Arizona Wildcats QB Brandon Dawkins welcomes competition young and old

Arizona Wildcats quarterback Brandon Dawkins appears on one of the regional covers of the 2017 Athlon Sports college football preview magazine — and he might not end up as Arizona’s starting quarterback.

Such is the state of the QB room entering Year 6 of the Rich Rodriguez era. Although he started nine games last season and ranked fourth in the Pac-12 in rushing yards per game, Dawkins is merely the leader in the figurative clubhouse. The competition remains open, and Rodriguez recently added a twist by bringing aboard 26-year-old former MLB prospect Donavan Tate.

Dawkins addressed that topic and others during a phone interview Saturday from Coronado, California, where he is taking part in the 13th annual Steve Clarkson Quarterback Retreat. Dawkins has worked with Clarkson, the renowned QB coach, for about half his life. This weekend, Dawkins and other current college quarterbacks — including Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson — are tutoring 75-100 would-be college QBs.

“It’s all about the kids this weekend,” Dawkins said. “I can only imagine being one of these young kids and having an actual college quarterback telling you what they’ve learned and what they know. You definitely see it in the kids’ eyes when you’re coaching them. It means so much to them. In return, it feels so good to give back.”

Dawkins, entering his redshirt-junior season, knows he still has plenty to learn. He isn’t taking anything for granted despite last year’s playing experience and this year’s magazine-cover appearance.

Dawkins discussed the state of his game, the arrival of Tate and working with Clarkson in this Q&A :

You’re on the cover of Athlon’s preview mag. Were you aware of that, and how do you feel about it?

A: “I found out about it through Twitter. A couple people reached out to me about it and started sending me a bunch of pictures. I think it’s awesome. It’s cool. Any publicity is good publicity. It was my first time being on a magazine cover. My family all wants a copy now.”

Do you feel like you have a responsibility to live up to that hype now?

A: “You always have that chip on your shoulder. Every single year they’re trying to bring in competition that’s better than you. My job as a quarterback is to make sure I’m always on my A-game. Just knowing the offense as well as I can and being mentally and physically prepared to be able to go in there and execute the offense.

“In all my years I’ve played, I’ve never felt comfortable. Like, ‘Oh, I’ve got this job secured.’ As secure as it may seem, anything can happen.”

In that vein, what was your reaction when you heard that Arizona was bringing in Donavan Tate to join the quarterback derby?

A: “I was excited. We only had three quarterbacks in the spring. We were getting a lot of reps. It’s good to have extra competition. I know RichRod always likes to keep a lot of quarterbacks around. It’ll definitely be good to have a veteran guy around.

“I met him one time. He’s a family man. I would have been the oldest guy in our room if he wouldn’t have been there, and I’m only 20. Having a 26-year-old guy is going to bring a lot of maturity to the room.”

When RichRod says something to the effective of, “We think Donavan can provide immediate competition,” do you view that as par for the course? Or as a threat to your job?

A: “I wouldn’t hope they’d recruit anybody that doesn’t expect to be instant competition. At the end of last season, people were asking me questions along the lines of, ‘What do you have to do to motivate the team?’ I don’t want anybody on my team if I need to motivate them.

“Same goes for competition. Like I said last year, I don’t care if they’ve got Michael Vick or Michael Jordan out there, no matter what, I’m coming out to compete. No matter if they’ve got me marked down for fourth string, fifth string, sixth string, I’m competing to the best of my ability.”

Besides bulking up to withstand the physical pounding, what are one or two things you’re working on this offseason to win that job?

A: “A lot of studying. It’s always good to watch film. I feel like there’s no film I can break down better than watching myself. Just taking a lot of things I liked and didn’t like and making sure I’m really vocal (about them).

“Having that year under my belt, I have a lot more confidence walking around the building and being able to go talk to coaches. Like, ‘I don’t know about this play — I’m not really seeing it right.’ Or telling them, ‘I love this play; I wish we’d run it more.’ Even coming up to them with new plays.”

You’ve worked with Steve Clarkson for years. How do you feel after you’ve gone to see him?

A: “At this point, doing it for so long, I’ve heard everything he says about a million times. It’s more like a tune-up. You go through a whole season, offseason, spring ball. Maybe you’re getting a little elongated on your throwing motion, something like that. Something that’s a quick, easy fix. I work with Steve for a weekend or two. We work on drills that tighten it back up.

“It’s like a car going to get tuned up. You’ve got to take it in every so often to get worked on.”

You’re there with a bunch of other quarterbacks. Is there anyone in particular you were excited about meeting?

A: (Heisman winner) “Lamar Jackson’s out here. Seeing what he did last season, it was cool to finally get to meet him. Not a lot of people know it, but the quarterback community is pretty (close) knit. Deshaun Watson is one of my good buddies. Wilton Speight from Michigan is one of my really good friends.

“There’s no position like quarterback that has to deal with what we have to deal with and go through what we have to go through. It’s good to come out with these guys and relax a little bit … before it’s time to kick it into gear, get back to our schools and get ready for the season.”