After Arizona’s loss to USC much has been said about the team and the team’s future, but one player should not hang his head for too long this week, and that’s true freshman quarterback Khalil Tate, the third youngest to ever start a game.
Khalil Tate looked great against UCLA, leading the Cats to three scoring drives out of four. He was then thrown into the Utah game after fellow QB Brandon Dawkins just could not throw the ball without being in pain from bruised ribs and then took a trip to the locker room with a concussion from a helmet to helmet hit.
Even though the Cats lost to Utah, Tate still gave a solid performance, making five out of eight passes for 105 yards and rushing ten times for 33 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
| Rushing | Passing | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Date | Opponent | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | TD | Int | Rate | ||
| 1 | 2016-10-01 | @ | UCLA | L | 15 | 79 | 5.3 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 55.6 | 72 | 2 | 0 | 196.1 |
| 2 | 2016-10-08 | @ | Utah | L | 10 | 33 | 3.3 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 62.5 | 105 | 1 | 1 | 189.0 |
| 3 | 2016-10-15 | Southern California | L | 14 | 72 | 5.1 | 1 | 7 | 18 | 38.9 | 58 | 0 | 1 | 54.8 | |
| 3 Games | 39 | 184 | 4.7 | 1 | 17 | 35 | 48.6 | 235 | 3 | 2 | 121.8 |
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 10/17/2016.
Khalil Tate, the 17-year-old quarterback, took the field as one of the youngest quarterbacks to start a game. Hopes were high all around including for Tate. Starting a very young quarterback is risky business and Rodriguez knows that but what choice did he have? On top of that, the team lost the core of their defense in Cody Ippolito and a dozen others who are mostly starters to injury.
Tate is the third youngest true freshman to ever start a football game in the NCAA D1 Football League. Nick Isham, an Arizona 2012 transfer was second, and 1973 former Texas A & M QB David Walker was the youngest true freshmen QB’s at 17 years and nine months (via Javier Morales from AllSportsTucson.com).
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Take that in for a second. Think back to when you were 17. And Tate doesn’t make any excuses, and he goes out there wanting to compete and win, but the USC Defense had his number, planning for him to run the ball and successful at stopping him. USC Safety Chris Hawkins had this to say about Tate, “I knew from earlier in the game. He wasn’t trying to shake DB’s; he was trying to run us over.”
Since the team saw success with Brandon Dawkins who could be ready to go in two weeks as well as Anu Solomon, why burn his red shirt?
It is true. Tate was itching to play from the day he stepped foot on campus and was restless. His desire to contribute and help the team as well as his competitive nature is just what coaches want from Khalil. But his coaches wanted to hold him in reserve as long as possible to red shirt him. And now you see why. Even though he has the composure, skill, and confidence necessary, the game is fast, and it can get away from you as Rodriguez pointed out.
Fans have to know Saturday’s result, and performance is eating Tate up inside, just like the rest of the team and coaching staff. Tate is used to winning and is very confident as you could see when his threw up the Fight On hand sign to the Trojan bench after running for a touchdown.
https://twitter.com/Serra__Football/status/787385909356265472
Tate, who has tremendous upside, also likes to do what he sets out to do, here’s a sample:
Khalil Tate told Adoree' Jackson during pregame that he was going to hurdle Adoree', "When he actually did it was like, 'oh man!'"
— Keely Eure (@keelyismyname) October 15, 2016
But a QB cannot do everything by themselves in college. He needs some help from his O-line for blocks, a healthy running back core, etc. “There are times when a 17-year-old kid looks like a 17-year-old kid,” said Rich Rod, “He’s a competitive guy, and he competed.”
Were you aware that USC’s secondary is ranked No. 2 in passing defense, and No. 3 in rushing defense the Pac-12? There should have been no surprise that our beat up offense struggled against USC’s defense as well as our beat up defense. I am not in the ‘there is no excuse’ camp as you can tell.
“There are times when a 17-year-old kid looks like a 17-year-old kid. He’s a competitive guy, and he competed.” Coach Rich Rod and Tate’s performance
None the less, fans are not happy, and some in the media are pushing the subject by asking Coach Rodriguez basically about his job status at the University. Even though there is plenty to be upset about and losing hurts, there is no one more aware of that than Rodriguez and all of his quarterbacks.
What would help? Maybe expanding the play options for Khalil Tate the next time he plays. Tate is a playmaker, and maybe bending to a few simple plays isn’t making it. How about some trick plays? Aren’t we at that point in the season?
Revising and updating the playbook needs to be a priority. A lot of the plays seem to be easy to predict, QB run to the right, RB run up the middle, etc. Maybe a reverse play? Maybe a dual quarterback play with Matt Morin? Heck, the Cats can even try the Statue of Liberty play.
It’s spoiler time, with a glimmer of hope to winning the rest of most of the remaining games to salvage the season.
Related Story: Three takeaways from Rich Rod's Postgame Press Conference
Brandon Dawkins could be ready to go in two weeks, and so may Anu Solomon, so we may not see more of Tate this season, and that would be a waste. Fans clamored for Tate and now are wanting Anu or Brandon back, they have to be realistic, you cannot judge a team or a player or coach by one game. Why not play all the quarterbacks? Insert some trick plays with Matt Morin and just do whatever it takes to get some wins and spoil some Pac-12 opponents parties.
Must Read: Arizona Football: 3 Takeaways from Rich Rod's post game press conference
There is only upside from here. Coach Rod can get everyone who may not have played much, including all the walk-on’s who got to play in the fourth quarter against USC, more experience. Next season should be a good one, or at least a better season. Rodriguez has gotten his team ranked in the top 15 nationally before, we should believe he can do it again.
Come on, y’all knew this was a rebuilding year! Now BearDown Arizona!