Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez trying to make it easy on inexperienced QBs
Oct 24, 2016, 1:23 PM
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The Arizona Wildcats are currently 2-5 (0-4 Pac-12), and a major reason for the losses piling up has been because of the quarterback play — or lack thereof.
The Wildcats’ quarterback position has been riddled with injuries, and in their last game, it forced head coach Rich Rodriguez to turn to a 17-year-old freshman, Khalil Tate, and eventually a backup tight end with a quarterback background.
“The biggest thing is that if you say something like, oh, you’re playing a backup, it sounds like an excuse, but when you’re playing a 17-year-old true freshman that was going to get redshirted, you’re going to limit your playbook,” Rodriguez said on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM’s Doug and Wolf show. “It ain’t his fault, he just hasn’t had time to learn the offense and get acclimated with it and so you really skim it down a little bit. But it still comes down to execution in all three phases, and our guys are at least competing hard, and we hope to get our quarterbacks back and we can have more of the offense.”
The 17-year-old Tate was thrown into the fire during the Wildcats’ game against UCLA on Oct. 1. when Brandon Dawkins, who was filling in for the original starter, Anu Solomon, went down with a rib injury. Tate came in after sophomore walk-on quarterback Zach Werlinger struggled and he did well, throwing for 72 yards and two touchdowns to go with 79 rushing yards.
Tate then filled in for Dawkins the following week, a 36-23 Arizona loss to Utah. Again, Tate looked promising, as he threw for 131 yards and a touchdown. He started Arizona’s last game against USC but was pulled midway through the game due to poor play. Backup tight end Matt Morin, an emergency quarterback, finished the game.
It’s hard to place blame on any of the backup quarterbacks considering their situations.
“We’re still not healthy at tailback and if you had your starting tailback, but your third or fourth quarterback, your starting tailback can help that quarterback with protections and some of the other stuff,” Rodriguez said. “When you’re moving your receiver or the tailback, it’s a little different dynamic, and it’s just stating what it is, and as coaches, we got to figure out a way to overcome some of this stuff and get good in a hurry.”
Starting running back Nick Wilson has had trouble staying on the field this season, as he hurt his ankle in a win over Hawaii and suffered a knee injury against USC. Backup running back J.J. Taylor then broke his ankle in Arizona’s 35-28 overtime loss to Washington.
The Wildcats are hopeful that either Solomon or Dawkins will be able to start on Saturday against Stanford.