Zona Zealots predicted that when Khalil Tate would debut as an Arizona Football quarterback, his performance would garner praise and create excitement.
Khalil Tate’s redshirt is now burned, and there were a lot of mixed feelings about the decision to play Tate against UCLA. Coach Rod did not take this decision lightly, and not all fans agreed with him, but he wants to win each game and never gives up. Enter true freshman 17-year-old quarterback Khalil Tate who was ready to go the day he stepped foot on Arizona’s campus.
All in all, it was a glorious way to start his college career, trending on Twitter and dropping the jaws of those who have never heard of him or knew or thought he was capable of achieving. That includes Rich Rod.
Rodriguez on Tate: "He was more composed in the game than he was in practice."
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) October 3, 2016
Fans and media alike were surprised at his composure and talent, but not Zona Zealots writers, we were not at all surprised, we predicted it.
Late last week we had just published a piece named “Arizona Football: The life of a true freshman ain’t easy, especially for a Quarterback.” The closing sentences in that article explained what our sentiment was going into the UCLA game, “BearDown true Freshman, your time will come, and it will be glorious, patience is a virtue as they say. It will all be worth it!”
Well, Khalil Tate only had a day or two more to be patient, even though he didn’t know it.
Tate’s name was called in the second half of the UCLA game, despite many assuming it was Brandon Dawkins who had come back in to try to play again.
IMG’s Brian Jeffries fell into the same boat and had announced Dawkins’ return. Lamont and I had to correct him, with our eyes wide open. Everyone looked on with bated breath, except for Jeffries and the ESPN announcers who had to explain to fans what was going on.
UCLA Defensive Coordinator Tom Bradley was also surprised and impressed by Tate’s ability.
#UCLA's Tom Bradley on UA QB Khalil Tate: "I didn’t know too much about 14 before today. That’s somebody else’s headache now." @serrasports
— Thuc Nhi Nguyen (@thucnhi21) October 2, 2016
I was beaming, couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face. The same player I had followed for over a year and a half in high school was about to step on to the Rose Bowl football field. I couldn’t wait to watch him show the world what he was made of, and the beauty of it all was that his first start as a college QB was taking place just 25 miles from where he grew up. It was like it was scripted.
Both broadcasters were impressed with Tate’s poise, calmness, and overall skill.