A View From The Cheap Seats … My 2 Cents On The QB Race

Posted on August 16, 2021

By Rich Herrera
Wildcats Radio 1290 / CBS Sports Radio

We are at the halfway point of August and the BYU game is getting closer and closer and we are still watching for the white smoke to come out of the offices of the Arizona Football Program naming the starting QB for this upcoming season. Jedd Fisch wanted to have a starter named by Sunday but after last night’s full-contact scrimmage he still wants to review the film before naming his signal-caller.

I asked him if there was any separation in his mind between Gunner Cruz, Will Plummer, and Jordan McCloud.

After watching the three perform in practice during camp, there is no clear-cut real front runner that is head and shoulders above the other two. All three have things you like about their game and things they have to improve to win games for the Wildcats this season.

Last week in this space I wrote that I had no idea who was going to win the starter’s job and I asked questions all week long if anyone has taken the lead in the race to win the job. Brenned Carrol told us on Saturday that it was still a tie but not a “flat-footed” tie one that was more like a sprint with everyone even.

It’s been a week since I told you to go ask Coach Fisch who should be the number one signal caller going into the BYU game. Well, that week has come and went so if Jedd wants my two cents here it is. I agree that there is a separation between the three candidates but in my opinion, it’s ever so slight. All three have an upside and all three have different aspects of their game they need to improve to be successful in the PAC-12.
My pecking order after last night is Gunner Cruz on the top of my list, followed by Will Plummer, and then Jordan McCloud. All three are bunched together, but this race can not go on forever. Arizona needs to name a starter that will run with the starting unit to build cohesion as we get ready for the season opener.
Cruz becomes my number one by default. He protects the ball the best of the three QB’s we have seen, He has the strongest arm and has the swagger of a leader that the Wildcats will need to turn things around. His one challenge is that he holds on to the ball a touch too long and that will spell disaster in this conference. If he was a bit more of a gunslinger and delivered the ball quicker running through his check-downs it would game over and the job would be his.
Plummer ranks two on my list and has many great attributes. He jumped and led the offense last year in some tough circumstances. He is a smart QB that can make all the throws. The one thing I see as his biggest challenge is consistency, He will make one great throw and then on the next snap will make a questionable throw that he would want back. We have seen picks this camp that brings him back to pack right after a throw that makes you think he just took a huge step forward. Winning the turnover battle for Arizona is a must and I think Jedd is going to take a good long hard look at what QB will protect the football best.
McCloud is third on my list as of today, but that is not to say he stuck there for the season. He has the most experience of the three as the everyday starter at USF. We asked if he was going to be behind because he got to Tucson right before camp started and you can see he is still adjusting to the new pre-style system that Fisch and Carroll are running. His learning curve is going to be longer simply because he has the least amount of time in the program, For him, it’s like drinking water through a firehose, there is just so much to learn with just ten practices under his belt he has been able to show is his best football yet.

Fisch has given all three QB’s opportunities to win the job outright, but one has been able to win the job as of Saturday. The best-case scenario for Fisch is for him to name a starter, and that QB takes the job and runs with it, defeating BYU, SDSU, and NAU winning the hearts and minds of everyone in Tucson. Worst case scenario is the offense is stagnant and his starter begins to look over his shoulder and a QB controversy erupts. The QB will be the leader and the tipping point for Arizona Football will rest on his shoulders. Oh, by the way, we will have this same conversation next year when Noah Fifita from Servite High School (ranked #4 in the nation by Calpreps.com) walks on campus as part of the Class of 2025.

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