Arizona Football: About to stun the Pac-12 as underdogs led by Khalil Tate

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TUCSON, AZ – SEPTEMBER 01: Head coach Kevin Sumlin of the Arizona Wildcats watches from the sidelines during the second half of the college football game against the Brigham Young Cougars at Arizona Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

The Arizona Football team comes into 2019 as underdogs, but with a healthy Khalil Tate, it’s time for the Wildcats to stun the Pac-12!

August 24th is just 15 days away! That’s when the Arizona Football team will fly out to Hawaii to play the University of Hawaii, a week before everyone else plays. Fun fact, offensive lineman Michael Eletise will be facing his former teammates on the gridiron after transferring last season IF he gets a waiver to play from the NCAA. It will be bittersweet for a lot of us, but Michael is very happy playing for his hometown college close to all of his loved ones.

The Wildcats are determined to accumulate wins, hopefully ignoring that Westgate Sportsbook has the Cats as 40-1 odds to win the Pac-12 Championship. This makes them some pretty big underdogs, but that may be a better thing than coming into a season with huge expectations.

Sumlin told Gavin Kinsel on Fox Sports that he thinks it’s a bonus that the Cats got to start practice early, as well as getting to play early. Last season, the team had to play 10-straight games in a row before getting a bye week. This season, they get more bye weeks in their schedule, and Sumlin thinks that the schedule actually favors the team.

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So far, fall camp has been eventful and a lot of positive feedback is coming out of the coaching staff and the players. They come into the season projected by Pac-12 Conference coaches as ending up in fifth place in the Pac-12 South. We can’t help but chuckle here, really fifth?

As Wildcats fan @Me95127927 on Twitter explained, “We are underrated because we have a lot of guys coming back and at the positions we don’t have guys coming back we have a lot of talent and depth. J.J. Taylor, Khalil Tate, Colin Schooler will have stellar seasons while JB Brown, Jalen Harris, Cedric Peterson, Scottie Young, Jr. And Stanley Berryhill will have breakout seasons. Also, add Donovan Laie to the stellar season club.”

One huge reason Arizona Football is underrated is that folks think Tate just didn’t have a good season in 2018, but all you need to know is that this season he is fully healthy. His three injuries last season were a huge factor in his running ability, a little more than anyone would let on or care to admit.

Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated was in Los Angeles to get a feel for what truly happened last season with Tate. Brian Tate, Khalil’s dad, explained it to him, and it is something Zona Zealots has been trying to tell fans.

"“He had more than just the ankle. He had a shoulder and toe. I know my son—I know when he can’t do his best, it frustrates him.”"

Tate chimed in with his dad on the subject, Sumlin agreed with Tate, “It’s that simple”:

"“It was very difficult. Knowing what I can do when I am healthy…I couldn’t run. It’s not that I didn’t want to run. I wanted to, but I couldn’t.”"

Dellenger summed it up this way, “It wasn’t defensive coordinators, facing him a second straight year, bottling him up, and it wasn’t a brand new offense forcing him to pass from the pocket. It was because he was hurt.

But Tate is now healthy and has the experience, however challenging with fans and media who may not have understood just how bad he was injured, under his belt. With an experienced and mature QB who is now a college graduate and is ready to prove himself on your roster, you go with that dude. Kevin Sumlin feels positive about their chances with Tate:

"Sumlin on Tate: “He’s played really six games that year [2018] and was phenomenal for all six games. He really had a tough injury — Tried to play through it — He didn’t even suit up for UCLA – His speed and his ability to run with an ankle injury like he had it really limited him — it’s an experience, and I think he’ll tell ya – It’s something he’s never experienced — Right now he appreciates everything.”"

What is also good for Tate and the offense this season, are all the 300+ pound offensive linemen weighing an average of 305 lbs and standing an average of over 6-feet-4-inches.

Josh McCauley, 6-foot-3, 292 lbs
Josh Donovan, 6-foot-5, 317 lbs
Steven Bailey, 6-foot-3, 305 lbs
Robert Congel, 6-foot-4, 310 lbs
Bryson Cain, 6-foot-5, 305
David Watson, 6-foot-5, 303 lbs
Edgar Burrola, 6-foot-6, 305 lbs
Paiton Fears, 6-foot-5, 308 lbs
Cody Creason, 6-foot-4, 295 lbs
Donovan Laie, 6-foot-4, 315 lbs

Sumlin is also excited about the prospects of having redshirt junior running back J.J. Taylor back as his star running back, “He [Taylor] might be little, but he’s pretty good at what he does,” said Sumlin on Fox Sports. We all know how dynamic and athletic Taylor is, he won numerous awards and had a stellar season last year. Things are only looking up. In addition to Taylor, Arizona has Gary Brightwell, Nathan Tilford, Bam Smith, and the freshman Michael Wiley!

Brightwell told the media about how the running back crew is getting ready for the season and what he brings to the team and that the duo of him and Taylor are unstoppable, “I’m physical, but I can give you a little bit of sauce. I’m explosive and fast,” said Brightwell who also said he is the fastest player on the team, even faster than Tate.

Also making moves, is redshirt Freshman, Jamarye Joiner. The local product changed positions from quarterback to wide receiver this season, and I’m sure this will benefit the Wildcats immensely!

He knows what the quarterback needs from him to complete a pass, and he has studied the playbook from a drivers perspective. Coaches have had a lot of great things to say about him in his new position so far. Joiner is excited about his new role and actually being able to contribute and get on the field. “He’s one of the best athletes on the team — it looks like he’s having fun,” said coach Sumlin.

Wide receiver Drew Dixon is also going to get time on the field to show fans what he is made of and has forged a great relationship with Joiner. They’ve known each other for a while as both are local from Tucson, and overall, the receiving crew should be much better, stacked with talent like; freshman Jalen ‘Boobie’ Curry, Stanley Berryhill III, Brian Casteel, and Jaden Mitchell among others.

This should be fun!

Fun Fact: JB Brown and Anthony Pandy just received Student-Athlete of the month awards, two more experienced players that have been and will be stepping up this season.

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