SALT LAKE CITY — This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
Anu Solomon and/or Brandon Dawkins would play quarterback for the Arizona Wildcats this season. Walk-on Zach Werlinger would be the mop-up man. Super-talented, 17-year-old freshman Khalil Tate would watch and learn.
But then football happened. Solomon got hurt. Dawkins got dinged. Werlinger proved ineffective. UA coach Rich Rodriguez had no choice but to play Tate.
And now he might start at No. 24 Utah on Saturday night.
Rodriguez and quarterbacks coach Rod Smith spent this week readying Tate for that possibility. Solomon (knee) made the trip here but is doubtful to play. Dawkins (ribs) is questionable.
“I was trying to keep Khalil’s redshirt on him as long as we could,” Smith said. “But when Anu goes down and Brandon goes down, all bets are off the table.”
Tate is young, inexperienced and lacks the institutional knowledge that comes with having spent multiple years in RichRod’s system. But Tate has his health, and he’s more prepared for this massive challenge than you might think.
The offense Tate ran at Junipero Serra High in Gardena, California, was a carbon copy of the one he’s running now, only with different terminology. Tate also enrolled at the UA in January. Plus, as he noted this week, “I’ve been a quarterback since I was 5, 6 years old.”
What has befallen Arizona at quarterback is unusual, but it’s not uncommon anymore for true freshmen to play the sport’s most demanding position. Even college football’s bluebloods are doing it.
Shane Buechele and Jalen Hurts are the starting quarterbacks for Texas and Alabama, respectively. It’s probably no coincidence that both also enrolled early.
In part because of the proliferation of 7-on-7 camps and tournaments, more quarterbacks are ready to play when they arrive on campus. The last two quarterbacks Arizona faced, Washington’s Jake Browning and UCLA’s Josh Rosen, started every game as freshmen last season.
“Some coaches don’t like the 7-on-7 stuff. I think it’s great,” Rodriguez said. “You get quarterbacks more prepared because they’ve thrown so much and they’re used to seeing coverages. And high school coaches are doing a great job of getting these kids college-ready.”
Still, Rodriguez and Smith didn’t want to play Tate this season. As long as Solomon and Dawkins were healthy and playing well, there was no need to.
Although physically mature at 6-foot-2 and 212 pounds, Tate lagged behind the veterans in terms of mastering the playbook. It was to be expected. But Tate exceeded expectations – including his own coaches’ – after being inserted in the second half last week against the Bruins.
“He hadn’t been as clean as the other guys in practice at times,” Smith said. “The talent is there. Everybody sees that. It doesn’t take a whole lot of coaching ability or a coach’s eye to see he has talent.
“But he’s got to be able to do the little things to work within the scheme of what we do. He did that Saturday. He did it for the most part. It was very pleasing, because the kid turned it on come game time.”
Smith described Tate’s demeanor as “calm” and “cool” aside from when he failed to score from the 3-yard line on his first drive. (The Wildcats settled for a field goal – the first of three Tate-led scoring drives that produced 17 of Arizona’s 24 points.)
Teammates said Tate needed to be louder when calling out plays, and that’ll be especially true at Rice-Eccles Stadium on homecoming weekend. But Tate generally played to positive reviews at the Rose Bowl, especially for the way he delivered punishment as a runner. UCLA safety Jaleel Wadood was on the receiving end of a particularly hard shoulder shot.
Quarterbacks are off-limits during practice, “so I didn’t realize how physical he was when he ran,” UA linebacker Michael Barton said of Tate. “There were a few plays where he literally just trucked a defender, kept going and didn’t lose a step. I knew Khalil was going to be a good player when I got here – just the way he practices and carries himself.”
In just less than one half of work against the Bruins, Tate rushed for a team-high 79 yards on 15 carries. He completed 5 of 9 passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns. He looked like he belonged.
It’s important, however, to keep what transpired last week in perspective. By the time Tate entered the game in the third quarter, UCLA had a 24-7 lead. Arizona never got closer than 14 points.
“UCLA wasn’t prepared for him coming in,” UA receiver Trey Griffey said. “He hasn’t played any games, so really all they could’ve (gone) off was high school film, and I’m pretty sure they didn’t watch the high school film on him.”
Utah at least has some film on Tate. The Utes know there’s a strong possibility he’ll start or come off the bench. They’ll be ready for him.
Will he be ready for them?
