Marcus Arroyo, Wyoming QB/OC Coach, Reportedly Hired As Cal Quarterbacks Coach

According to multiple outlets (Casper Star Tribune, CBS 5 in Cheyenne, Ryan Gorcey at Rivals ($)), Jeff Tedford has hired Marcus Arroyo to become our next quarterbacks coach (I say reportedly because no one is confirming it yet; even Gorcey has a "?" on his headline). Tedford has said that he will also be in closer contact with the quarterbacks on a day-by-day basis, so both him and Arroyo should be working together in tandem to produce better production from the quarterback position.

I'm sure people are wondering:  If he's working with them so much, why doesn't Tedford just become the quarterbacks coach? Well, I presume a lot of what Tedford works with quarterbacks on is the mental part of the game; there's a lot of other grunt work that comes with being a position coach that could be a waste of his energy. Arroyo, a fairly young guy who brings a lot of enthusiasm to his practices, can help him with that, and that'll free up Tedford to maximize his working hours with the rest of the offense and the team.

So let's presume this is true, since everyone has reported it.

Arroyo was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach for the Wyoming Cowboys the past two seasons. Although their offensive numbers were not impressive last season, he did finish 7-6 in his first year and have his quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels lead a bunch of come-from-behind victories. Arroyo's offenses also were very good at not turning the ball over--Wyoming was tied for 16th with 17 turnovers lost last year and tied for 7th with 14 turnovers lost in 2009. Tedford is a man who not only appreciates ball control but ball discipline; that the turnover numbers are so low must have been a critical factor in his hiring.

Perhaps his bigger success story came locally with the San Jose St. Spartans, his alma mater where he himself played quarterback. He coached San Jose State's quarterbacks from 2005-2008, where he turned Adam Tafralis into one of the nation's most prolific passers in efficiency, completion percentage, and yards production. Tafralis was the first quarterback ever to complete over sixty percent of his passes two years in a row at SJSU, and he did it again with Kyle Reed in 2008 just for good measure. Sure, it's the WAC, but San Jose State has been pretty middling on offense since Arroyo's departure (they went 9-4, 5-7, and 6-6 in his last three seasons, and are 3-21 since). It's not expected that Arroyo will be handling playcalling duties at Cal.

Arroyo was not known for his recruiting prowess, but perhaps teamed with Tedford, he'll be able to produce better recruiting results. With over several young and talented quarterbacks waiting to take the starting position, Arroyo will have a chance to work well with a staff that just became very younger with the return of Eric Kiesau and hiring of Ashley Ambrose. He sure does seem like an energetic guy.

Coach Arroyo Wired (via PokesFootball1)

Again, we have no word yet on who will be the offensive coordinator, although one can venture some educated guesses now that we seem to have a full coaching staff.

Welcome to Cal, Marcus. GO BEARS!