One of the many tasks Jedd Fisch undertook upon becoming Arizona’s coach was rebuilding the quarterback room.
The Wildcats’ two most experienced quarterbacks, Grant Gunnell and Rhett Rodriguez, transferred. The high school QB who was committed to the UA, Clay Millen, changed his mind and landed at Nevada.
That left Arizona with only two passers on scholarship: Will Plummer, who played in three games as a freshman last season, and Kevin Doyle, a redshirt sophomore who has yet to appear in a game.
Fisch and his staff quickly added reinforcements. They signed Gunner Cruz and Jordan McCloud through the NCAA transfer portal. They also inked high school prospect Brayden Zermeno as a preferred walk-on.
How the open quarterback competition will shake out remains to be seen. It’ll be one of the main subplots as the Wildcats open spring practice Tuesday. It’s also the latest subject we’re exploring in our series of pressing questions about the Cats:
How — and when — will Fisch and his staff determine Arizona’s starting quarterback for 2021?
The how part might be simpler than the when.
In his last two interview sessions with the Tucson media, Fisch outlined the criteria and the format that will be in play. The former is pretty straightforward.
“It’s a matter of who’s going to be the guy that leads our team to the most amount of scores in practice,” Fisch said. “That’ll be the indicator. Can you drive the team? Can you lead the team? When you get behind the center and we’re having our scrimmages or we’re having our move-the-ball periods or we’re having those unscripted situations where your job is to go score, that’s what we’re going to keep track of. That’s what we’re going to (use to) determine who our starter is going to be.”
Fisch said Wednesday that the team will strive to have about 100 reps per practice and that 3-4 quarterbacks will have the opportunity to work against the defense — at least at the start.
“Then what we’ll try to do is, based upon who’s being the most productive, who’s doing the best, who’s got the best understanding of the scheme, that person will get more and more of the reps,” Fisch said.
So there will be a whittling-down process of sorts during spring ball. In addition to Plummer, Doyle and Cruz, three walk-ons are expected to participate: holdovers Luke Ashworth and Cameron Fietz and newcomer Nick Moore.
Although we expect Plummer, Doyle and Cruz to take the lead in spring, Fisch said he would give everyone a chance.
“It doesn’t really matter to me whether they were a scholarship player or a walk-on or a preferred walk on,” he said.
Fisch also indicated he wouldn’t hold it against the candidates who haven’t made it campus yet.
South Florida transfer Jordan McCloud is the most experienced player in Arizona’s stable of quarterbacks.
McCloud is among a batch of players due to arrive June 7, Fisch said. Zermeno also will be among those coming at a later date.
Given that McCloud has by far the most experience of any QB contender — he appeared in 21 games and made 17 starts at South Florida — it makes sense to hold off on naming a starter until the fourth-year sophomore is able to join the battle.
It isn’t uncommon for coaches to wait until the middle of training camp or even the eve of the season to name a starting quarterback. As this is Fisch’s first full-time head-coaching job, he has no track record in that regard. But considering the circumstances and the timing of McCloud’s arrival, waiting is the logical course of action.
In the meantime, it’ll be fascinating to see how incumbents Plummer and Doyle fare in a new system and under a new staff. Plummer flashed potential last season, when he was forced into action after Gunnell got hurt. Doyle was well regarded coming out of high school but never has been given a legitimate opportunity to compete for the starting job.
Cruz played briefly at Washington State as a redshirt freshman last year. The Gilbert native has prototypical size at 6-5, 217 pounds.
For Cruz and his competitors, spring represents a clean slate. They’re all starting from the same place, if not at the same time.
