A New Era is upon us as the Arizona Football coaching staff has officially changed, which could be good for Khalil Tate.
A lot of changes are happening in Tucson. The Arizona Football team has moved on from Rich Rodriguez and has since brought in Kevin Sumlin and Co., which could be beneficial to current quarterback Khalil Tate.
With the addition of Sumlin, Noel Mazzone is now also on staff in Tucson. And that’s a good thing!
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In his 30+ year career, the quarterback coaching guru has established himself over the years as being a great position coach and offensive coordinator.
Of all the years spent coaching, Mazzone has coached in the Pac-10/12 for roughly seven of them, having served as an assistant for Oregon State, ASU, and UCLA. 2018 will be his first official year in Tucson.
A former quarterback at New Mexico, Mazzone has worked with Sumlin for just a few seasons, coaching at Texas A&M most recently. Before that, he coached the ‘Chosen’ Josh Rosen while at UCLA from 2012-15.
Now coming to Arizona, Mazzone is inheriting another valuable and intriguing piece, Khalil Tate.
Yes, the junior quarterback (attended three full years thus far) who took over college football by storm last year, is ready for his 2018 campaign. Heading into this season, Tate is continuing to command the spotlight and is an early, dark horse candidate to win the Heisman.
Perhaps a bit lofty, but the man who could certainly help his case is Mazzone, and he has the track record to prove it. Let’s take a look at his recent body of work.
In 2010, while at ASU, Mazzone helped coach Steven Threet, who ranked 49th in the NCAA in passing efficiency in his first season in Tempe. The Sun Devils’ passing offense that season ranked in the Top 40. The following year, Mazzone coached Brock Osweiler to a 37th ranked passing efficiency.
From 2012-15, Mazzone had the opportunity to coach both Brett Hundley and Josh Rosen at UCLA, coaching the Bruins to a 26th, 17th, 13th, and 54th passing efficiency ranking respectively in his time in Pasadena.
He’s had various stops with numerous programs, and also spent three years in the NFL coaching with the New York Jets. He’s been around NFL-caliber talent, and seems to do very well in coaching the talent he has.
While the scheme being implemented this year will be vastly different compared to Rodriguez’s, make no mistake, Sumlin and Mazzone know what they have, and they will game plan accordingly.
Tate is a special talent, and while he certainly has the legs and arm strength to be very successful, there will however be a bit of coaching of his mechanics as he gets prepped for 2018.
You can have an early look at the work being put in! And thanks to the University of Arizona, the football team is giving us fans a chance to see Mazzone’s coaching style in this years’ Spring Practice.
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At Zona Zealots, we are excited for the return of football, and can only hope Mazzone’s impact can be felt immediately! Bear Down, Arizona!