Arizona football: Randall's fingerprints all over UA offense

Jerrard Randall says his throwing arm is never sore. His hand, however, is another matter.

The Arizona Wildcats’ playmaking — and perhaps starting — quarterback stretched out his right hand following Tuesday’s practice and revealed a massive callus on the side of his throwing thumb. There was once a hole there, Randall said, the result of too many throws to future pros Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry when all three played at LSU.

“They’ll catch anything,” Randall said, smiling. “It don’t matter what it looks like, how hard it comes, they’re gonna catch it — sometimes with one hand.”

Randall tells stories of throwing for five hours at a time at LSU, and estimates that he uncorks 100 or more passes at every UA practice. The wear and tear is one of the reasons why Randall wears a glove on his throwing hand.

Thousands of reps later, things are finally starting to click. The senior completed 11 of 16 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s loss to Washington State, one week after going a perfect 3 for 3 for 42 yards in a win over Colorado. Randall’s quarterback efficiency rating of 181.92 against the Cougars was the highest by any UA quarterback all season.

Coach Rich Rodriguez has yet to name a starter for Saturday’s game at Washington, but Randall has the clear lead over incumbent Anu Solomon. Mother Nature might make Rodriguez’s decision academic anyway: Rain and wind are expected at Husky Stadium, meaning the Wildcats will want their runner, Randall, at the helm.

It has been six years since the UA last made a midseason quarterback change for performance reasons. Nick Foles replaced Matt Scott after the starter struggled in a loss at Iowa. This year’s swap — the speedster for the passer, the veteran for the underclassman — is the exact opposite of the move Mike Stoops made in 2009.

“I’m just playing my role,” Randall said. “If I didn’t start, I’d still play my role. It doesn’t matter if I start or not, I’m still going to perform.”

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Randall was a devastating ground threat through the first half of the season. He rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns against NAU in Week 3 and put up 128 yards against UCLA following a Solomon concussion. Randall started a week later against Stanford but was dreadful: He completed 15 of 28 passes for 178 yards and a score and was limited to 67 rushing yards on nine carries. The quarterback soon “went overtime,” he said, to fix his throwing mechanics. Since then, the rocket-armed Randall is throwing with more touch on short routes.

Among those helping is Solomon, who has been benched in the second half of Arizona’s last two games.

“We’ve noticed a little bit of touch in his balls, which is really good,” Solomon said. “Now defenses won’t think that when Jerrard’s in there, he’s going to run.”

Of course, Randall can still do that, too. He has rushed for 639 yards, second-most on the team; his 11 yards per carry ranks first among Div. I FBS players. Arizona’s rushing attack will get a boost Saturday if Randall starts and running back Nick Wilson, who has missed most of the last two games with a foot injury, is a factor.

Defenses “gotta pick one,” Randall said.

So will Rodriguez, though the decision might not be as tough as one might think. The UA has been playing better with Randall at quarterback, a fact that’s not lost on his biggest fan — Solomon.

“He’s been doing a great job the last two weeks,” Solomon said. “Just let him have a shot.”