When Washington State sophomore quarterback Jayden De Laura tweeted out Monday night his decision to transfer to Arizona it signaled one of the most important transfers in school history and a dramatic change in the possible win total for the 2022 and 2023 season.
De Laura’s honors (Pac-12 Freshman of the Year) and stats (23 touchdowns to just 9 interceptions) are nice but this also appears to be the perfect situation for both sides as Arizona has a newly loaded receiving core and now a quarterback, with experience, who can get it to them.
Anybody who tries to tell you they watched every Washington State game is full of beans, but it also takes five minutes of scouting and research to ascertain that Jayden De Laura is good. Really good.
And a big asset is his ability to get the ball out under pressure. De Laura’s decision making should help offset some of the talent issues still permeating the offensive line. Issues one would certainly expect Arizona to look to address.
But, as far as selling a program and keeping everyone happy, Arizona Coach Jedd Fisch gets the game like no other.
With a good percentage of fans shouting for Fisch to add an impact quarterback transfer, the coach was able to do it without sacrificing the loyalty of incoming freshman quarterback Noah Fifita.
Not the highest rated player in the class, but certainly the most important, Fifita was the spearhead for the Servite quartet that signed with Arizona and a player who likely had veto power over an incoming quarterback recruit with three years of remaining eligibility.
Fisch got that sign off and in the meantime added a quarterback who can dramatically change Arizona football’s upward trajectory the next few seasons, which will make recruiting even easier.
The De Laura signing doesn’t impact Fifita’s designation as the UA quarterback of the future, but it sends a clear message to Jordan McCloud, Will Plummer and Gunner Cruz that barring injury or transfer they likely won’t see the field as a starting quarterback in Tucson.
One aspect that is hard not to admire about Jedd Fisch is the silence he moves in. Once De Laura announced his exit from Washington State, this was Arizona’s game to lose. But that never leaked and was announced on De Laura’s terms, which is a big deal for recruits.
What’s next for Arizona? Help on the offensive line? Only Fisch knows but if the track record indicates anything it’s that the player will be accomplished and will let the fans know on his own schedule.
