Arizona Football: Quarterback Khalil Tate is poised to dominate the Pac-12

Going into the 2019/2020 season, there is a building optimism that Arizona Football quarterback Khalil Tate can emerge as the Pac-12’s dominant quarterback.

It will be Arizona Football quarterback Khalil Tate’s final year in Tucson and the Pac-12, and you know he wants to make it count! There is legitimate optimism.

Arizona Football quarterback Khalil Tate just graduated from the University of Arizona in three and a half years. He will be taking a class towards his postgraduate degree while focusing on football in Tucson this fall. Lately, some news has surfaced ranking Tate high in the Pac-12 Conference as far as season quarterback performance.

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The voice of Arizona resonated that there is optimism. Brian Jeffries said on a Tony and Austin 1280 The Zone podcast that Khalil Tate, “If he’s healthy and can get back to where he was a couple of years ago, Arizona has one of the best QB’s in the Pac 12.”

Bill Connelly, SB Nation, agrees with Jeffries and wrote that if Khalil Tate is healthy, “Kevin Sumlin’s Arizona could rebound.” Connelly feels JJ Taylor is one of the more underrated running backs who have a chance to reach or pass the 5,000-yard mark in rushing yards this upcoming season. The Taylor/Tate combo will have four returning starters on the O-Line. He included a graph that showed that Arizona’s offense was the most explosive in the Pac-12 last season (IsoPPP rating of about 127.5). He cited a big risk in new receivers for Tate and that the possibly Heisman Trophy candidate needs to stay healthy.

"Despite an awkward transition and Tate playing on only one good leg for half the year, Arizona still ranked 43rd in Off. S&P+ and improved defensively. There were reasons to be encouraged by how the Wildcats played late in the year… Bill Connelly SB Nation"

Steven Lassan of Athlon Sports ranked the Pac-12 quarterbacks last week. To our surprise, he put Tate at No. 4 behind No. 1 Justin Herbert (Oregon), No. 2 K.J. Costello (Stanford), and No. 3 Tyler Huntley (Utah) according to Lassan. Oregon’s Herbert is ranked No. 1 because the Ducks have the Pac-12’s top recruiting class coming in and four starters on offensive (two veterans in Troy Dye and Herbert and three starters “up front”).

Pro Football Focus recently posted a Tweet ranking Tate the best among PAC-12 quarterbacks in passing in the red zone at 71.7.

Top Quarterbacks in the Pac-12 have gone on to do great things in the NFL. Nick Foles played in two consecutive Superbowls, winning one in 2018 and earning the Super Bowl MVP award. Jared Goff, former Cal Bear, played in the Super Bowl in 2019 for the Los Angeles Rams, just a few years into his NFL Career. It took a brand new head coach to give him the chance to be great.

In 2017, Tate, Mr. October, proved he is a dynamic rushing quarterback. In 2018, Tate proved he can pass the ball, especially long and precise. He played injured for most of the season, that proved he is one tough cookie. If the stars align along with Noel Mazzone and Tate working together to nail down a dynamic offensive strategy, this could very well be the year that a focused Tate should be able to put it all together and wow the nation once again. Check out his Fan Website at Ktate14.com for more.