Former Arizona QB Khalil Tate, who crushed Colorado, talks 'roller coaster' UA career, acting debut

The Arizona Wildcats and Colorado Buffaloes aren't considered rivals, but the two teams have had entertaining matchups over the years. 

In 2012, Arizona star running back Ka'Deem Carey rushed for a UA and Pac-12 single-game record 366 yards and five touchdowns in Colorado's first trip to Tucson in nearly three decades.

No Wildcat has potentially caused more nightmares for Colorado fans than former UA star quarterback Khalil Tate, who rushed for 327 yards, a single-game record for an FBS quarterback, against the Buffaloes in 2017. Along with his performance against Colorado, Tate received four straight Pac-12 Player of the Week honors in October of 2017. 

In three seasons, Tate completed 60 of 76 (78.9%) passed for 908 yards, rushed for 365 yards and scored 13 touchdowns against Colorado. 

Tate, the honorary captain for Saturday's game, joined ESPN Tucson's "Spears and Ali" this week to talk about his return to Tucson, his UA career, acting debut and a controversial tweet. 

How does it feel to be the honorary captain?

A: "Man, it feels good. I haven't been back since last homecoming, but I wasn't honored. I was shown on the screen, but I wasn't honored. This is my first time being honored, and it's always good to go back to the school that you graduated from and be honored at Arizona Stadium. It's good to hear the love from the crowd, to be in Tucson and embrace everything that's going on." 

How would you summarize your time at Arizona?

A: "It was a roller coaster. It was like walking into an amusement park and seeing all of these different roller coasters. There were highs and lows. I like to think that I did what I could do in order to maintain my sanity, which is why I'm able to talk to you guys now.

"It didn't necessarily go the way that I fully planned it, but it did go the way that it was supposed to go."

How were those Colorado matchups?

A: "Playing against Colorado was always an interesting time, because it was never at the beginning of Pac-12 play or the end of it, it was always right in the middle.

"It was always a big factor in regards to where our season was heading. It was always a tough game with those games. Colorado, they're a great program and we were always able to test each other and see how we placed in the Pac-12 — now the Big 12. It's definitely going to be the same situation."

This season, there seems to be a disconnect with the offense. You went through a similar situation at Arizona after a coaching change between Rich Rodriguez and Kevin Sumlin. Why do you think the offense is struggling?

A: "When you have coaching turnover, it's bound to happen. What you were running the previous season, in a sense, even if you don't run the exact same thing, you're getting coached differently. Obviously, losing our former head coach hurt. Losing our former running back hurt as well.

"Losing a head coach is a big deal; I know myself. It's going to take some getting used to, competing in the Big 12.

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"I know Arizona will turn it around this season. I think there's definitely a learning curve."

After Rodriguez was fired, Arizona was closing in on hiring former Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo, but you sent out a tweet that said, "I didn't come to Arizona to run the (triple) option." Then Sumlin was hired. Take us through that time.

A: "That was a different day in age, which is crazy because it wasn't that long ago. That was a different day in age, where players didn't necessarily have a voice at all. Whatever was going on in the front office, that's what was going on and you had to live with it, whether you wanted to transfer and sit out or not.

"For myself, I felt like I had enough stripes under my belt and felt like I had enough wit to say how I felt, even though it wasn't more than one sentence. I had to say what I wanted to in order to get my point across. I felt like I wasn't being heard.

"Whenever you're the leader of anything and you feel like you're not being heard, it's not a good feeling. I was still 18 (years old). It was a pretty spiteful message. I tried to delete it afterwards, but I didn't realize that once it goes up, it's up and people move fast. That was the thought process behind that.

"I just wanted to get my point across and let people know that regardless of what ends up happening and we get him as our head coach, I wasn't happy with it and I wanted people to know that this isn't something that we spoke on and it's something that they're doing on their own. I wasn't a fan of it and I wanted it to be known."

You and former Arizona wide receiver Devaughn Cooper are actors on "All American," a television series on CW. How did you start acting?

A: "I'm on a few shows. I'm on 'All American', 'Bel Air' and I'm going to be on another show that I can't really say right now, but it'll come out in the next few weeks or so. It's been going well.

"It's funny, we did Episode 100 of 'All American,' and shows aren't syndicated these days because shows don't have that many episodes. I scored a touchdown in one episode at the Rose Bowl, which is crazy.

"It's funny, because I've scored there in a show and in real life. It was a full-circle moment, being able to go score a touchdown in the Rose Bowl. In the pros, you don't play at the Rose Bowl anymore. It was a bittersweet feeling, but it still felt pretty good."

When you were at Arizona, pocket-passing quarterbacks were the standard, but now dual-threat quarterbacks have recently changed the perception of elite quarterbacks. Do you ever wish you were slightly younger, so your skillset could translate to the NFL? 

A: "Funny how things change so quickly? I did what I did at the U of A. I feel like I did pretty good with what I was dealing with and what I had to work with. I think it's good that guys who can move are starting to get the praise they deserve.

"When you're going up against defensive linemen that run 4.4s or 4.3s, it's only right to get a quarterback that can move away from that.

"I'm glad that these guys are getting their praise at the quarterback position. It helps the offense move. These days, if quarterbacks can't move, the offense won't move as well.

"I'm proud of those guys."