Rich Rodriguez didn’t dance around the subject.
“Brandon Dawkins is still our starter,” the Arizona coach said Tuesday, shortly after the Wildcats’ first bye-week practice.
That probably isn’t the most popular proclamation, but Rodriguez remains convinced that his talented but erratic quarterback “can play better.” Rodriguez did add this, though:
“If he doesn’t, then obviously the other guys will push him.”
So a few days after Arizona’s turnover-fueled collapse against Utah — in which Dawkins unfortunately played an integral role — Rodriguez left the door slightly ajar for a change at some point. It doesn’t appear it will happen at Colorado a week from Saturday, although the quarterback dynamic will be different.
Backup Khalil Tate should be healthy by then. That hasn’t been the case the past several weeks, Rodriguez confirmed. Tate dressed for the last three games but wasn’t 100 percent after hurting his shoulder in the opener Sept. 2.
“He hadn’t really been able to throw the ball,” Rodriguez said. “He went full go today.”
Tate’s apparent return to health gives Rodriguez an option he didn’t previously have. (Tate played in the fourth quarter against Houston in Week 2 when Dawkins got hurt but clearly wasn’t at full capacity.) If Dawkins and the passing game falter in Boulder, Rodriguez could turn to Tate. Rodriguez made an in-game change the last time Arizona visited Colorado, in 2015, and Jerrard Randall helped the Wildcats rally in the fourth quarter.
Dawkins is determined to make sure something like that doesn’t happen again. Starting Saturday, he watched film of the Utah game, which featured four Dawkins turnovers, four times in three days.
Dawkins saw an impatient quarterback who didn’t trust his protection or receivers at times. He saw poor execution and missed opportunities.
“I missed Trevor Wood on a play,” Dawkins said of a critical fourth-down play in the fourth quarter. “He was wide open down the seam. It was a busted coverage. I wasn’t expecting it, and I got off him too quick.”
The normally fast-talking Dawkins then paused.
“What else?” he asked. “There’s a lot to go through.”
Dawkins threw three interceptions against Utah — one of which was returned for a touchdown — after not throwing one in the first three games. He also lost a fumble after Arizona recovered an onside kick with 2:41 remaining.
“I shouldn’t have made it as close as it (was),” Dawkins said. “Do I think it was a fumble, personally? No. But you’ve got to not make it close. If I’d have just held on to the ball, we could have scored. Little things like that change the course of the game.”
While most fans blamed Dawkins for the defeat, there were other Wildcats who played a part. Tailback J.J. Taylor fumbled for the first time since the third game of his junior year of high school. “I let the team down,” he said. Arizona’s receivers could have corralled at least “a couple” of slightly off-target passes, according to position coach Theron Aych. Like the rest of the team, the receiving corps focused on fundamentals as the Wildcats’ bye week began.
“It was back to Day 1, Practice 1,” Aych said. “The quarterbacks are always the guys that are going to get pointed to. But we’ve got to be the guys that are even keel and steady for them so we’re putting them in good situations.
“It’s a team game. We’ve all got to do our job.”
But Rodriguez and Dawkins acknowledged that it all comes back to the quarterback, especially in Rodriguez’s system, which requires the QB to make decisions on every play. Dawkins finds himself in the same position he was in after the Houston game: under fire and having to prove he’s worthy of the job.
“Nobody’s a harder critic on myself than myself,” Dawkins said. “But you’ve got to look past it. Now it’s Tuesday. We’re on to Colorado.”
Illegal block?
If you thought something looked fishy about the last play of the first half against Utah, you weren’t alone.
Utah’s Leki Fotu might have gotten away with breaking a rule when he trampled snapper Donald Reiter before blocking Josh Pollack’s 43-yard field-goal attempt.
Fotu legally lined up off Reiter’s right shoulder. But Fotu appeared to make contact with Reiter immediately after the snap, pushing him to the ground. The NCAA rule book states that “when a team is in scrimmage kick formation, a defensive player may not initiate contact with the snapper until one second has elapsed after the snap.”
Arizona has submitted the play to the Pac-12 for review.
Extra points
- Rodriguez said he’s “hopeful” that defensive end/linebacker DeAndre’ Miller will return for the Colorado game. Miller has yet to play this season because of a foot injury.
- Defensive tackle Parker Zellers also belongs in that “hopeful” category. He missed the past two games because of an ankle injury but dressed and warmed up for Utah.
- Rodriguez said defensive tackle Sione Taufahema has gotten in better shape but needs to lose more weight. Taufahema, a JC transfer, missed time and fell behind in August after undergoing a knee scope. Rodriguez didn’t rule out the possibility of lifting Taufahema’s redshirt at some point this season. The same applies to other players on the scout team, Rodriguez said.
- In addition to focusing on fundamentals, the coaching staff also will re-examine schemes and personnel. “There’s a lot of evaluating going on this week,” Rodriguez said.
- Most of Rodriguez’s staff will hit the road to recruit after practice Thursday morning. He said the early signing period (Dec. 20-22) “adds even more importance” to early-fall recruiting and evaluation.
