We finally got to meet some of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildcats’ much-ballyhooed freshmen at the school's recent media day. Now you can too.
Over the next several weekdays, Star reporters Michael Lev and Zack Rosenblatt will bring you a Q&A with a different newcomer.
Today's subject: ex-Catalina Foothills quarterback Rhett Rodriguez, the son of UA coach Rich Rodriguez who is competing with freshman Donavan Tate for the No. 3 position on ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥'s depth chart behind Brandon Dawkins ²¹²Ô»åÌýKhalil Tate.
All the previous features and Q&A's we've written about ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥'s newcomers are attached to this post, including Friday's long about freshman running back/receiver Gary Brightwell.
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BIO BASICS
- Height/weight: 6-0, 186
- Position: Quarterback
- High school: Catalina FoothillsÂ
- Rating: 2 stars
Rhett says ...
On finally playing for his dad at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥: "It’s been an amazing experience for me. It’s everything I could’ve dreamed of and more. It’s been my goal forever just to play for my dad just to show everyone that he’s a good coach and I’m a good player. Everyday I think of it as a blessing even though workouts are hard, practices are long. But I just have to keep that perspective that this is what I wanted, this is what I’ve been dreaming about and a lot of people would love to be in my position, but I’m lucky enough to be here."
On how much he's learned since joining the team: "I’ve definitely made a lot of progress in terms of when I’m on the field, knowing where to go with the ball. But from an Xs and Os standpoint, I was really far along before we got into camp and I could probably draw up every play in the offense before we started camp. But it’s different drawing it up on the whiteboard, Xs and Os, then actually doing it so I struggled with that some. But every quarterback when they start, that’s going to happen."
On if his dad has yelled at him: "Nothing too bad. He hasn’t been too bad. And I’m used to it by now. So it’s been all good."
On the battle for the No. 3 QB job: "I mean, honestly I want to play no matter what it is. If I can go out there and start, I want to go out there and start. But really it’s not up to us who’s going to start. It’s up to dad and (co-offensive coordinator/QB coach Rod) Smith, so every day we just go out there and try to help each other. I think we can win with more than three quarterbacks. We all have strengths that we can all go out there and every day it’s not as if it’s like ‘ok, he’s not having a good day, we’re all out there saying ‘man that was a good throw, man that was a good read.’ So I think we’re really solid at that quarterback position."Â