Reviewing My Five Key Questions From the Preseason

At the start of preseason camp, I detailed five key questions heading into the season. Let’s take a look at which answers were revealed in the disappointing loss at Hawai’i last Saturday night.

Tackling the questions in order I listed them a few weeks ago, here we go.

1. Quarterback

This question had several layers to it, but ultimately centered around which version of Khalil Tate we would get.

Let me preface the following comments with the understanding it is not fair to evaluate any one player on a single performance. But quite frankly, Tate’s performance at Hawai’i was a pretty typical Tate performance. When healthy, he’s as dynamic of a player with the ball in his hands as you will find, which is evidenced by the fact he threw for 300-plus yards and rushed for over 100.  He accounted for 469 of Arizona’s 539 total offense yards.

However, the inconsistencies in decision-making and accuracy, combined with poor pocket presence, kills too many drives. That was evident early in the game, which is part of a disturbing trend in the Kevin Sumlin era (a fast start was one of my three keys heading into the game). I intend to explore that more in depth for a separate feature before the NAU game, and it’s important to understand that blame for those struggles is probably equal parts personnel and equal parts coaching. Something has to change to get the offensive playing consistently for four quarters, not just the final three.

Getting back to the point, Arizona’s hopes of being successful live and die with Tate right now. Despite the offense struggling and the defense surrendering far too many points, Tate has the ability to lead the offense back from big deficits. And he did just that at Hawai’i. Problem was, when he was presented the opportunity to lead a game-tying or go-ahead drive late in the game, he threw an interception near the goal line. It was as basic of a defensive call as you could expect in that situation with man coverage and a single-high safety. Arizona called an RPO, and keeping the ball to pass Tate never identified the safety and it was a game-changing interception.

Similarly, Tate threw an ill-advised fourth quarter interception against Arizona State to end last season, a game Arizona was winning. Understanding time, score and situation is critical. There are times to be aggressive and perhaps force things when trailing by multiple scores, but in a scenario where you are leading or about to tie or take the lead, protecting the football is the single most important concern for a quarterback.

One additional situational concern for Tate is taking unnecessary sideline sacks. Yardage-wise, this is often a meaningless two or three yards where he scrambles to the sideline, has no options to throw and needs to avoid getting hit. All he needs to do at the sideline is throw it forward past the line of scrimmage anywhere out of bounds. Yes, to avoid intentional grounding outside the pocket, all a quarterback has to do is throw it beyond the line of scrimmage, and that line extends to infinity out of bounds. There does not have to be any attempt to throw it to someone in the field of play.

Therefore, a quarterback near the sideline should rarely take a sack by stepping out of bounds. There is an exception, which would be if the offensive team wants to keep the clock running outside of two minutes remaining in a half (clock remains stopped inside two minutes). Last Saturday, Tate did the opposite, taking a sack that kept the clock running once the officials re-set the ball. In the comeback bid, Arizona needed every second possible and this did not help matters.

To conclude, Arizona’s offense lives and dies with Tate right now. The Wildcats can accept that or they can consider changes. First would be taking some of the freedom away from Tate that makes him so dynamic (like fewer RPOs where he has a read and/or decision to make). Or the Wildcats could begin to work in a second option at the position.

For now, Tate and the entire team deserve the opportunity to establish a new identity in 2019. Sure, the first game looked similar in many ways to last season. But it was one game. Let’s see how things are at the end of non-conference play before making major conclusions. With that said, if Tate is the answer for 2019, he needs to start playing consistently like a winning quarterback – not just producing gaudy statistics and keeping the Cats close.

2. Interior Defensive Line Depth

This question was answered, in part, at the end of preseason camp when coaches gave full endorsements of junior college transfers Trevon Mason and Myles Tapusoa. Mason was cleared to participate early in camp, and both players improved their physical conditioning throughout camp and were named starters on the first depth chart.

