Arizona Football: The Quarterback Philosophy of Rich Rodriguez

In this week’s Pac-12 teleconference, Arizona football Head Coach Rich Rodriguez was asked about his quarterback philosophy, we were intrigued.

Daniel Uthman of USA Today asked almost every Pac-12 coach about their Quarterback philosophy during the weekly Pac-12 football coach teleconference. The quarterback philosophy at Arizona is a pertinent topic considering the team’s struggles over the last two weeks.

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I thought Coach Rich Rod’s answers were telling and help us understand how competition is core to his program’s philosophy. It also gives us a glimpse of what we can expect this season and next when it comes to his choice of starting quarterback.

Question 1: Are you a believer in having quarterback succession plan or is it just the best player?

“I think it’s always a competition. Inevitably if a quarterback starts and plays well, you expect him to  play even better the following year after he has that experience, and so he’s harder to beat out.”

October 3, 2015; Stanford, CA, USA; Arizona Wildcats quarterback Jerrard Randall (8) passes the football against the Stanford Cardinal during the first quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Takeaway: Anu Solomon is and will be hard to beat out for the starting position if he is healthy. That’s okay; both backup quarterbacks have proven that they can play other positions very well.

“For us we don’t treat it a whole lot differently than every other position. We tell our guys our competition is not just yearly, but weekly. And sometimes that sounds like coach-speak, but for us we really believe that.” Rodriguez continued, “And I don’t want them to look over their shoulders worrying about every mistake, it’s not that way. But at the same time every year we just try to recruit guys that compete with the starters that we have coming back.”

Takeaway: Anu is the starting quarterback even if he makes mistakes. Quarterbacks are coming in next year to compete with Brandon Dawkins and Solomon, so it’s anyone’s position.

Question 2: Is it possible to avoid an occasional dip or is that just part of the game?

“It’s probably inevitable if we have a guy who is really really good and one of the best in the country at his position and the next guy up,” he said, “you hope he has success but its always going to be a little bit harder to maybe achieve that because of those great players, everybody wants great players at the same position every year and sometimes that’s hard to get.”

Sep 3, 2015; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats quarterback Anu Solomon (12) warms up before the first quarter against the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners at Arizona Stadium. Arizona won 42-32. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

Takeaway:  At the beginning of the season, Anu was in award discussions and watch lists, and the media was hot on him. I believe Coach Rodriguez feels Anu is still that quarterback.

Coach Rodriguez’s son is a quarterback

You may not know this, but Rich’s son Rhett Rodriguez is a quarterback for Catalina Foothills High School here in Tucson. Richie Melby filmed a touching segment titled ‘Like father, like son: Rhett Rodriguez taking to football like pops RichRod.’

According to Melby, Rhett Rod (a nickname) is well aware that he has critics, and his playing ability may be scrutinized. He doesn’t seem to let that bother him at all. His dad gets to watch him play on the field, outside the coaches box, where he is available for in-game consultation. Melby points out that Rich wears his emotions on his sleeve (I can relate Rich) where Rhett is more reserved with his emotions.

My conclusion, after watching this video is that Rhett has some mad quarterback skills, and he carries himself with the confidence of a professional, mature for his age. I’m sure he will be sought after in the years to come.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in the Rodriguez family, according to MGoBlue.com, Rich ‘is a 1981 graduate of North Marion High School, where he was a four-sport letterman and an all-state honoree in football and basketball, leading the Huskies to the 1980 Class AAA state football championship.’

We wish both Rich Rod and Rhett Rod much success this season.

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