University of Arizona Athletics

B.J. Denker has returned to his alma mater for his first season as an offensive analyst on Rich Rodriguez’s staff. Denker previously worked as an offensive graduate assistant at Texas A&M following his playing career in Tucson.

In his role at Arizona, Denker works closely with the quarterbacks as an aid to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Rod Smith.

At Texas A&M, Denker worked closely with Aggies’ receivers in 2015, a unit that included freshman All-American Christian Kirk. In 2016, Denker assisted with quarterbacks, a position that saw the talented Trevor Knight lead the Aggies to wins in seven of their first eight contests before a late-season injury. The passing prowess also produced a 1,000-yard receiver in Josh Reynolds, who was a second-team All-SEC selection.

As a quarterback, Denker was electric with both his arm and feet. A transfer from Cerritos College, Denker was the second-string quarterback during Rodriguez’s first season in Tucson and the starter a year later. In the two-year career, Denker racked up with 1,023 yards and 14 touchdowns as a runner, while passing for 2,775 yards and 19 touchdowns. He completed 62-percent of his career passes and threw only eight interceptions on 418 attempts.

Denker’s senior season saw him start all 13 contests and lead Arizona to its second-straight eight-win season. The highlight was a stunning November upset of then-No. 5 Oregon in which Denker produced one of the best quarterbacked games in Arizona history. The lefty-passer completed 19-of-22 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 102 yards of his own in the read-option run game that produced 304 yards. Later that season, Denker engineered the Wildcats to their second-straight postseason win in the AdvoCare V100 Bowl.

Denker graduated from Arizona with a degree in general studies with a sports and society emphasis. He studied recreation park and tourism sciences in his graduate work at Texas A&M.