Arizona Football: Rich Rodriguez should play all four Quarterbacks

Arizona’s Head Coach Rich Rodriguez is hounded by beat writers scratching for any hint or glimpse into who will start at quarterback against BYU. But does it matter?

NCAA football changes each year. Coaching changes, rule changes, new players, reduced access for media to team practice and more, coaches are finding it harder to surprise their opponents. Coach Rich Rodriguez is one of those coaches.

Arizona’s head coach Rich Rodriguez has had his fill of being asked the same question over and over again. He has replied with the same sentiment 20 different ways, and it doesn’t matter, he still gets asked about who will start the game at quarterback. He isn’t going to tell anyone, not even the quarterbacks.

Silly, isn’t it? He’s not going to tell anyone and why should he?

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The lack of a decision is driving some long-time “experts” to throw a ton of shade and vitriol over the team and the program. Just listen to Greg Hansen talk about his thoughts on the team and the program calling them, “A sinking ship.” He paints the darkest picture, “Maybe the worst team in the Pac-12.” Hansen has no confidence in the new Defensive coaching staff, let alone the players. Don’t eat before you listen to this, honestly.

You can hear the tirade HERE. The hosts are so giddy, and it makes you sick, they cannot believe their ears, and this results in them prodding him for more. The sad part is that he gives them more.

Their guest is a heavily regarded expert on the Arizona Wildcats. We are hoping he is wrong. Hansen calls Dawkins a ‘mistake maker.’ There has to be a classier way to describe the situation, right?

We haven’t seen coaches use all of their quarterbacks very often, but last season, each quarterback saw some action on the Wildcats roster. Jerrard Randall, Anu Solomon, Brandon Dawkins, and Zach Werlinger all played at some point during the year. Preconference games felt like NFL preseason play.

Arizona WR Trey Griffey: "Basically, we have no idea who the starting quarterback is going to be."
— Anthony Gimino (@AGWildcatReport) August 29, 2016

So if Anu starts, and he will if you have studied Rich Rod’s M.O., Rich won’t hesitate to put in Dawkins, Khalil Tate or Zach Werlinger in for a play or a series. Last season was injury ridden and that included his quarterback squad.

Rich Rodriguez Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports /

Anu suffered several concussions during the season, the first against UCLA. If you noticed, when Solomon was cleared to play again, and when it didn’t go well, he put in Randall. If that wasn’t working, he put in Dawkins. Putting in Dawkins worked for the most part against ASU in the battle for the Territorial Cup, if it wasn’t for two pick sixes.

What if Anu starts as most folks predict? Let’s say he throws an interception followed by a fumble (not saying this will happen, just a scenario). If Coach Rod thinks the game is slipping away from him, he will put in Dawkins. If the same type of thing happens to Dawkins, he’ll send in Tate or Werlinger.

What if the Wildcats are winning by 20+ points against Grambling State? That’s a perfect time to get his backup QBs some experience, so expect to see all four if we are way ahead during a game.

In the NFL, there is too much money riding on who the starting quarterback will be due to Vegas sports betting and fantasy football leagues. But, this is NCAA college football, and anything goes.

There are a couple of downsides to playing all his quarterbacks during the season or even in preconference of course. No one quarterback will have huge enough stats to get any acknowledgment for awards or honors, be it national or Pac-12. If Anu wants to be an NFL quarterback, he will need some solid stats and to lead his team the entire season. Same goes for Brandon.

The team isn’t used to just one quarterback yet, but they would never have the chance if all four would play at any given time. This situation can be mitigated by practicing individual plays with each quarterback possibly.

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Last year’s team lacked identity because of all the rotating players in positions such as Quarterback. This year’s team needs a motivator, someone who leads and pumps up his team. Someone high energy and who has fun playing the game of football. Of course, they need a quarterback who throws with accuracy and runs with the ball to keep the defense guessing.

Watching Khalil Tate play football all season in his senior year, he is that type of quarterback. He will throw the occasional interception, but then he will make up for it by running 90-yards for a touchdown. He takes personal responsibility for the win or loss and motivates his team on the sidelines which are sorely needed this season.

The question is, is he ready? Tate doesn’t seem to be in the conversation, but don’t count him out if things don’t go well this season, what with the fifth most difficult schedule in the Pac-12, it’s won’t be easy for the stretch at the beginning of the season.

Finally, Coach Rodriguez is taking a page out of Arizona Baseball Head Coach Jay Johnson‘s playbook; keep it fun. Coach Rod is smiling, he is joking around, he seems more relaxed than most seasons, and he is saying out loud that he wants to keep it fun for the team. It works.

must read: Arizona Football: 5 Keys to Beating BYU

Having fun, playing as a team, and maybe even playing with a team of quarterbacks, along with playing for your fallen teammate, could give Arizona the heart and soul this team needs to beat all the odds and naysayers. That said, we think Coach Rod will start Anu because he usually goes with tried and true and even with the injuries, Anu had pretty good stats last season. BEARDOWN ARIZONA! Beat BYU!

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Arizona Football: Rich Rodriguez should play ALL FOUR quarterbacks

By Shereen Rayan | Sep 3, 2016

Arizona’s Head Coach Rich Rodriguez is hounded by beat writers scratching for any hint or glimpse into who will start at quarterback against BYU. But does it matter?

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