Jedd Fisch wants Jayden de Laura to be Batman.

It was a quirky but otherwise spot-on message from the Arizona head coach on Thursday when he met with reporters. The second-year Wildcat quarterback has gone through some early-season struggles. Fisch wants to see him trust his offense a bit more.

“The biggest thing for him is, yeah, he makes wild plays, but I tell him, ‘You don’t need to be Superman,'” Fisch said. “‘Just be Batman. Use your tools.'”

In a 31-24 overtime loss to Mississippi State last Saturday, de Laura was picked off four times. He still completed 70% of his passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns while adding another 44 yards and a rushing score on the ground, but the day began about as rough as possible.

Three of de Laura’s first eight passes went to Bulldog players — all in the first quarter. That Arizona managed to hold Mississippi State to just 24 points in regulation while giving the Bulldogs five extra possessions (four picks, one fumble) was a testament to the kind of defense the team played.

Arizona’s quarterback has five interceptions in two games. No one else in the country has more.

Fisch wants to see better decisions with the football, but he also appreciates the mentality his quarterback has displayed after a mistake.

“He has such great confidence in himself that if he makes a mistake or turns the ball over, that’s not gonna affect his ability to go back out there,” Fisch said.

They get together and watch Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts. Fisch sees some Favre-esque gunslinger traits in his quarterback, too.

“I think he has traits of a lot of players out there,” Fisch said. “I think he has traits of a Patrick Mahomes where he can make plays off-schedule on a consistent basis. He’s not afraid to throw the ball at any given moment. I’d give him the Brett Favre comparison where he has a toughness about him, he has a competitive stamina.”

He led the Pac-12 in interceptions last season as well (13).

For de Laura and his development this season, it’s about doing exactly what Fisch suggested: rein it in and use your tools. Arizona has outstanding playmakers on the perimeter — Jacob Cowing, Tetairoa McMillan — and another in the backfield in Michael Wiley.

At the risk of getting too inside baseball, Batman dusts whoever he faces with enough time to prepare and trust in his tools. Arizona is looking to improve off of last year’s five-win campaign and make a bowl game for the first time since 2017. To do so, it needs its Batman to be on his game.