Will Gunnell play more as UA QB?
When Grant Gunnell came off the bench with 6:53 remaining in the Arizona’ Wildcats lopsided loss to Washington on Saturday, many UA fans were perplexed.
The freshman quarterback already had appeared in two games. The limit to preserve his redshirt is four. Why inch closer to that number in a game that basically had been decided?
Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin clarified the situation Monday. Sumlin said “there’s never been a plan” for Gunnell to redshirt this season.
“I’m not worried about Grant’s redshirt,” Sumlin said. “He’s the backup quarterback. So if something happens, he needs to be able to play.”
The timing of Gunnell’s entry Saturday — it followed a Khalil Tate interception, his second turnover of the night — and the content of Sumlin’s announcement Monday fueled speculation that the freshman could be in line for a larger role.
After putting together perhaps his finest game as a passer the previous week at Colorado, Tate struggled against the Huskies. Besides the turnovers — one of which led directly to a touchdown — Tate had a hard time dealing with Washington’s pressure. The senior often held the ball too long or ran into sacks.
“As good as he played the week before, he didn’t play very well this week,” Sumlin said. “It was obvious, and he doesn’t feel very good about it himself.”
Tate finished 13 of 25 for 184 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked four times and had a career-low minus-28 rushing yards.
Sumlin said after the game that he was unsure whether Tate was fully healthy. Sumlin clarified that remark Monday.
“That was probably a bad answer,” Sumlin said. “We are in contact with our medical department, with our trainers, all the time.”
Sumlin added that at this point in the season — halfway through the schedule, plus training camp and two bye weeks — “there’s really no one in that locker room right now who’s playing … that is 100% healthy.”
As for Tate’s decision-making and game management, Sumlin said those issues have been discussed among him, Tate and offensive coordinator Noel Mazone.
“We talk to our players all the time, not just the quarterback but everybody,” Sumlin said. “If something bad is happening, let’s not make it disastrous.”
Case in point: Tate attempted to throw the ball away with his left hand while being sacked near the Arizona 10yard line in the second quarter. The play resulted in a fumble that Washington scooped up and returned for a touchdown.
“That’s frustrating,” Sumlin said, “but those conversations have been had and are being had during the game.”
Tate seemed optimistic afterward that he and the team could bounce back. The loss to Washington ended Arizona’s four-game winning streak. A trip to USC — which is favored by nine points – looms Saturday.
“I think it’s fairly easy,” Tate said. “This team has been through adversity before. I think it was a message for us, just to wake us up. Like a little reality check just to remind us that we have to play all four quarters every day. We can’t take any games off or any quarters off. We’ve just gotta be better as a whole.”
Gunnell completed 3 of 8 passes for 25 yards in two series, although three of the incomplete passes were drops. The Wildcats scored a touchdown on his first possession.
The sentiment from the Gunnell camp is that the more he plays, the better he’ll be prepared for next season, even if those appearances are in a reserve role. Gunnell came off the bench against NAU and started for an injured Tate against UCLA. Gunnell passed for 352 yards and a touchdown in the Wildcats’ 20-17 victory over the Bruins on Sept. 28.
Sumlin on USC
Sumlin offered several thoughts about USC, which is 3-3 after losing 3027 at Notre Dame last week.
Sumlin began by noting that the Trojans are averaging almost 430 total yards per game even though “they’ve gone through three quarterbacks.”
Three QBs have started for USC because of injuries. Week 1 starter JT Daniels suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opener. Backup Kedon Slovis started the following two games before suffering a concussion against Utah in Week 3. Matt Fink subbed for Slovis until the freshman from Scottsdale returned last week against Notre Dame.
“They’ve got an athletic offensive line, as usual,” Sumlin said. “Their three receivers (Michael Pittman Jr., AmonRa St. Brown, Tyler Vaughns) are extremely talented, which makes it easy on the quarterback. They’re rotating the young guy (Markese Stepp) at running back. He’s been extremely physical.”
Stepp, a 235-pound redshirt freshman, rushed for a career-high 82 yards against the Fighting Irish. USC coach Clay Helton announced Sunday that starter Vavae Malepeai will be out indefinitely because of knee surgery.
The Trojans are allowing 421.7 yards per game, which ranks seventh in the Pac-12, but their defensive line could pose problems for the Wildcats.
Arizona struggled to handle Washington’s pressure packages last week and ended the game without starting guards Cody Creason and Robert Congel.
“Last year I thought the strength of their team was their young defensive line,” Sumlin said. “And they’re still the strength because now they’re sophomores instead of freshmen.”
Defensive tackle Jay Tufele and Marlon Tuipulotu, both redshirt sophomores, have combined for 50 tackles, including 6.5 stops for losses. USC has added freshman end Drake Jackson to the mix.
He has 27 tackles, including a teamhigh eight TFLs.