The sophomore transfer from Washington State, Jayden de Laura, is the front-runner to start at quarterback for the Arizona football team, but that doesn’t mean there’s no stiff competition.
Getting the majority of the reps behind de Laura are the freshman Noah Fifita and the redshirt junior Jordan McCloud. Fifita and de Laura both got the start in the scrimmage and were relieved by McCloud and redshirt sophomore, Gunner Cruz.
The battle for number two will likely go on all season as Fifita and McCloud both continue to work hard and play well. Although Fifita got more time in the scrimmage, McCloud has proven he can play at a high level in the game which Fifita has yet to have the opportunity to do. Fifita still has to prove himself, but as the current number two continues to get the most reps behind de Laura, we can assume head coach Jedd Fisch sees something in him.
Jedd Fisch raved about Noah Fifita in an interview on the Pac-12 network.
“[Fifita] has a gravitational pull. He’s awesome; he’s got great energy on the field. When I watched him play live, he could sling it. He throws a beautiful ball and he can run,” Fisch said.
During the 2021 season, following Cruz’s injury, Will Plummer took on the quarterback position and competed very well. Although he didn’t get many wins, he did get the only win and played well with what he had considering the situation. Plummer also showed he can run the ball well and compete at a high level, which will likely put him in the mix if de Laura and Fifita don’t meet expectations.
“I have all expectations that [de Laura] is going to be our starting quarterback … It’s really important that [de Laura] gets acclimated with getting snaps from the starting center,” Fisch said.
The offensive Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, de Laura, looked dominant and stood out at practice and during the scrimmage as the clear front-runner.
The Wildcats have a little more than a week until their opener at San Diego State on Saturday, Sept. 3, and then we will get a true peek at the changes Fisch has made at quarterback.
Follow Cole Johnson on Twitter
