[tps_title]Arizona’s never started season with true freshman QB[/tps_title]
With UCLA, Washington and Oregon State starting true freshmen quarterbacks from the start of the season, it begs the question: Has Arizona began the year with hopes riding on a quarterback just out of high school?
Not in the Pac-10/12 era.
From 1978 to now, Arizona has started four true freshman quarterbacks, none of them as the planned starter at the beginning of a season.
Tom Tunnicliffe (1980), Ronald Veal (1987), Kris Heavner (2003) and Willie Tuitama (2005) started as in-season decisions by coaches Larry Smith, Dick Tomey and Mike Stoops.
Tunnicliffe became the starter in the sixth game of the 1980 season because No. 1 quarterback Mark Fulcher went down with a knee injury and Kevin Ward struggled as the backup-turned-starter.
Veal was utilized because of a season-ending broken thumb injury to SMU transfer Bobby Watters in the third week of the 1987 season.
Heavner started by default after John Mackovic’s top two quarterbacks — Ryan O’Hara and Nic Costa — struggled early in 2003.
Stoops finally caved in during the eighth week of the 2005 season and inserted Tuitama in place of the struggling Richard Kovalcheck.
ARIZONA FRESHMAN QB FIRST CAREER STARTS SINCE WILDCATS JOINED PAC-10 IN 1978
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