud officially joined the battle Friday.
Plummer, a second-year freshman and the lone scholarship holdover from last year’s QB room, appeared to be the least hesitant of the three. During red-zone 7-on-7 drills — the team worked almost exclusively in the red zone Friday — Plummer connected with tight ends Alex Lines and Bryce Wolma for touchdowns on consecutive plays. Plummer’s approach to the competition: Trust yourself and don’t try to do too much.
“It’s always hard,” Plummer said. “You gotta trust your reads. You gotta go with your gut on every play. You can't get caught up in what’s going on outside of what you can control, so that's all I'm focused on.”
Cruz held the ball a little too long at times as receivers fought to get in open in tight spaces. McCloud, understandably, mistimed some of his throws. He also lost his footing one time while trying to drop back from under center.
Arizona quarterback Jordan McCloud throws a pass during Friday's practice. The South Florida transfer joins a quarterback competition that also includes Washington State transfer Gunner Cruz and returner Will Plummer.
“One practice, right? So I don't want to say anything one way or another right now,” quarterbacks coach Jimmie Dougherty said regarding McCloud. “I was impressed overall. It's a lot that we throw at these guys. I thought he came out and made some throws. There are some things that I know he wants back right now, missed a couple of easy ones. But all in all, stepping in the huddle, calling plays, operating and doing all those things, I thought it was pretty good for Day 1.”
McCloud spent his first three seasons at South Florida before transferring to Arizona this offseason. He said he’ll be playing for his fifth offensive coordinator, so learning a new playbook is old hat.
“There’s nothing you can do about it,” McCloud said. “You’ve got to control what you can control. You take things from each different coordinator, learn different things and put it into your game.”
The challenge all three players face is not thinking about the QB battle while they’re on the field — even though, as Fisch said, “everything's an evaluation every single day, every single minute, every single play.”
“It's just focusing on staying in your lane, so to speak, and doing your job,” Dougherty said. “Everybody wants to win the job out here. That goes without saying. But you’ve got to just really stay composed and execute each play one at a time. If you do that and keep stacking those plays, good things will happen.”
Plummer acknowledged that the process is “pretty stressful.” Cruz concurred. But if they weren’t capable of handling it, they wouldn’t be in this position.
“There's a little bit of stress, there's a little bit of pressure because ... you want to be the guy,” Cruz said. “But really, pressure is a privilege. If you have the pressure on you, you know you have a chance to make an impact.”
Arizona wide receiver Tayvian Cunningham runs a drill during Friday's practice.
Fullback Friday
Fisch’s offense will feature the tight end — sometimes more than one at a time. We learned Friday that it also will utilize a fullback at times.
Clay Markoff, a 5-10, 239-pound transfer from Washington State, lined up at fullback in certain goal-line formations.
“It's good to be able to be in multiple personnel groupings and not just limit yourself,” Fisch said. “A lot of times in college football you kind of live in ‘11 personnel,’ which is three receivers, a tight end and a back. Some people incorporate two tight ends. The ability to bring a fullback in just gives you a third level to it.
“We had some goal-line reps today with three tight ends, a fullback and a halfback on the field. So when you can do all that, that's more that they gotta defend.”
Playing in offenses that didn’t use a fullback at WSU, Markoff carried 14 times for 40 yards the past three seasons. He also caught one pass for 7 yards.
“There's a toughness a fullback brings,” Fisch said. “You can run certain plays that you can't run without a fullback. And ... when you have a fullback in the game, they have to bring their base defense out on the field.”
Extra points
- Tailback Michael Wiley, receiver Jaden Mitchell and tight end Roberto Miranda were among the players who participated in drills after missing time in spring. Wiley got plenty of reps with the first-team offense.
- Receiver Boobie Curry and cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace had the most competitive matchups in one-on-ones. Curry did a nice job of using his body to shield off Roland-Wallace.
- Tayvian Cunningham consistently gained separation in one-on-one work. Cunningham always has had speed; Fisch said he has done a good job of adding strength in the offseason.
- Treydan Stukes, who’s being counted on to provide depth at cornerback, struggled during one-on-ones and appeared to tweak his ankle while leaping to try to deflect a pass.
- Fisch singled out freshman receiver Dorian Singer, who played last season at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix after moving from St. Paul, Minnesota. Singer was rated as a three-star prospect but elected to attend Arizona as a preferred walk-on.
- Transfer Jerry Roberts got the first look at middle linebacker. Another transfer, Kenny Hebert, worked at strong-side linebacker. Hebert has legitimate length at 6-4. Treshaun Hayward, who only recently joined the team, didn’t get as many reps. When he did, he worked in the middle.
- Cornerback Isaiah Rutherford had a superb breakup on a pass to the corner of the end zone from Cruz to Curry.
- Defensive end JB Brown had a late sack of McCloud during full-team red-zone work.
- Linebacker Jabar Triplett, defensive tackle Kyon Barrs and long snapper Seth MacKellar began practice riding stationary bikes. Triplett is still recovering from offseason knee surgery. Barrs had a boot on his right foot at the end of practice. Paris Shand subbed for him with the first-team defensive line.
- Receiver Jamarye Joiner, who’s on the mend from offseason foot surgery, worked exclusively on the side. He’s targeting a return in late September.
- Receiver Ma’jon Wright was not on the roster for the first practice. Wright, who left the team in the offseason before returning, is expected to join the squad at some point during camp.
