Khalil Tate did a lot of it on his own. The 蜜柚直播 Wildcats quarterback ran past and through Colorado defenders. He made them miss. He improvised. He even leaped over the goal line.
He also had a lot of help from his friends.
The offensive line did its part, of course. But you can鈥檛 rush for 327 yards 鈥 an FBS record for quarterbacks 鈥 with three touchdown runs of 47 or more yards without exceptional downfield blocking.
蜜柚直播鈥檚 receivers provided that and then some during Tate鈥檚 historic performance in Boulder last week. It鈥檚 what is expected of every wideout who puts on a Wildcats uniform. No divas allowed.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the first thing we talk about, the first day of practice,鈥 UA receivers coach Theron Aych said Tuesday. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to be able to block to play receiver here.鈥
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Rich Rodriguez鈥檚 ground-oriented offense requires receivers to do more than run routes. He doesn鈥檛 necessarily look for blockers when recruiting receivers out of high school. But once they arrive on campus, it becomes a job requirement.
鈥淵ou hope that they鈥檙e able to do it and willing to do it,鈥 said Rodriguez, whose team hosts UCLA on Saturday. 鈥淓ither way, when they get here, they鈥檙e going to have to do it.鈥
Rodriguez tries to promote a culture of selflessness. The way he sees it 鈥 and the way he expresses it to his players 鈥 is as follows:
鈥淲hen one guy scores on offense, they all score, and they all get to celebrate together.鈥
Rodriguez said no receiver he has coached has complained about blocking too much and not getting the ball enough. This year鈥檚 group appears to have bought in with vigor and enthusiasm.
鈥淚 could catch one ball, I could catch 20 balls, I could catch no balls. As long as we鈥檙e winning, I鈥檓 happy with what my job is,鈥 senior receiver Shawn Poindexter said. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to keep working hard no matter what.鈥
Poindexter has only seven receptions this season, tied for fifth on the team. He leads the receiving corps when it comes to aggression and persistence as a blocker.
鈥淗e鈥檚 the guy across the field that may be 50 yards away, and he鈥檒l come back and try to get involved,鈥 Aych said. 鈥淭he other guys are starting to feed off that.鈥
Poindexter 鈥 蜜柚直播鈥檚 biggest receiver at 6-5, 212 pounds 鈥 took out two defenders during J.J. Taylor鈥檚 27-yard run against Houston in Week 2. Taylor took a pitch to the left, then cut back to the right sideline. Poindexter started out on the back side of the play but stayed alert in case Taylor changed directions, which he is wont to do.
鈥淚 was just trying to get one (defender) so J.J. could get around and get the edge,鈥 Poindexter said. 鈥淚 ended up hitting one and falling into the other. It was kinda cool.鈥
Aych teaches his receivers blocking techniques, and they work on them daily. Mostly, though, it鈥檚 about effort.
The Wildcats鈥 willingness to initiate and stick with blocks was evident throughout the Colorado game. Watch any of Tate鈥檚 touchdown runs, and you鈥檒l see receivers escorting him through the secondary, even if sometimes they鈥檙e just getting in the way of would-be tacklers.
On Tate鈥檚 28-yard touchdown run down the left sideline late in the first quarter, two Colorado defensive backs were so preoccupied with UA receivers Tony Ellison and Shun Brown that they barely tried to tackle Tate.
鈥淭he two DBs are so caught up in trying to fight our receivers, they literally took themselves out of the play,鈥 Aych said. 鈥淎gain, that鈥檚 that effort, being annoying, staying after those guys on every play.鈥
On Tate鈥檚 final touchdown run, from 75 yards out early in the fourth quarter, Brown鈥檚 relentlessness frustrated Colorado鈥檚 Dante Wigley to the point that he yanked Brown to the ground by his facemask, drawing a 15-yard penalty.
鈥淥ur wide receivers blocked their (butts) off,鈥 tight end Bryce Wolma said. 鈥淚t was crazy.鈥
Besides helping the team produce points, receivers have another incentive to block: It鈥檚 the one time they get to hit somebody.
鈥淓very once in a while, I do encourage them to take a shot on a guy,鈥 Aych said. 鈥淭his is our chance to be aggressive on them, because they鈥檙e going to try to hit us all day.鈥
Extra points
- Tate and center Nathan Eldridge were named to Pro Football Focus鈥 Pac-12 Team of the Week.
- Tate had some misreads vs. Colorado, per QB coach Rod Smith. But they 鈥渆nded up turning into touchdowns because they couldn鈥檛 catch him, so it isn鈥檛 all bad,鈥 Smith said.
- Poindexter on facing the Bruins, who have beaten the Wildcats five straight times: 鈥淓veryone wants to beat UCLA. Today鈥檚 focus and energy in practice were better than other Tuesdays, that鈥檚 for sure.鈥
- Rodriguez said he expected 蜜柚直播鈥檚 young defense to have 鈥渟ome moments鈥 like the Colorado game. It鈥檚 important, he added, to make sure the freshmen aren鈥檛 being overloaded with information.
- Rodriguez said having senior 鈥淪tud鈥 DeAndre鈥 Miller back helps from a leadership standpoint. The linebacker/defensive end group consists predominantly of freshmen. Rodriguez said Miller looked a little rusty in his 2017 debut but expects him to get better as the season goes along.
- Asked if he could relate to all the injuries UCLA has endured on defense, Rodriguez said: 鈥淭hey鈥檙e probably getting some of them back for us, unfortunately.鈥 The Bruins had a bye last week.
- 蜜柚直播 opened as a two-point favorite over UCLA. The Bruins are now favored by one. The over/under is 79.5.
- Quarterback Donavan Tate has changed numbers, going from 15 to 3. The latter had been worn by receiver Cam Denson, who retired because of a foot injury.
- Scouts from the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers attended practice.
