Arizona quarterback Grant Gunnell admitted recently that he doesn't do much outside of football. He's not one for hobbies. He's taken up bowling and he recently purchased a puppy to take up some of his free time. Other than that he's all football right now.

There will be a lot on Gunnell's shoulders this season. He's known he would be the next man in line for quite some time since he started a few games as a freshman and made eight appearances overall in 2019.

He split time with senior Khalil Tate last season. Tate is now gone and it is Gunnell's show. There's no controversy and no true competition. The job is his.

There's a certain kind of weight that comes with that, especially for someone who has only thrown just over 150 passes in his career. Still, Gunnell has been working for this moment over an extended offseason that had its ups and downs.

He pushed for games to be played this fall and even penned a letter to California's governor when it looked like his COVID-19 precautions would be the only thing holding back the Pac-12 from playing this season. Gunnell didn't do it for clout. He simply wants to play football.

“One thing you’ve gotta know about Grant is Grant has unbelievable passion for this game, and he wants to be really good at it," UA offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Noel Mazzone said earlier this month. "So, he has those ingredients already. This is something he’s worked, basically, his whole young life up to this point to play major college football.

"It’s just very important to him. To be honest with you, even with the unknowns of when we were gonna play or if we were gonna play, he never took a day off. So, he was gonna be prepared to play this season if it started now or it started the first of the year or started 2021 fall.”

Despite breaking records as a high school player in Texas at St. Pius X in Houston, Gunnell is not perfect and knew he had to make strides ahead of taking over the full-time starting quarterback job this season. Gunnell was careful with the ball and made plenty of positive plays, but as the offense makes the transition to a style that better fits him the staff still wants to have elements of the running game in their back pocket.

Mazzone doesn't need him to be Tate as a runner, but having more mobility to keep plays alive and run the ball when needed was a major focus in the last several months.

"Grant needed a lot of work as far as his pocket presence," Mazzone said. "He's such a big tall long guy, so we're working on his quickness in the pocket and creating passing lanes and sliding in the pocket. So, we've had a lot of time to work on that.

"We've had some time to just clean up some fundamentals. And, actually I think he's throwing it as well as I've seen him throw it since he's been here."

It's not just what he does from an Xs and Os standpoint that will make a difference this season for Gunnell. He plays arguably the most important position on the field and that comes with responsibility. This week he named one of Arizona's five captains for the season.

He's the only underclassman to earn a spot on the list that is built through a team vote. Gunnell has the respect of his teammates and it's something that was built over time.

"When adverse situations arise I think they reveal some people’s true character,” UA head coach Kevin Sumlin said earlier this fall. “How you handle those situations, even if you don’t have experience in it, becomes important and leadership becomes important.

"I think he’s stepped forward and really done some things to grow and to help grow our team together during this offseason, during a difficult time. From a leadership standpoint, he’s made some serious strides over the last seven months.”

Every freshman comes to college expecting to see the field right away and even though Gunnell was able to play in more games than a typical freshman quarterback there were moments when he wasn't effective and had to be replaced.

The UA signal caller was able to reflect on those moments this offseason and he has found value in them.

"I'd definitely say patience, and definitely not to get down on myself," Gunnell said last week when asked what he learned most as a freshman. "I got pulled a few games and then put back in. It really taught me to prepare like I'm the starter and how to watch film and always be prepared. I think coming off the bench some games and getting pulled was the best thing for me, confidence-wise.

"That's gonna happen in games. You're gonna have downs, you're gonna have lows. You gotta learn how to get above them. You can't let anyone else see you down, because then the whole offense is gonna be down."

Gunnell has continued to feel positive about the upcoming season and he has put himself in position to make every rep count knowing the type of weight that will be on his shoulders this season as a leader of the offense.

"I approach every practice like it's a game day," he said. "I go through the script. I make sure I know every play that's gonna be called and my reads on each play. So, I don't go out there and play careless. I play how the offense needs me to play each practice, and if the shot's there I take it because that's how it'll be in the game."

The Wildcats open the season next Saturday (Nov. 7) on the road against Utah.

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