The first Arizona spring football practice looked different. Not in the “bigger, faster, stronger” sense, although there was definitely some of that.
What was notable about Practice No. 1 of Year No. 2 under Jedd Fisch was the absence of screwups. Wednesday’s workout featured few, if any, mishandled snaps, incorrect alignments or false starts.
“We were able to stay right on schedule, right on time,” Fisch said afterward. “We didn’t have to repeat a lot of plays ... didn’t necessarily have to go back because of a penalty or because of a fumbled snap or some of the things that you normally deal with on Day 1.”
Those bumpy days will come at some point. They always do. Maybe even when the team returns to the field March 15.
But the first practice might — might — indicate that the offense won’t face as steep a learning curve as it did a year ago, despite a bevy of newcomers. And despite two of those newcomers being quarterbacks (which was also the case last year).
Fisch is optimistic that the new QBs will catch on quicker — especially transfer Jayden de Laura, who’s favored to start.
De Laura appeared in 16 games for Washington State over the past two seasons, starting 15 of them. That gives him an inherent advantage.
Last spring, the two scholarship quarterbacks who took most of the reps, Will Plummer and Gunner Cruz, had four combined college appearances.
De Laura attempted 490 passes with the Cougars. Plummer (80) and Cruz (seven) had combined for 87.
“I think the learning curve is very different,” Fisch said, “just because of the fact that Jayden has a lot of inventory to pull from.”
One challenge that’s common to all three quarterbacks is having to adjust to an offensive system that bears little resemblance to the ones they ran at previous stops. Plummer operated a version of the spread offense. Cruz played in an Air Raid scheme, then the run-and-shoot, at Washington State. De Laura also ran the run-and-shoot at WSU.
Fisch runs a pro-style system that’s similar to the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams’ offense. The verbiage is more elaborate. The quarterback operates under center a good chunk of the time. The tight end plays a prominent role. All of that takes time to get used to.
De Laura held the ball a beat or two too long at times during 7-on-7 Wednesday — a sign that he still has learning to do. It would have been more surprising if he had breezed through practice without a hiccup; after all, de Laura has been on campus for only a couple of months.
QB carousel
Plummer struggled early in spring camp last year, hit a wall about halfway through, then began to feel more comfortable. By the end of spring, he had pulled even with Cruz, who arrived just before spring ball began.
The two continued to battle through training camp. Fisch named Cruz the starter but gave Plummer snaps in the opener vs. BYU. Cruz played well in that game, passing for a career-high 336 yards. He regressed the following week, sending Arizona’s QB carousel spinning.
Plummer replaced Cruz, started against NAU but threw two interceptions and didn’t finish the game. Fisch then turned to Jordan McCloud, who came to Tucson with a similar amount of experience as de Laura — 20 appearances, including 17 starts, at South Florida.
McCloud, however, couldn’t get to Arizona until June, so he didn’t have the benefit of spring practice. He was clearly behind Cruz and Plummer during training camp and opened the season as the No. 3 quarterback. Even if he believed McCloud was the best option, Fisch couldn’t elevate him above the other two at that point.
McCloud nearly led the Wildcats back against the Lumberjacks, then started against Oregon. McCloud moved the offense well but threw five interceptions. Still, Fisch saw enough to name him the starter for the rest of the season.
That plan lasted less than one game. McCloud suffered season-ending leg injuries in the fourth quarter vs. UCLA. Fisch then gave Cruz another shot, and he suffered a season-ending thumb injury the following week at Colorado.
Plummer was the last scholarship quarterback standing. He started the final six games, and his play steadily improved despite a banged-up shoulder. Plummer notched career highs in completion rate (73.7%) and passing yards (346) in the season finale at Arizona State.
That it took Plummer half a season’s worth of starts to master the offense shows how difficult a task it was. Fisch is hopeful that de Laura can make up the stagger at an accelerated pace.
Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita, 11, far right, joins a group of quarterbacks that includes (from left) Jayden de Laura, Will Plummer and Jordan McCloud.
‘He’s just a gamer’
De Laura isn’t the only new quarterback on campus. Freshman Noah Fifita also made his UA practice debut Wednesday.
Fifita doesn’t have the “inventory” de Laura brings to the QB room. But the immediate expectations for Fifita aren’t as high either. He would have to blow away the competition to leapfrog the veterans in front of him this season.
Fifita displayed his potential late in practice. He threw a perfect bomb to Jacob Cowing for a touchdown, then rifled a pass to former high school teammate Tetairoa McMillan on a deep comeback amid multiple defenders.
“He’s just a gamer,” Fisch said of Fifita. “I didn’t feel a big learning curve. I felt like he went out there and ripped it pretty confidently.
“Those last two throws that he made ... were throws that I felt like he was very confident in on plays that he just learned.”
Fifita is one of five scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. Fisch was determined to avoid a situation like the second half of last year, when Arizona was down to one, and he has succeeded in stockpiling QBs.
Fisch also wants to avoid the uncertainty that carried into last season. He could name a starter before spring practice is over.
If/when that happens, it wouldn’t be surprising if one (or more) of the incumbents elected to transfer. Unlike most other positions, only one quarterback can play at a time. In the transfer portal era, veteran quarterbacks with no clear path to starting jobs have sought that option with increasing frequency.
However it shakes out, Fisch said he’s “really happy” about the composition of and competition within the quarterback room. Now it’s just a matter of when it all will click.
“I don’t know what our completion percentages were ... but I saw the ball leave the guys’ hands, and it looked pretty good,” Fisch said. “So it gives me a good feeling that we’ll be able to find that quarterback, move the ball and play better on offense.”
