Kevin Sumlin made the move he had to make. Some would argue it was overdue.
Since the first offensive series of the second game, Arizona Wildcats quarterback Khalil Tate has been hobbling around on a sprained left ankle. He never has looked quite right.
Tate was able to finish every game — and played very well in some of them — until this past Friday. A first-quarter sack by Utah’s Chase Hansen left Tate in a great deal of pain. After watching Tate struggle to escape the pocket on the next play, Sumlin decided to sit him for the rest of the night.
Three days later, Sumlin determined that it was in the best interest of Tate and the team to have him sit for an entire week. After meeting with him Monday, Sumlin announced Tuesday that Tate will be held out of this week’s game at UCLA. Sophomore Rhett Rodriguez will make his first career start when the Wildcats face the Bruins on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.
“We talked through a lot of different things,” Sumlin said. “I made the decision this week to sit him down. It’s the best thing for him. It’s just for this week, to give him a chance to get healthy. He’s been very courageous in what he’s tried to do the last couple weeks.”
Tate has started the past 15 games. After a breakout sophomore season, the junior has been slowed by the ankle injury and has had trouble at times adapting to a new offensive system.
After rushing for 1,411 yards last season, Tate has just 113 yards this year. His per-carry average has fallen from 9.2 yards to 2.5.
“That was an injury that was nagging,” Sumlin said. “So we’re going to take this week for him to get healthy and give him a chance to be the best Khalil Tate the last quarter of the season.
“As I say about any player: The best you is the best us. For safety reasons, for his health and for our football team, he was in agreement with that. That’s the direction we’re going.”
Rhett Rodriguez, seen here against Oregon State earlier this season, led the Wildcats into scoring position five times during Arizona’s 42-10 loss to Utah in Salt Lake City last week.
Sumlin addressed the QB question early in the week because Tate undoubtedly would have pushed to play. He grew up in Los Angeles rooting for UCLA. His cousin, Manuel White, played for the Bruins in the early 2000s. Tate made his college debut at the Rose Bowl in October 2016.
Last year, Tate rushed for 230 yards and two touchdowns against UCLA — the second of six straight games in which he ran for at least 137 yards.
Chip Kelly wasn’t the Bruins’ coach at the time, but he knew what he would have been up against if Tate were healthy.
“We don’t have to chase the fastest kid in the country around,” Kelly said. “It’s sad. I’m a big Khalil Tate fan. He’s a tough kid. I know he tried to gut it out.”
Despite being limited in practice at times, Tate has felt well enough by the end of each week to play. In almost every game, he has tweaked the ankle at some point. At Oregon State on Sept. 22, Sumlin had to call a timeout to allow Tate to recover from a painful tackle.
Sumlin didn’t want Tate’s injury to linger any further. Arizona’s bye isn’t until Nov. 10.
“It has hampered his performance,” Sumlin said. “Giving him the opportunity to get healthy, we talked through it and he understood the big picture. It’s frustrating for him to not be able to do the things that he wanted to be able to do for the last month, month and a half.”
Although his touchdown-to-interception ratio has improved, Tate’s completion percentage has tumbled nearly 10 points. With Tate playing hurt behind an injury-depleted and inexperienced line, the offense has struggled for most of the season. Excluding the Southern Utah and Oregon State contests, Arizona is averaging 19 points per game. Tate seldom has resembled his 2017 self; from the moment he entered the Colorado game last October, he was the best athlete on the field.
Starting with Cal two Saturdays ago, Sumlin and offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone implemented a plan to sub for Tate during games. Freshman Jamarye Joiner played the third series against the Golden Bears and the third and fourth series against the Utes.
Facing a sizable deficit against Utah and needing someone to operate the two-minute offense, Sumlin turned to Rodriguez. The son of Rich Rodriguez, Sumlin’s predecessor, played the rest of the game. Rhett Rodriguez finished 20 of 38 for 226 yards and his first career touchdown pass.
After piling up the wins at Catalina Foothills High School, Rhett Rodriguez is seeking his first win as a UA starter.
Although Arizona scored only 10 points, Rodriguez led the offense into scoring position five times. The two-minute drive ended with a missed field goal; the Wildcats were unable to convert on fourth down on two other occasions.
Sumlin came away impressed with Rodriguez’s poise. His teammates weren’t surprised.
“He wasn’t nervous at all,” sophomore tailback Gary Brightwell said. “When his number was called, he just came out there and did what he had to do.”
“Rhett is a coach’s son,” senior receiver Shawn Poindexter said. “He brings a positive energy. You know he’s going to be playing at the highest level he can possibly play. He kind of pulls that out of you as well.”
Sumlin said Joiner and fellow freshman Kevin Doyle will get more reps in practice with Tate temporarily out of the mix. One or both also could play against UCLA.
But Rodriguez will start, about 9½ months after Arizona decided to fire his father. Although it has been a difficult period for the Rodriguez family, Rhett elected to remain at the UA. He appeared in two games as a freshman reserve for his dad last season.
“He wanted to give it a shot,” Rich Rodriguez told the Star on Sunday. “He wanted to prove himself.”
Rhett Rodriguez will have an opportunity to do just that, for at least one week.
