Commitment: Arizona lands Washington State transfer QB Gunner Cruz
If there has been one recruiting trend early in the Jedd Fisch era at Arizona it has been bringing home several players from other programs. The Wildcats have been active in seeking out players from the NCAA Transfer Portal in recent weeks and most of the additions for UA have been players returning to Arizona after leaving for college elsewhere.
It happened again Saturday as Washington State transfer quarterback Gunner Cruz announced his decision to return home to Arizona and play for the Wildcats after two seasons in Pullman. The former Queen Creek-Casteel High School standout was a midyear enrollee with the Cougars as a member of the 2019 class, but he was only able to see limited action after redshirting as a freshman.
He threw seven passes against USC during the 2020 season in his lone appearance, but Cruz had success with five completions for 34 yards and a touchdown during his brief time on the field.
Cruz was a three-star prospect out of high school with offers from Arizona State, Baylor, Cincinnati, Louisiana and San Jose State among others including several Ivy League programs.
The 6-foot-5 quarterback has an impressive arm that allowed him to pass for nearly 10,000 yards and 100 touchdowns as a high school player. As a senior in the 2018 season he passed for 3,598 yards with 30 touchdown passes to just five interceptions. He also had 14 rushing touchdowns.
In each of his three seasons as a starter he passed for at least 30 touchdowns and had 40 passing scores has a junior.
The Wildcats have been looking at various options at the quarterback position after the departures of starter Grant Gunnell, who transferred to Memphis this offseason, and veteran backup Rhett Rodriguez who followed his dad, Rich, to Louisiana-Monroe. Those moves left Fisch and his new staff with just two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, freshman Will Plummer and redshirt sophomore Kevin Doyle.
Fisch has not elaborated much on how the quarterback competition will play out this year, but if Cruz is ruled to be immediately eligible to play this season he will be part of a battle with both Plummer and Doyle for the starting job.
Plummer will head into the competition with the most experience after playing in three games, including one start, during his first season in 2020.
“I’m a very competitive person who hates to lose,” Cruz previously said about what skills he brings to the field. “That’s my biggest strength. Every time I go out there I compete as hard as I can."
Cruz, who picked the Wildcats just a day after entering the transfer portal, is just the latest Arizona native to joint the Wildcats after starting his career elsewhere. UA already added Arizona natives Gunner Maldonado (Chandler/Northwestern), Drake Anderson (Chandler/Northwestern) and Jason Harris (Higley/Colorado) as transfers this winter.
He also will help make up for the recent loss of Seattle-area quarterback recruit Clay Millen who backed off his longtime pledge to the Wildcats earlier this month. Fisch now has three available spots in the 2021 class after Cruz's addition Saturday. The Wildcats have added six players from the NCAA transfer portal this offseason with former Baylor offensive lineman Davis DiVall and former Notre Dame cornerback Isaiah Rutherford being the other two transfer additions.
The new UA transfer quarterback will have four seasons of eligibility if he is allowed by the NCAA to play this year.
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