ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥

Has the NFL draft punditry’s disdain for Khalil Tate gone too far?

The former UA quarterback and one-time Heisman Trophy hopeful is generating little if any buzz entering the draft, which is set to begin April 23. Tate unquestionably was hurt by the cancellation of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s pro day, where he would have been able to meet with NFL team representatives and show off what he learned from training with Donovan McNabb. The way the 2019 season ended for Tate didn’t help either; he lost his full-time starting job, and the Wildcats lost their final seven games.

Still, Tate is an elite athlete with considerable arm talent who, if coached up, could fill a “Slash�-type role for a team along the lines of what Taysom Hill has done for New Orleans in recent seasons. Tate might have to do it as an undrafted free agent, though.

released earlier this week, analyst Dane Brugler ranks Tate as the No. 38 QB prospect in the draft. Some of the players ranked ahead of him: Kevin Davidson of Princeton, Reid Sinnett of San Diego, Kai Locksley of UTEP, Case Cookus of NAU, Ben DiNucci of James Madison, Roland Rivers III of Slippery Rock, Nick Tiano of Chattanooga, Jalen Morton of Prairie View A&M and Kurt Rawlings of Yale.

Because he’s in the “Best of the rest …� category, Tate doesn’t have a writeup in the guide, which is available to anyone who has a subscription to The Athletic. We reached out to Brugler for his take on Tate:

“Tate is tough because he's going to have to change positions for the NFL (in my opinion), but we don't really have any evidence of what he can do elsewhere. I was told he refused to do any receiver drills during the process before the pandemic shut everything down. You're right about the athleticism, though, which is why he'll get in a camp.�

Would the scouting community view Tate differently if he had committed to moving to wide receiver and had an opportunity to display those skills at pro day and/or private workouts? Maybe. It would have shown a willingness on Tate’s part to be a team player – and might have quelled some of the makeup concerns that also undoubtedly are dogging him during this process.

ranks Tate as QB36. ranks Tate as the No. 24 quarterback prospect, which still would put him in the undrafted-free-agent bin. Over the past five years, an average of 11.2 quarterbacks have been selected. The peak was 15 in 2016.

Mock drafts have UA tailback J.J. Taylor going in seventh round

The Athletic projects ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ tailback J.J. Taylor as a seventh-round pick or priority free agent. That’s consistent with other seven-round mock drafts.

to the Minnesota Vikings. had Taylor going to New England in Round 7. Draft Wire also had the Patriots selecting UA cornerback Jace Whittaker in the sixth round. Brugler projects Whittaker as a priority free agent.

Here's Brugler’s summation of Taylor:

“Taylor is a quicker than fast athlete who loves to punch the gas instead of tapping on the brakes to attack defenses. While he should be commended for hurried decisiveness in the backfield, if he showed better discipline with his reads, he would see bigger holes about to open. Overall, Taylor has the shifty feet, soft hands and go-go-go play attitude that makes him a fun watch, but it will take the right situation for him to earn a roster spot as a change-of-pace option.�

Taylor also received some love from draft writer Chris Trapasso, who tweeted that Taylor’s effort vs. Stanford last season (133 scrimmage yards on 21 touches) was “one of the best … performances at the position in this draft class.”

J.J. Taylor vs. Stanford is one of the best RB performances at the position in this draft class.

— Chris Trapasso (@ChrisTrapasso)

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ recruiting offers trend toward Texas, trenches, pro-style QBs

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ had offered scholarships to 161 class-of-2021 prospects as of Wednesday afternoon, . The UA is on pace to eclipse its total from 2020 of 258, which was higher than any of the previous three recruiting cycles.

