Arizona’s Smith Puts Teeth Into Wildcat Bite

At a program known for dominant defense but an often-sluggish offense, redshirt freshman Keith Smith has given the University of Arizona football team a spark.

Actually, more like a rocket launch.

Smith, a former Newbury Park High standout, made his first start at quarterback last Saturday for Arizona, leading the Wildcats to a 41-0 victory over Illinois.

Smith had nine carries for 143 yards and a touchdown, and completed seven of 14 passes for 31 yards and a touchdown with one interception.

His 73-yard run for a fourth-quarter touchdown gave Arizona a 19-0 lead.

Smith’s scrambling inspired one Arizona newspaper to report that he resembled “a rabbit trying to cross the highway at rush hour.”

“Keith had a real impact on the game,” Arizona Coach Dick Tomey said. “He has a unique approach to the game. So many others are traumatized by it but he’s just out there playing football.”

Tomey was disappointed in Arizona’s passing attack but said he was pleased with Smith’s overall performance.

“We’re certainly not worried about his physical ability,” Tomey said. “He has some mountains to climb in the mental parts of the game, but if it were easy to be a quarterback there would be a lot more freshmen doing it.”

Smith’s debut as a starter bore similarities to that of another Arizona quarterback and former local standout, Tom Tunnicliffe, a 1980 Burroughs High graduate.

Tunnicliffe played for Arizona from 1980-83 and led the Wildcats to an upset of No. 2-ranked UCLA in the third game of his freshman season. His name appears frequently in Arizona’s passing lists and he holds school records for total offense and passing yardage.

Smith, 5-10 and 185 pounds, wears the same number, 12, and has roughly the same physical build as Tunnicliffe. If nothing else, Smith has provided a short-term boost to the excitement usually associated with Arizona football.

Arizona Daily Star reporter Greg Hansen put it this way: “With Smith at QB you have to keep watching or you might miss the defining moment. Usually, at Arizona, that moment has been a punt or a sack.”

Unlikely to be thrilled by Smith’s exploits on the football field are the Detroit Tigers.

Detroit signed Smith to play baseball out of high school, but he stayed with the organization only one minor league season before returning a $200,000 bonus and enrolling at Arizona.

The Tigers placed the money in a trust fund, hoping Smith would return to baseball and reclaim it.

“We don’t want the money, we want Keith Smith,” Detroit scout Dennis Lieberthal said.

At this rate, they won’t be getting him any time soon.