Rhett Rodriguez will speak during Thursday’s UA student-athlete convocation, but don’t expect the valedictorian to laud his own merits.
Even though Rodriguez, a backup quarterback for the Wildcats’ football team, is at the top of the UA athletes’ graduating class. And that he’s graduating in three years from the prestigious Eller College of Management.
“I didn’t want the speech to be all about me,” said Rodriguez, who will receive his degree in business management.
Perhaps it isn’t all that surprising. Rodriguez has deflected to his teammates, coaches and parents since his time as a Catalina Foothills High School star. A coach’s son to the core — Rich Rodriguez ran the Wildcats’ football program between from 2012-17 — Rhett Rodriguez shoulders the blame when things go poorly and spreads the credit when they’re going well.
Rhett Rodriguez, a recent UA graduate who plans to pursue his master’s degree, could be a head coach before he’s 35 years old.
Rodriguez’s personal journey isn’t a prevalent part of the Thursday’s speech, but it guides the message.
Rodriguez stayed at the UA after his father was fired in January 2018, even starting at UCLA in Kevin Sumlin’s first season. “RhettRod” fell to third string last season, behind Khalil Tate and Grant Gunnell, and redshirted as a result. He enters his redshirt junior season as a backup to Gunnell.
“I think I’m in a unique position just because I have gone through a lot of adversity and it’s made me stronger. And I was excited to share my opinion on it all,” Rodriguez said. “I wanted to talk about perseverance and having confidence because that’s really important.”
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Rodriguez has already recorded the speech, which will play during Thursday’s livestream. He’ll watch the ceremony, which was moved online because of the coronavirus pandemic, from his family’s Georgia home. His dad, mom Rita and sister Raquel, a former UA cheerleader, will be with him.
Rhett Rodriguez
“My main message is that we are all on different paths,” he said. “It’s important to understand that there’s bumps along the road, there’s going to be setbacks. But whenever that happens, don’t pray for an easier life; pray to be a stronger person.”
Rodriguez plans to pursue a master’s degree and will remain part of the Wildcats football team, ruling out speculation he could explore the graduate transfer route. Transferring was never in the cards for him, even after Rich Rodriguez was fired from the UA. Rich Rodriguez spent 2019 as Ole Miss’ offensive coordinator, but was let go — along with head coach Matt Luke and the rest of the Rebels’ staff — following a 4-8 season.
“A lot of people have asked why I didn’t leave,” Rhett Rodriguez said. “I have a lot of great friends and teammates so it was hard for me to imagine leaving them. I love the city of Tucson, our community is so special and I wasn’t ready to close that chapter yet.”
The quarterback said he spent his redshirt season focusing on being the best teammate he could be. He said he “sort of played the role of a bridge” between Tate and the freshman Gunnell.
“When there were times when there was miscommunication or things he didn’t understand, Khalil and even the others like Grant would come to me for part of that mental aspect,” he said. “I really enjoyed that.”
Rodriguez has a mind for football and a talent for communication, which is why his future career path shouldn’t be a surprise.
“If I had to bet,” he said, “I’d bet that one day I’ll be a coach.”
