Arizona Qb Receives Rude Welcome To Pac-10

The consensus among University of Arizona followers is that redshirt freshman quarterback Keith Smith is going to be the type of player Wildcats fanatics will talk about for years to come.

But in his indoctrination to “bigtime” Pacific-10 Conference defense, Smith was taught some careerdeveloping lessons by Washington in a 31-17 loss Saturday.

“They’ve got eight guys up front,” said Smith, making his second career start after stealing the job from junior Brady Batten two weeks ago. “They are all coming at you. It’s pretty crazy. They’ve got some good skill athletes on the other side of the ball. That’s the fastest defense I’ve every played against in my life.”

Ordinarily, it’s the defense saying Smith is the fastest quarterback they’ve seen, just as Washington defensive tackle David Richie did earlier in the week. Although just 5-foot-11, Smith took over the quarterback spot at Arizona because of his versatility.

He had a 73-yard run against Illinois and is adept at throwing out of the pocket or on the run as well. He even caught a pass in the Wildcats’ season-opener against Texas-El Paso when he lined up as a receiver.

And to round out his athleticability profile, Smith played a season as a shortstop in the Detroit Tigers’ organization after high school.

Although Smith tallied 268 yards of total offense, the Husky defense didn’t allow Smith to function at his peak. “It was impossible to get outside,” Smith said.