Is a freshman emerging in the Arizona football quarterback race?

By ZACK ROSENBLATT Published January 30, 2013 at 2:22am Updated January 30, 2013 at 2:22am

Matt Scott is gone, and his replacement as Arizona’s starting quarterback is the UA’s biggest question mark heading into next season.

B.J. Denker, Scott’s backup in 2012, and transfer Jesse Scroggins are expected to compete for the job, but an incoming freshman is gaining steam in the starting quarterback race.

Anu Solomon, a four-star recruit from Las Vegas, was recently cited by Sports Illustrated as the No. 1 2013 quarterback recruit that could make an instant impact.

SI’s Ben Glicksman wrote, “Of all this year’s incoming signal-callers, he boasts the most ideal confluence of opportunity and ability … Most importantly, Solomon’s dual-threat profile makes him a perfect fit for Rich Rodriguez’s spread-option offense … Given the lack of experience elsewhere on the depth chart, don’t be surprised if Solomon is handed the reins to Arizona’s offense from the get-go.”

Solomon tallied 10,112 yards and 138 touchdowns against 17 interceptions throughout his career at Bishop Gorman, the same high school UCLA basketball freshman Shabazz Muhammad attended.

Denker filled in for Scott in spot duty in 2012, coming in when the game was out of reach. He did start on Nov. 10 against Colorado, though, and completed 12-of-14 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns, adding 44 rushing yards and another score.

During the season, he completed 25-of-37 passes for 259 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.

Scroggins started his college career at USC as a top-rated recruit in 2010. He lost the competition to be Matt Barkley’s backup and eventual successor and left the Trojans to play at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif.

He passed for 1,148 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions in eight games there before transferring to the UA in December.

Plus, as Glicksman pointed out, Rodriguez hasn’t hesitated to start a young signal-caller in the past.

When Rodriguez was at West Virginia, freshman Pat White started most of the Mountaineers’ games under center and led the team with 114 pass attempts, 828 yards and eight touchdowns.

And at Michigan, Denard Robinson attempted a pass in all but three games in his first year.

The likelihood of Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez starting a true freshman at quarterback is still slim, but Solomon might force his hand.

Rivals.com ranks Solomon as the second-best dual-threat quarterback in the 2013 class and recently added him to its Top 100 overall rankings at No. 99.