Quarterback Dawkins’ time has come with UA
It was no surprise when Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez named Anu Solomon his starting quarterback out of training camp. After all, Solomon had more experience than Brandon Dawkins, and even in an injury-plagued sophomore season, he had thrown for 2,667 yards and 20 touchdowns, with just five interceptions. He deserved to win the job.
But there’s two key words in that last paragraph: “Injury plagued.” Solomon missed the Stanford and Arizona State games last year because of concussions and also had to sit out the second half of Arizona’s game against UCLA.
This year has been more of the same. After throwing two interceptions in Arizona’s 18-16 season-opening loss to BYU, Solomon injured his knee in practice and had to sit out the Wildcats’ wins over Grambling State and Hawaii. When ninth-ranked Washington came to town Saturday it was Dawkins again behind center.
At some point, Solomon’s knee will heal and he’ll be medically cleared to play. The question is, should he be?
If Solomon was demonstrably better than Dawkins, the decision would be easy. He plays. But that’s no longer the case. Dawkins is young – he has only two career starts – and he’ll make more mistakes than Solomon does in terms of reading coverage and making the right decisions, but the gap between the two has narrowed to the point that Rodriguez should seriously consider sticking with Dawkins even when Solomon is healthy.
Dawkins’ numbers this year aren’t eye-popping. He’s completed 31 of 50 passes for 458 yards with two touchdowns. And Grambling State and Hawaii aren’t exactly elite opponents. He’ll likely have more bad moments than good times against Pac-12 opponents.
But Dawkins can give Arizona’s offense something Solomon can’t: a quarterback who can make plays with his feet as well as his arm. Dawkins rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns against Grambling State and 118 yards and three scores against Hawaii.
The zone read works a lot better when the defense has to honor the quarterback. Solomon rushed for 198 yards last year; Dawkins already has eclipsed that in two games.
The biggest reason to stick with Dawkins, however, is the obvious one: Solomon can’t stay healthy. That’s not his fault, and it’s a shame injuries have sidetracked his career after such a terrific freshman season. But how can Rodriguez give Solomon the ball again when he doesn’t know week-to-week whether Solomon will be on the field or the injured list?
That doesn’t mean Solomon should be benched permanently. The Wildcats need to be patient with Dawkins and live with his growing pains, but if he goes through a stretch where he’s playing poorly or his confidence takes a hit, then give him a break and go with Solomon. It’s a nice option for Rodriguez, having a backup who just two years ago threw for 3,793 yards and 28 touchdowns.
For now, however, Dawkins has to play. He’ll probably lose more games than he wins, but any experience he gets on Saturdays this year will only help him and the Wildcats next year.
As for Arizona’s depth chart, which lists the starting quarterback as Dawkins or Solomon, well, it’s time to get rid of the equivocation.
There’s no “or” about it anymore.