The Arizona Wildcats are in an enviable position when it comes to football’s most important position.
Arizona’s talent at quarterback runs three-deep. The Wildcats return a two-year starter in Anu Solomon and a promising backup in Brandon Dawkins, who now has real game experience. And the new guy, Khalil Tate, might have the highest upside of the bunch if he can harness his tantalizing physical tools.
The three make for an interesting case study. Each enters 2016 at a distinct developmental stage. Each has a different set of expectations.
With Arizona approaching the halfway point of spring practice, the Star took a deep dive into the current state of the program’s quarterback room. What follows is an assessment of each quarterback, from a variety of viewpoints.
THE LEADER
Everyone agrees that Solomon is in a different place mentally. With three years in the program — including almost two full seasons as the starter — he’s simply more advanced than his fellow quarterbacks.
“The experience, the mental game is where Anu has a leg up on everybody else,” receiver Nate Phillips said. “He’s been here an extra year. He’s done it. He’s gone through it.”
“You can tell Anu’s a veteran,” added receiver Samajie Grant. “Anu knows where he’s throwing the ball ahead of time. That’s what we need. We need the ball out fast.”
Solomon confirmed Grant’s evaluation. Entering his redshirt junior season, Solomon said he knows where the ball is going before the snap about 90 percent of the time. He also has the freedom to change plays at the line about 50 percent of the time. When he first started playing, in late August and early September of 2014, it wasn’t like that at all. Solomon has earned the coaching staff’s trust.
That relationship has evolved to the point that quarterbacks coach Rod Smith no longer needs to spell out to Solomon the specific areas where he still needs to grow.
“He knows,” Smith said. “He’s a veteran now. He knows what’s expected of him. He knows how he played, how he graded out and where the improvement needs to be.”
Smith cited consistency and decision-making as the top two items on the list. He didn’t mention leadership. The soft-spoken Solomon has embraced that part of the job.
“I’ve got to step it up,” he said. “I’ve got to be that guy that everyone can depend on.”
“Everyone” includes Dawkins and Tate, the quarterbacks striving to steal Solomon’s spot. Even though they’re competing with him, he doesn’t hesitate to help them.
“I want them to see what I see, just like how the coaches want me to see what they see,” Solomon said. “You can’t be that guy who holds secrets. I’m not that guy.”
THE UP-AND-COMER
No one was certain Dawkins could be “The Guy” until he stepped in for Solomon (concussion) and Jerrard Randall (ineffectiveness) in the 2015 regular-season finale against Arizona State.
In three quarters of work, Dawkins accounted for 383 total yards and three touchdowns. Sure, there were dubious moments, including two late interceptions that were returned for scores. But Dawkins, a redshirt freshman at the time, showed his coaches and teammates something they hadn’t previously seen.
“I really liked the way he competed,” UA coach Rich Rodriguez said. “Everything was happening kind of quick to him. But after a shaky start he settled down and showed us that he wants to compete for the starting job.”
Said Smith: “He proved to us as a staff that we can finally count on him to come in and be ready to play. And it’s his job now, in my opinion, to push this thing and try to go after Anu.”
Dawkins said the ASU game forced the coaches to take him more seriously. Before that game, he basically was an afterthought. Dawkins’ only previous appearances came at the end of one-sided games against Northern Arizona, UCLA, Stanford and Oregon State.
“I ended up really showing everybody what I could actually do,” Dawkins said. “This is going to be a huge spring and fall camp for me. I’m trying to come in and win this job.”
Dawkins’ résumé doesn’t compare with Solomon’s. They aren’t on equal footing at this point. But Dawkins at least has gained ground. The staff is more confident in him, and he’s more confident in himself.
“Actually getting some real game experience made me that much more comfortable in the offense,” Dawkins said. “It didn’t end quite the way I wanted it to. It’s all a learning experience. You’ve just got to get better from there.”
THE PRODIGY
Ask Tate’s new teammates about him, and you’ll invariably get reactions like this one from Phillips:
“Ooh. Athletic. Speed.”
Tate, who’s been on campus less than two months, already has wowed the Wildcats with his running ability and rocket arm. But where veterans Solomon and Dawkins are “fine-tuning the details,” according to Smith, Tate is in the midst of a crash course that can be overwhelming at times.
“He’s just trying to learn how to spell his name and spell it correctly,” Smith said. “It’s a process for him as we go.
“He’s just got to keep learning, keep getting reps. He’s in a different space than what the other guys are in right now.”
Dawkins understands and sympathizes. He used to occupy that same space — trying to figure out the offense while playing at the rapid rate Rodriguez requires.
“There’s so much to learn,” Dawkins said.
Tate is trying his best to soak it all in. (He was not available to comment for this story; Arizona’s newcomers are off-limits for the initial portion of spring practice.) Rodriguez compared the freshman’s experience thus far to “drinking water from a fire hose.” There’s a lot coming at him, and it’s coming fast.
Rodriguez also described Tate as “a very conscientious guy. It’s important to him.” Those are positive indicators. It helps when you can deke defenders in the open field and chuck 60-yard bombs.
“He can run the ball, no doubt. The guy can make some plays,” Solomon said. “He has a big arm. He can roll right and throw left. He’s that type of guy. We’ve just got to get him in the books.”
