Arizona finally has quarterback options as Stanford rolls into town

Oct 28, 2016, 9:33 AM

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

ArizonaSports.com lead editor

It must feel good.

The Arizona Wildcats (2-5) are finally healthy.

At least, their No. 1 and No. 2 quarterbacks are healthy after using a bye week to heal up. Arizona will have its choice between Anu Solomon and Brandon Dawkins when the Stanford Cardinal rolls into town for UA’s homecoming on Saturday.

Solomon hasn’t played since the season-opener against BYU due to a knee injury while Dawkins missed Arizona’s last game, a loss to USC, due to a concussion.

As for who will start, how many snaps they’ll each play and what Arizona’s offense will look like with the running back depth chart relying on a receiver, Samajie Grant, head coach Rich Rodriguez didn’t show his hand this week.

One thing is for sure.

“Having Dawkins and Solomon back practicing fully was a huge thing for us, simply because we can run more of our offense,” Rodriguez said Tuesday during his teleconference call.

Dawkins played in five games following Solomon’s injury, compiling 941 passing yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions.

The sophomore brought a different dynamic to Rodriguez’s offense than the mobile but less explosive Solomon. Dawkins added 484 rushing yards on 63 attempts, an average of 7.7 yards per carry, along with eight touchdowns on the ground.

Before Dawkins’ opportunity came, Solomon went 20-for-30 for 213 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns in his full game against BYU.

Don’t believe two different skill sets will change Stanford coach David’s Shaw’s preparation, or the Cardinal defense’s approach.

“It doesn’t really just because they’re both athletic quarterbacks, physical quarterbacks, tough runners,” Shaw said. “The focus is RichRod’s offense and that whoever plays quarterback there can beat you with their arms and legs.”

GRANT READIES AT RB

Nick Wilson is out with a knee injury. His backup, freshman J.J. Taylor, lost his season to a broken ankle.

Converted receiver Tyrell Johnson is questionable with a hamstring injury, and now it’s on to Arizona’s next running back experiment.

Senior receiver Samajie Grant has been practicing at running back over the bye week break. He has caught 19 balls for 251 yards and three touchdowns this year, but he’s yet to carry the ball.

“He’s one of our most explosive players, he’s a veteran, so he knows the offense,” Rodriguez said Tuesday. “He’s dabbled at running back before in the beginning of training camp — we did a little bit. He’s done well in practice and he’ll be the starter for us at tailback on Saturday.”

Rodriguez said the sturdy 5-foot-9, 180-pound Grant has held up well in practice in pass protection.

But that remains a question-mark against a Stanford squad that, at 4-3 on the year, hasn’t played up to its identity as a team that dominates the line of scrimmage.

LOOKING FOR A SPARK

Arizona isn’t alone when it comes to quarterback controversies and injury-tarnished seasons.

Stanford is making a quarterback change heading into the game in Tucson, benching Ryan Burns in favor of junior Keller Chryst, who has gone 7-for-18 for 63 yards and one interception in spot snaps this year.

For the Cardinal, a 1-3 four-game stretch following a 3-0 start — that included wins against USC and UCLA — triggered the signal-caller swap.

Most recently, Stanford fell to Washington (44-6), Washington State (42-16), beat a down Notre Dame squad (17-10) and is coming off a 10-5 loss to Colorado.

Simply put, the offense hasn’t been there.

Offensive line tinkering is part of it, but an injury to Heisman candidate running back Christian McCaffrey didn’t help. He missed the win at Notre Dame but in the last three games played hasn’t eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the ground. He’s also not averaged more than 4.4 yards per carry in a game during that stretch, a drop-off after putting up at least 5.3 yards per rush in Stanford’s first three games.

“The biggest thing on offense for us is we’ve got to improve the efficiency around the guys who are playing well,” Shaw said, mentioning McCaffrey and receiver Dalton Schultz. “Christian’s making some unbelievable runs but the problem is they’re 6- or 7-yard runs. He’s got to have four or five times a game now where he gets the ball and he’s clean to the secondary so now he can make the guy miss 15 yards down the field, not three yards down the field.”

Regarding Stanford’s need to improve on the ground, there’s good news for them: Arizona’s top run-stopping lineman Sani Fiumaono has been ruled out with a concussion.