The first game was interesting because defensive coordinator Marcel Yates mixed up his base fronts throughout the game. Arizona actually started the game with three down linemen, with the nose being defensive end Justin Belknap. This was predicated on defending the run-and-shoot offense for Hawai’i, which often spread four and five receivers. Still, the Wildcats used plenty of four down linemen throughout the game, with Mason and Tapusoa playing together quite a bit. These two players should continue to improve with game experience provided they stay healthy.

Arizona seemed to get its best pressure when it used four down linemen, drawing more attention to the interior and opening up one-on-one opportunities for Jalen Harris and JB Brown off the edges. Mason is tall enough inside to make quarterbacks uncomfortable seeing the middle of field over him when he gets a push inside. This is the base defense that Yates would like to rely on this season, and hopefully it continues to improve. A 4-2 or 4-3 base should be the identity of this defense, and I would have liked to have seen it primarily used in the first game. Hindsight is 20-20, but the 3-3 and 3-4 just was not effective, nor is it what this team will utilize week-in and week-out.

Despite the lack of pass rush and some surprising success by Hawai’i running the football, there is some depth here to work with for this unit to improve throughout the season. Along with getting a pass rush, Arizona will need to solidify its containment on the edges, too. The ends were vulnerable on counters, completely taking themselves out of plays by working up field through the pulling guards.

3. Receivers

We truly did get a lot of answers on this group. While Drew Dixon’s early drop contributed to the slow offensive start, coaches instilled full confidence and kept him in the game for the next series. That was a positive sign to me as Dixon is a guy that could really break out this season, but he needs to gain confidence in games first. He finished with two catches, including a difficult one, and should continue to develop.

Arizona’s inside receivers really showed potential. Jamarye Joiner didn’t catch many balls cleanly, but he caught them all and finished with four grabs for 72 yards and a touchdown. It looks like he could be a special player at the position. Also a welcomed sign was getting the ball to Brian Casteel in space. His speed and power is similar to Joiner, and he had three catches for 31 yards.

Perhaps the most impressive player was junior college transfer Tayvian Cunningham, who had four receptions for 65 yards. Combined with Joiner and Casteel, there are three very dangerous inside weapons.

It is also worth pointing out the comeback performance by Stanley Berryhill III, who finished with three catches for 92 yards and a score. An overlooked player last year, he was sidelined all spring with an injury. Seeing him back and healthy was very positive.

As a group, the receivers did a solid job blocking on the outside. This will need to be a strength once against as Arizona has so many weapons in the run game and the extensions of that run game (quick game with swing passes, screens, etc.).

One area the group improved on throughout the game was working to get open for Tate when plays were covered or broke down. Working back to the ball or working down field where Tate’s eyes like to go for a scramble is critical for keeping drives alive and making big plays out of nothing.

4. Position Rotations

All in all, the coaches were true to their word rotating players at most positions throughout the game. I don’t have any specific questions here, other than to see how things continue to evolve in the coming games. There is some young talent on this team that can work itself onto the field if older players don’t perform, especially on defense.

5. The Schedule

Traveling to Hawai’i to face a confident team coming off an eight-win season was not an easy way to start a season. While it is a game Arizona should have been expected to win, it didn’t. Now the question is how does the team respond. A bye week was going to be critical for the Wildcats win or lose at Hawai’i, and regrouping for the next two games is essential for getting the season back on track. Playing well and winning against NAU and Texas Tech can keep a positive outlook for this team going into conference play. However, if this team is not improved after the next two games, and if it limps away with a losing non-conference record, it will be time for some serious reevaluation in a number of areas. Get to 2-1 and beat UCLA to open league play, and the opening loss is mostly forgiven (but not entirely). 

First things first, beat NAU.

Now What?

Here are my top five questions after the Hawai’i game. I will discuss these in more detail before the NAU game.

1. What is with the slow starts on offense?
2. What is wrong with Arizona’s pass defense?
3. Where was the pass rush?
4. Why have the Wildcats committed so many penalties the last two years?
5. Why didn’t Arizona establish the ground game?

What are your questions for this team moving ahead?

Leave a comment down below, send me an email (bwillis@dryheatsports.com) or comment on Twitter (@DryHeatSportsAZ).

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