Arizona football: Sticking with B.J. Denker against USC

How worried are you with B.J. Denker as the current starter? What are his strengths and weaknesses and would you like to see Rich Rod stick with him or change things up?

Kevin Zimmerman: Pretty darn worried, but I'm not going to waste my time blaming Denker for winning the starting job. Denker can't make even the simple throws with consistency, but he at least appeared to settle down as the game wore on. He also made a couple big plays with his legs that proved he's got enough speed to break runs against Pac-12 squads. I'm probably in the minority that believes in the coach, and that's because I don't see these guys in practice every day. Arizona can't toss its plan aside, but I think Denker must show improvement in his composure against USC, at the least.

Jason Bartel: Worried is not the way I would describe this situation. I'm comfortable with putting my trust in RichRod and his evaluation of the various QBs on the roster, and that B.J. is probably the right guy for this season.  We've got some of our readers calling for Javelle Allen, or even Anu Solomon, but there's no chance that Solomon plays this year. Javelle Allen has been in at the end of every game, and only has one pass attempt in those four games.  When Stoops left, there was only one scholarship QB left here, and that was Matt Scott.  So RichRod's done his best with trying to fill that void quickly, and I feel that Denker is most definitely the best option there is, especially now that we're four games in.

(Editor's note: Denker would probably call for Javelle Allen to replace him if he had a choice, according to this interview with Anthony Gimino.)

Denker's strength is definitely his smarts.  He needed to face a team like Washington early so he can grow and learn from it, and he said so after the game. I feel like he'll do nothing but improve as the season goes along and he's faced with different situations and starts recognizing defenses better. The only way any of these guys are going to get better is to be thrown into the fire, and Denker is the one that will respond the best to adversity in my opinion.  His weakness is his arm strength, but if the running game is used more effectively, that shouldn't matter too much. He's shown that he can run the read option, he just struggled with the speed of the Washington defense early in the game. The receivers really didn't help him very much either. They look even worse than Denker.

I guess I kind of touched on it, but yes, I want RichRod to stick with Denker from here on out. There's no one behind him that has proven themselves in practice obviously. And the main challenger heading into fall, Jesse Scroggins, didn't travel with the team to Seattle and didn't dress for UTSA so that doesn't exactly help the situation either.

Adam Butler: Denker's strength is obviously in his ability to run. The kid can move and that is a great asset particularly in a Rich Rodriguez offense. The unfortunate part is that his ability to move has not translated in an ability for him to move out of the pocket and simplify the part of the game he struggles with most: passing accuracy. His legs are supposed to help him in that they can open up some simple passing lanes but he's quickly proving that his decision making isn't quite on par with what the Wildcats are going to need to be successful. I'd like to see RichRod stick with him - there's something to be said about a vote of confidence and continuity - but a little competition never hurt either.