Quarterback Will Plummer not listed on Arizona football spring roster

Arizona updated its online roster late Tuesday, showing which players are expected to be around when spring practice begins in a month.

The starting quarterback for the majority of the 2021 season isn’t one of them.

Will Plummer is not listed on the spring roster, leaving Arizona with just three scholarship quarterbacks for spring ball. A year ago at this time, the Wildcats had five but only ended up using two this past season, and the three who didn’t see action have now all moved on. Jordan McCloud left the team last October, transferring to James Madison, and Gunner Cruz is now a graduate assistant.

Plummer did not play in 2022 while recovering from right shoulder surgery in the spring. The year before he started seven games, including the last six, as well as one as a true freshman in 2020, and finishes his UA career with 1,993 passing yards and nine touchdowns along with 225 yards and two scores.

UA coach Jedd Fisch hinted at Plummer’s impending departure during his National Signing Day press conference on Feb. 1, noting that they were still trying to get his shoulder fully healthy but that it “might be a tough one for him to return” from.

Arizona’s spring roster includes 91 players, 20 of them newcomers, while others missing include tight end Issaiah Johnson, linebacker Dante Smith and defensive back Isaiah Mays. Another 15 members of the 2023 recruiting/transfer coach are expected to join the team in the summer.

Among those 20 newcomers is defensive back Martell Irby, a transfer from UCLA. He had announced his retirement from football last June, citing mental health concerns, but has one season of eligibility remaining.

Ironically, this is Irby’s second time connected to the UA program. He committed to Rich Rodriguez as part of the 2018 recruiting class (as a 3-star running back) but ended up signing with UCLA a month after Kevin Sumlin was hired, switching from offense to defense before the 2021 season.