Where are those offers being sent? What positions do those prospects play? Starting with the 2021 crop, we examined the past five rounds of offers. Here are some of our findings:

• ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ indisputably has shifted its target areas under Kevin Sumlin. In sum: more Texas, less California. Currently, the UA has more offers out to Texas prospects than any other state. In 2020, Texas topped California by one, furthering a trend under Sumlin’s leadership. Here’s a look at the offers handed in Texas and California out over the past five cycles by percentage:

2017

Calif. 35.96%

Texas 7.39%

2018

Calif. 35.06%

Texas 19.48%

2019

Calif. 31.03%

Texas 25.62%

2020

Calif. 22.09%

Texas 22.48%

2021

Calif. 25.47%

Texas 27.95%

• Sumlin took over as coach in January 2018, at which time the ’18 class was all but completed. His first full class, 2019, had a distinct Texas flavor to it with eight signees coming from the state. That doubled the previous year’s amount, which equaled the combined total from the previous six cycles.
• Some other state-by-state trends worth noting: ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ already has more 2021 offers out in Louisiana (13) than any of the previous four cycles. … This staff is recruiting Illinois at a much greater rate with five offers in each of the past two classes (versus one in the previous three combined). … ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ hasn’t been active in Florida during this cycle, having sent out only one offer; the Wildcats offered at least 13 Floridians in each of the previous four years.
• Sumlin and his staff offered more linemen and front-seven defenders in the 2020 class than in any of the five we studied. Offensive and defensive linemen represented 41.63% of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s ’20 offers; the second-highest figure was 36.95% in 2019. Adding linebackers to the equation, that number jumped to 52.92% in ’20; the next-highest amount was 46.80% in 2019.
• ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ has offered 14 quarterbacks in the 2021 class, second only to the 16 offered in ’18. In the past two cycles, 19 of 26 QB offers, or 73.08%, have gone to “pro-styleâ€� quarterbacks compared to 50.00% over the previous three years. The transition from dual-threat Tate to pro-style Grant Gunnell personifies that change in offensive philosophy.

Checking in with ex-ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ DT Marcus Griffin from 'ground zero' of pandemic

We recently had a chance to catch up with Marcus Griffin, a former defensive lineman at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ who lives in Bellevue, Washington – in the heart of “ground zeroâ€� for the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.

A four-star recruit from Bellevue High School, Griffin appeared in 11 games for the Wildcats from 2015-17, recording five tackles. He spent the 2018 season as a grad transfer at Central Michigan, where he made 12 stops in 11 games.

Griffin graduated with a degree in social behavior and human understanding from the UA before earning his MBA at CMU. He’d like to work in a college football recruiting department one day.

For now, Griffin works in corporate sales. He got a job in that field in Seattle after moving home in December. He currently lives with his parents, who run the Enchanted Cuts hair salon for kids in nearby Redmond. Like most everyone else, the three are stuck at home for the time being.

Here’s a snippet of our conversation with Griffin:

Bellevue is adjacent to Seattle. What has it been like there over the last month or so?

A: “Bellevue is kind of like a utopia. It’s a real city, but it doesn’t feel like a real city. It’s like Scottsdale but on steroids. There’s a lot of old wealth here. Microsoft, Amazon, Nordstrom, all those families are here. So this place is different.

“Obviously, the city has (shut) down. You don’t see as many people outside. Other than that, I haven’t really been able to tell the difference. A lot of people got old money, so this isn’t a situation that’s going to hurt them right now. Maybe in the long run, but not currently.�

Whom do you see on a day-to-day basis?

A: “My family. Nobody else. Just my mom and dad. That’s it. I haven’t seen my friends … We actually had some beefs about it. I don’t know who you’ve been around. I don’t know who your family’s been around. I’d just rather not risk it.�

This doesn’t seem like a good time to have a hair salon.

A: “My mom is a saver to her core, luckily enough. We’re fine. I haven’t felt any change to our lifestyle. She’s always had that mindset of, ‘I’d rather save for a rainy day.’ If she had the mindset I have, we’d be feeling it. I’m in a great position with my job to where I could afford everything in my (own) household if I had to, but I haven’t had to.�

Does it seem like people are scared there?

A: “I wouldn’t say scared. But I would say more cautious and more aware. I think in the beginning people thought this was a joke. They didn’t take it seriously. I was fortunate. My parents did a lot of research in the beginning and saw that this could be a potential issue for us.�

What’s your advice for people who are dealing with isolation, loneliness and other issues during the pandemic?

A: “We’re all different as human beings and what it takes for us to function and live our daily life. Make some goals. Come out of this wanting to get some things accomplished. I want to listen to a couple audio books. I want to lose 15 pounds. I want to learn some new things.

“If you don’t come out of this smarter, healthier, more in shape, more attuned to yourself, you’re just wasting time. You gotta do the time instead of allowing the time to do you.