One player described it as “different.” Another said it was “weird.” It prompted a coach to smile.
“That was nice,” said the coach, Rod Smith.
Smith tutors quarterbacks for the Arizona Wildcats. The plural was applicable Wednesday morning.
That’s because injury-riddled Arizona had its full allotment of QBs — an extreme rarity this season. Brandon Dawkins and Anu Solomon started and finished the same practice for the first time since Sept. 6.
“There’s a lot of red jerseys out there,” receiver Nate Phillips said afterward. “Before we were used to seeing one or two.”
Arizona was down to one healthy scholarship quarterback last week: true freshman Khalil Tate, who wasn’t supposed to play this season. His backup was tight end/holder Matt Morin.
That shouldn’t be the case when Arizona resumes its season a week from Saturday against Stanford. It’s reason for hope in the midst of a 2-5 campaign that mostly has brought frustration and disappointment.
“From a game-plan standpoint, you’re not going to be as limited as you’re going to be with a 17-year-old true freshman,” UA coach Rich Rodriguez said. “You have a lot more options, a lot more things you can work on.
“When you have a guy that has a little bit of experience, or two guys that have a little experience, you can really run the whole offense.”
Two-year starter Solomon, a redshirt junior, played in the opener against BYU but has been out since suffering a knee injury in practice Sept. 7. Dawkins, a redshirt sophomore, started the next five games but was unable to finish the last two because of a rib injury (UCLA) and a concussion (Utah).
The latter kept Dawkins out last week against USC. After playing well in relief, Tate struggled against the Trojans. Missed reads, missed assignments and other issues bogged down the offense. The coaches pulled Tate late in the third quarter of the Wildcats’ 48-14 loss.
“It happens with a young guy. That was the fear,” Smith said. “Sometimes when we say a kid is not quite ready, there’s a reason that we say that.
“Sometimes you see flashes of what could be, and that’s kind of where we’re at with it. Listen, that kid, he’s only going to get better. He’ll learn from it. He’ll grow from it.”
Tate should be able to learn and grow without starting again this season — if Dawkins and Solomon can stay healthy.
Smith said Solomon practiced once last week but was unable to go the next day. He isn’t 100 percent yet, Rodriguez said.
With the Stanford game still more than a week away — and Arizona’s injury luck being what it is — Smith isn’t assuming anything.
“What’s today, Wednesday? I feel better today than I did yesterday,” Smith said. “I feel better today than I did Sunday. We’ll see what Thursday holds for us.”
‘Unreal’ week for Morin
The cadre of red-jersey-wearing quarterbacks did not include Morin, who resumed his usual duties one week after taking a crash course at quarterback.
Although the outcome was decided by the time he entered the game, the fifth-year senior derived personal satisfaction from the experience.
“It just sucks sitting on the sideline knowing you can contribute,” Morin said. “To finally have an opportunity to contribute felt great.”
Morin completed 4 of 8 passes for 84 yards with one touchdown and one interception. (The touchdown went to Samajie Grant, with whom Morin had dinner earlier in the week.) He received countless congratulatory phone calls and text messages afterward.
“It was really cool to see that everyone was paying attention and still keeping an eye on me,” Morin said.
Aside from a handful of “Wildcat” plays in junior college, Morin hadn’t played quarterback since high school. He performed well under the circumstances.
“It’s like riding a bike, man — get back on and start pedaling,” Smith said. “We were pretty simple with what we did with him. He did good.”
Morin’s physique (he’s listed at 6-2, 235), jersey number (15) and left-handedness led to comparisons to Tim Tebow on social media. Morin said his nickname in high school was “Baby Tebow.”
The Heisman Trophy winner from Florida and Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn were Morin’s favorite quarterbacks. Quinn called the Arizona-USC game for Fox, and Morin got to meet him the day before the game.
“That almost made my week,” he said. “It was unreal.”
RB Wilson out again
These being the 2016 Wildcats, the good news on the QB front came packaged with a discouraging development elsewhere in the backfield.
Rodriguez said tailback Nick Wilson will be out an undetermined amount of time after getting hurt against USC.
Wilson had missed two games and most of two others because of a sprained left ankle. Rodriguez said Wilson suffered “a different injury” against the Trojans. It appeared to be to his right leg. Fox’s Bruce Feldman reported that Wilson injured his knee.
“He’s just banged up again,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t know how long he’ll be out now. … He’s had some tough luck. He’s got to just be able to keep fighting to come back.”
With J.J. Taylor (ankle) also hurt and Orlando Bradford off the team, the top alternatives have been juniors Zach Green and Tyrell Johnson. They combined for 60 yards on 15 rushes against USC, although Johnson limped off after his lone carry.
Extra points
- Rodriguez said Arizona’s main focus in practice during the bye is on fundamentals and techniques. “We’re assessing what our guys do well and what they don’t do well and trying to adjust our calls accordingly,” Rodriguez said. The team also held a 15-minute scrimmage for younger players who have spent most of the regular season on the scout team.
- Guard Freddie Tagaloa (knee) was listed as probable on the injury report for the USC game but did not play. “It’s one of those things,” offensive line coach Jim Michalczik said. “Could he have played? Yes. How well, that would have been the real question. He had a good practice today, and we’re evaluating it every day.”
- Rodriguez said he has identified which freshmen are redshirting this season. But he left open the possibility of changes to that plan. “Our main purpose is what we can do to win this year,” he said.
- Rodriguez said he didn’t see Tate give the USC sideline the “Fight On” sign after his first-quarter touchdown. “I’d have said something,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t condone that. Act like you’ve been there before. Maybe he hasn’t. Now he has.”
