Arizona quarterback Grant Gunnell will not be returning to Tucson after confirming his decision to transfer to Memphis on Thursday. The sophomore played in both of his seasons with the Wildcats, and he earned the starting job this year after splitting time with senior Khalil Tate as a freshman.
The production on the field didn't quite match the hype for one of the top recruits of the Kevin Sumlin era. Gunnell ended his high school career as one of the most prolific passers in the state of Texas and eventually had his pick of college options with a list that included programs such as Ohio State, LSU, Oregon and Alabama among many others.
He committed to play for Sumlin at Texas A&M and eventually followed the coach to Arizona where he would have a chance to play in Noel Mazzone's offense for the Wildcats.
Though he played in 12 games with the Wildcats, starting in seven of them, Gunnell was only able to deliver one victory as the starting quarterback in his two seasons at UA. That win came against UCLA in his first career start back on Sept. 28, 2019.
This season was a difficult one for Gunnell as he struggled to find a rhythm throughout the season behind a shaky offensive line only to then have to deal with a shoulder injury on top of that when he was knocked out of the game on the first play against the Bruins in this year's matchup at the Rose Bowl on Nov. 28.
He was forced to sit out the following game against Colorado before being pulled in favor of freshman Will Plummer in the final game of the season against rival Arizona State.
Gunnell, who dropped from a Rivals100 prospect to a three-star prospect by the time he arrived at Arizona, finished the season with 625 passing yards and six touchdowns. His career with the Wildcats comes to an end with Gunnell having passed for 1,864 yards, 15 touchdowns and three interceptions in addition to 36 rushing yards and one rushing score.
The decision by Gunnell to leave after previously announcing his plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal leaves new head coach Jedd Fisch in a difficult spot when it comes to the position. Veteran backup Rhett Rodriguez announced his decision to enter the transfer portal Wednesday morning shortly after the news broke that Fisch would be taking over at UA.
Assuming Rodriguez ends up elsewhere that leaves the Wildcats with just two scholarship quarterbacks heading into the offseason, Plummer and redshirt sophomore Kevin Doyle. Quarterback commit Clay Millen decided not to sign with the program last week while awaiting word on who the next head coach would be. As of now he is still doing more research and waiting out the process before signing in February.
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