Arizona Football Quarterback Khalil Tate is the real deal, could start

If you are looking for a confident quarterback who believes in his abilities, is cool as a cucumber and can throw and run like a boss, look no further than Khalil Tate.

Arizona Football quarterback Khalil Tate looked at last season as a learning experience, he had to learn the playbook but the game, he thought, wasn’t too much faster than high school. If only he had more time to pass the ball last season, things might have been better for him. If there weren’t 13-15 starters injured at one point, that would have helped as well.

Khalil and Devaughn Cooper practiced during the holidays at Serra High School, to develop some chemistry. Cooper left the program, but he came back last week. Tate, his nickname, is happy JJ Taylor is back, and he has respect for incoming freshman Josh Brown, who he played against over a year ago. This was what we found out in December when discussing SoCal talent suiting up in Wildcats uniforms.

Tate appeared in seven games last season (not full games) and came in as the fifth quarterback in the Pac-12 in total rushing yards. He didn’t even know that until we told him about it. He is that focused on just getting better and competing.

He’s come a long way since then including Spring Practice, Summer Workouts and now Fall Camp.

Arizona Wildcats Football

We hear he is gaining respect on the team with his teammates and he has been practicing with the ones for over a week. His arm looks good, and he is coming along.

Arizona Daily Star beat writer Michael Lev got some sound bites yesterday from Tate’s teammates and coaches:

"“He’s getting more and more familiar with us,” [Rod] Smith said. “He looks comfortable in the pocket. That’s a huge plus. He’s still piecing it together, still figuring it out. But he’s further along now than what he was last spring and even the summer.”“We’ve got to catch his mind up to his physical abilities,” [Rod] Smith said. “When he does that, he’s going to be a very good football player.”Receiver Shawn Poindexter said Tate is “really stepping it up. He’s really maturing. He’s definitely going to be a weapon for us this year and years to come.”“He’s certainly more advanced than he was a year ago, which he should be – 17-year-old freshman and expecting to be redshirted,” [Rich] Rodriguez said. “Now he’s competing for the job and for significant playing time.”"

Tate is always itching and ready to play. He wants to give Wildcats fans the excitement they sign up for this season. There is no doubt Khalil is talented and has a ton of upside, he promises that the team will not let the fans down, “I won’t let it happen!” Here is an interview we did with Khalil over the winter holidays last year. After the interview, he told us, ““I’m not the future, I am the present!”

Tate feels his time is now, not later, he wants to be a game manager and his quarterback coach Rod Smith has always spoken highly of him.

Here is Tate after the Spring Scrimmage, his learning of the playbook is very important to him, as well as learning patience and having trust in the system and gaining trust from the coaches:

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The quarterback competition is not heating up; it is hot! As Tate takes more snaps with the ones wearing the red jersey and making some huge pass completions, he is competing for serious playing time. Tate has been working hard, studying the playbook and getting ready to wow fans this upcoming season. He has the talent to do it! Bear Down!