Amid the injury-induced chaos that has derailed the Arizona Wildcats’ offense this season, Shun Brown has emerged as a consistent force.
Through five games, the sophomore surprisingly leads UA receivers in catches, yards and touchdowns. It’s a credit to his work ethic, conscientiousness and athletic skills.
But to hear Brown tell it, the acclaim belongs to everyone else.
The humble second-year player from Shreveport, Louisiana, considers himself a product of his coaches and an amalgam of his veteran teammates.
“I took parts and bits from everybody,” Brown said Tuesday. “I took all that and made Shun Brown.”
Despite the presence of three seniors with expansive résumés, Brown has a team-high 17 receptions for 263 yards and two touchdowns. After catching only one pass in Arizona’s first two games, Brown has led the Wildcats in receiving each of the past three weeks.
Coach Rich Rodriguez says Brown is the one getting open. Brown says he’s getting open because of those three seniors. Opponents are keying on them, Brown said, creating opportunities for the 5-foot-8, 175-pounder who didn’t start in the opener.
Nate Phillips, Trey Griffey and Samajie Grant have been productive; each has at least 12 receptions. Each also has specific traits that Brown has blended into his game. That process began last season, when the receiver room also featured Cayleb Jones, David Richards and Johnny Jackson.
Here’s what Brown learned from each player:
“With Nate, he’s smart and he has hands. Samajie, his route-running is crisp. Trey Griffey, his strength. Cayleb Jones, his want-to. Johnny Jackson, his toughness. And David Richards, his consistency.”
Add it all up, and Arizona has the makings of a well-rounded receiver whose presence should ease the transition when Phillips, Griffey and Grant move on after this season.
Asked what Brown is doing well right now, Rodriguez said: “Really, everything. What you’re seeing in the game is not really a surprise to us because we see it in practice. He just plays so hard, he’s so passionate about it. Pound for pound, he’s as tough as anybody we’ve got.”
It’s not surprising that Brown is a quick study. His dad, Vyron Brown, is a longtime high school and college football coach. Shun grew up around the game.
“He’s consistent, and he’s in the right place at the right time,” UA receivers coach Tony Dews said. “He does everything he’s asked to do, does everything he’s coached to do.”
Brown has ambitions beyond playing football. He’d like to become a mechanical engineer — or, if that doesn’t work out, a football coach like his father.
That way, others can learn from him.
“I just like helping people, helping kids,” Brown said, “giving them my knowledge of the game.”
‘Relentless’ Tate preps to start
Freshman quarterback Khalil Tate described himself as a “finesse” runner Tuesday. That adjective drew laughter from the reporters who surrounded him in the lobby of the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility.
They all had seen Tate run against UCLA in his college debut Saturday night. Sure, he ran around some Bruins in the course of accumulating 79 yards on 15 carries. But he ran over others.
“That’s kind of my game,” Tate said. “I play relentless.”
Tate’s style presents a dilemma for the UA coaching staff. They want him to be himself, but they need him to stay upright. He might be the only healthy scholarship quarterback available for Saturday’s game at Utah with Brandon Dawkins (ribs) and Anu Solomon (knee) battling injuries.
“I want him to be smart,” quarterbacks coach Rod Smith said. “But I don’t want to take away who he is, either. There’s a fine line with that.
“I tell him, ‘Don’t take unnecessary shots.’ If he’s going forward, he ain’t taking a shot — he’s giving a shot. When he’s not going forward, those are the shots you’ve got to be careful with. He understands that.”
Tate acknowledged that he’ll need to start “getting down a little bit more” in the coming weeks. He’s expected to start Saturday — and possibly beyond — if Dawkins and Solomon are unavailable.
Smith said Dawkins entered the UCLA game with “a little bit of a nagging rib bruise.” He aggravated that injury in the first quarter and had to leave the game in the second.
Like Tate, Dawkins doesn’t shy from contact. It’s one of the reasons he had 391 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in his previous three games.
“He banged it and made it a little worse to the point where he couldn’t throw or move,” Smith said. “He tried to fight through it. I’ll give him that. The kid’s got heart, man.”
For better or worse.
Extra points
- If Dawkins and Solomon are out, tight end Matt Morin would be the Wildcats’ emergency quarterback behind Tate and Zach Werlinger. Morin played quarterback in high school, is the team’s holder and has taken some practice reps at QB, although he’s been limited to handoffs.
- Rodriguez said all the injuries on offense make it harder to install new plays and/or adjustments to existing plays. “When you have young guys in there,” Rodriguez said, “you can’t go to Phase 2 or the adjustment to a play because you’re still doing Phase 1.”
- Injuries aren’t affecting Arizona’s morale, according to Rodriguez. The first half of Tuesday’s practice “was the best energy we’ve had in six weeks,” he said.
- Defensive lineman Luca Bruno continues to battle a foot or ankle injury.
- Rodriguez said the defense has to get takeaways for Arizona to upset Utah.
“If we don’t get any turnovers in this game, we’ll have a tough time,” he said. The Wildcats had four takeaways when they defeated the Utes in Salt Lake City in 2014.
