Arizona Football: Brandon Dawkins is still Rich Rod’s guy

Heading in to the bye week, Arizona Football Head Coach Rich Rodriguez is sticking with Brandon Dawkins as his starting Quarterback.

Shocked, angered, frustrated? You are not alone as Arizona Football fans question what’s gotta give for sophomore quarterback Khalil Tate to get a chance.

Heading into week five of the 2017 football season, the team is currently, sitting at 2-2, after having played their more winnable games. Arizona’s prospects of making a bowl don’t look good, and outside of their wins versus Northern Arizona and UTEP, the offense has been rather uninspiring (20 point average, 409 yards per game, and a combined six turnovers) in their two losses.

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Despite the poor performance by Brandon Dawkins last week, head coach Rich Rodriguez is sticking with Dawkins as his guy. Why? Perhaps Tate is more banged up than we thought, however, if that is the case why was he not on the injury report last week against Utah?

Also, if you may recall, Tate did not get any reps versus the Miners, despite the 63-16 route. Rodriguez even addressed his quarterbacks absence after the game.

There is definitely a lot more that goes on behind the scenes that fans are unaware of, and I’m sure Rodriguez has his reasons, but like any other frustrated fan out there, we are just wondering what those reasons are.

Through four games, Dawkins is 66 of 105 passing (nearly 63 percent completion percentage) with 670 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions. Running, he has 351 yards on 52 carries with six touchdowns and two fumbles.

Not terrible numbers, but keep in mind, a huge portion of these numbers also came in the blowout wins versus the Lumberjacks and Miners respectively. Against better competition, Dawkins is 41 of 71 (58 percent completion percentage) in his pass attempts, with 426 yards, one touchdown to just three interceptions. Rushing, Dawkins has 31 carries for 116 yards (roughly 3.7 yards per carry) with a touchdown and two fumbles.

Definitely a tale of two different QB’s if you ask me. Roughly 13 games into his career as the starter, and I feel we’ve seen what we’re going to get. He’s a redshirt junior that has been with the program for four years, and in my opinion, his ceiling is maxed out.

We keep hearing that he has more potential in him, but for whatever reason, that potential hasn’t translated to superior play on the field, at least not consistently. Bottom line is he’s 5-8 as a starter (wins primarily coming against weaker competition), he’s turnover prone, makes bad reads and rarely sets his feet when throwing, which equates to inaccurate throws.

Whatever book that Dawkins seemingly goes by, obviously isn’t a very good one if this is the best that we’ve got. Reality is, this team is few mistakes from potentially being 4-0, but with the heavier part of the schedule coming up, realistically, Arizona may win just one or two more games tops if our offense continues to sputter against better competition under his leadership.

I feel it’s time to move on from the Dawkins project. He’s a great runner, just not a great overall quarterback. Maybe Khalil Tate is not that answer either, but after 13 games with Dawkins as the starter, Tate at least deserves his chance.

We’ve seen him (Tate) in limited action this season, but it’s too early to write him off, especially after the late interception versus Houston. Given the numerous mistakes we’ve seen from Dawkins, he’s still under center, so the comparison seems a bit unfair if you ask me.

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I appreciate Dawkins in all that he does, but if I’m Rich Rod, I’m trying to salvage whatever I can of my season, after all, my job just may depend on it. If that means swallowing my pride and playing a different quarterback, then so be it. Bear Down, Arizona!