Quarterback Brandon Dawkins is in his third season as an Arizona Wildcat. But last week marked his first career start and only his second extensive action, and that’s important to keep in mind when assessing the state of his game.
As UA coach Rich Rodriguez said this week, quarterback is “the hardest position to play in sports, period.” In all offenses — and RichRod’s in particular — the quarterback has a plethora of pre- and post-snap decisions to make. It takes time to master those concepts. And the only way to truly learn them is by playing.
So even through Rodriguez and quarterbacks coach Rod Smith have high standards for whoever operates their offense, expectations need to be tempered to a degree regarding Dawkins. The more he plays, the more they should increase.
As of Tuesday, it seemed more likely than not that Dawkins would get at least one more chance. Rodriguez declined to comment or speculate about the health status of Week 1 starter Anu Solomon, who missed last week’s home opener against Grambling State because of a knee injury.
Dawkins said he expects to start against Hawaii on Saturday — although he goes into every week thinking that way.
Regardless of Solomon’s health, Dawkins is determined to prove himself and justify the faith the coaches have shown in him thus far.
“I’m still trying to win this job,” the redshirt sophomore said. “I’m not going into any (week) this season expecting to be a two.”
So what does Dawkins need to do to possibly keep the job? In what areas must he show the most progress?
It all starts with his eyes.
“He has to be able to see the field,” Smith said. “He’s got to be able to diagnose a defense, front and coverage, and know exactly what he’s getting, pre-snap and post-snap.
“There’s multiple answers to a single play that we have that a quarterback can do. He can throw a bubble screen. He can throw a one-on-one to an X (receiver). He can hand off. He can do a lot of things within the scheme of one play. So there’s a lot on his plate.
“If you don’t see the defense correctly, you’ll miss a lot of easy, gimme throws or gimme reads.”
Smith said Dawkins missed “several” reads in the first half against Grambling. Dawkins finished the half 6 of 15 for 114 yards. The Wildcats scored only three points. No one on offense played particularly well.
“There’s obviously a couple plays I wish I could have back,” Dawkins said. “That’s just part of the learning process.”
Although Smith talks to Dawkins throughout the game from the coaches’ booth, something clicked after they got together in the locker room at halftime. Dawkins completed his first three attempts of the third quarter as part of a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. Dawkins finished it with a 2-yard run.
He went 9 of 14 for 109 yards and a touchdown in the second half as Arizona rallied from an 18-point halftime deficit to win 31-21. Smith deemed Dawkins’ overall performance as “below average … because our standard is higher.” Smith expects Dawkins to see things more clearly with more game experience.
“Repetition is king when it comes to that,” Smith said. “We can sit and talk about it, we can draw it on the board, but until you actually get out there and do it, and you do it under live bullets … you see how a kid reacts. Then he starts seeing it, understanding it.”
Dawkins spoke during training camp about seeing the game the way Rodriguez sees it. That’s easier said than done. As Dawkins noted Tuesday, Rodriguez created the offense. No one knows it better than he does.
“In our offense, the quarterback is involved in every play — almost every play he has to make a decision,” Rodriguez said. “So his eyes have to be in the right spot. There’s a lot on a quarterback.
“That being said, we work on it every day, and that’s the expectation of our quarterbacks. Brandon made some really good plays, and he’s going to be a really good player. But there were times it looked like his first (start). He’ll get better for it.”
‘The dog in me’
Dawkins provides a running dimension Arizona lacks even when Solomon is healthy. Dawkins rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns against Grambling. He rushed for 78 yards in last year’s regular-season finale against Arizona State.
Dawkins’ speed, open-field ability and determination can be both a blessing and a curse. He made plays with his feet against the Tigers, including a 21-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-2 in the fourth quarter. But Dawkins also bailed on some plays where he could have thrown to open receivers.
“It’s hard to defend a quarterback that can outrun your linebackers and maybe your safeties. That’s a tough deal,” Rodriguez said.
“We don’t want to take away from his creativity. But he’s got to do it within the framework of the offense and let the play break down first before you decide to scramble.”
Dawkins chalked it up to instinct; he tries to make plays by any means possible. He could have gone down or out of bounds on a handful of occasions but elected to fight for every yard he could get.
“That’s just kind of the dog in me,” Dawkins said, “just wanting to get those extra yards, not wanting to go down easily, send a message to the defense.”
Extra points
• Michael Barton or Jake Matthews will start at middle linebacker in place of Cody Ippolito, who faces a first-half suspension against Hawaii after being ejected for targeting in the fourth quarter against Grambling.
• Rodriguez on left guard Freddie Tagaloa: “I didn’t think his last game was his best. He plays hard. He always plays hard. It’s so important to Freddie.”
• Rodriguez said the blocking by the wide receivers has been “OK” so far. Arizona really missed Nate Phillips (shoulder) in that regard vs. Grambling.
• Rodriguez on the defense failing to force a single standard three-and-out vs. Grambling: “Very rarely will you ever win if that’s the case.”
• Fullback Jamardre Cobb had a brace on his right knee, which he appeared to injure during the first quarter Saturday.
