QB Tate free to run, Arizona coach says
Arizona head coach Kevin Sumlin rejected the idea that Khalil Tate is trying to avoid being known as a running quarterback in the wake of Saturday’s loss to BYU, during which the Heisman Trophy hopeful ran eight times as compared to 34 pass attempts.
“I haven’t heard that statement,” Sumlin said during Tuesday’s Pac-12 teleconference. “I’m not familiar with that.”
Tate was a popular pick for college football’s top award during the preseason after a headline-grabbing October. In a four-game stretch, he completed 70.7 percent of his passes for 743 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for 840 yards (14.2 yards per carry) and eight scores.
During that stretch, he ran 59 times and threw 58 times. In this season’s opener, however, Tate rarely looked to get outside and allow his speed and elusiveness to affect the game.
“We certainly have to do a better job schematically to get him more involved with his legs, but certainly BYU had a nice scheme to try to contain him in the pocket by not really rushing from the outside,” said Sumlin, who was hired in January to replace Rich Rodriguez in Tucson. “It’s something that we have taken a really hard look at this week, and it can only help us to get his legs more involved in the offense.”
Getting Tate back on track this week will be no easy assignment.
For one of the few times in his college career, the quarterback may not be the best athlete on the field. That label might belong to Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver.
The 6-foot-3, 292-pound junior is widely considered the nation’s top NFL draft prospect. He would have been in the conversation for the No. 1 overall pick this year, if NCAA rules would have allowed him to declare for the draft as a sophomore.
“If you’ve done this long enough, you see guys like that every now and then,” Sumlin said of Oliver. “The issue he presents is: Unlike some great players where you can take away a side or part of the field, this guy is right over the football every snap. He’s right in the middle of things, being really disruptive. The good thing is we know where he is. The bad thing is people have known where he is and still haven’t been able to block him.”
“He’s got the strength, he’s got the power, he’s got the quickness, but he’s also got a high motor. … Athletically, he’s very gifted, but his want-to and motor are what separate him and put him in that top 1 percent. That combination is lethal.” Tune in, tune out? The Pac-12 is in the second year of a pilot program aimed at shortening the length of games. By cutting halftimes from 20 to 15 minutes and restructuring commercial formats, the initiative trimmed an average of about eight minutes off broadcasts last season.
“People who get too bored with games, they can just turn the TV off. You know?” Washington State head coach Mike Leach said. “I don’t think it’s a real urgent thing. I don’t see it as a big deal. Of all the priorities I have for the Pac-12 or anybody else, shortening games would be a ways down my list.”
A more pressing issue for Leach this week is how to keep his team engaged for Saturday’s game against San Jose State, which allowed 589 yards in its 44-38, season-opening loss to FCS opponent UC Davis. “The biggest thing is to just focus on your work,” Leach said. “The most important thing for any team, no matter who you play, is: Worry about yourself and just try to get better.”