From eight consecutive loses last year to 6-2 this season, Khalil Tate has spearheaded a Tucson turnaround.
Tate eludes UCLA (photo, AZ Daily Star)
University of Arizona sophomore quarterback, Khalil Tate, is making heads turn in the PAC-12. If defenders blink, Tate is gone.
Tate has piled up eye-catching numbers, both passing and rushing, in the four games he has started–743 yards passing, 840 rushing.
At 6-2, 212 pounds, Tate is the first player in Pac-12 history to win four straight “Offensive Player of the Week” awards.
Dubbed “The Desert Ghost,” Tate’s multiple talents set him apart offensively. He has almost single-handedly revitalized what had been the underachieving Wildcats.
Last season the Wildcats lost eight straight games. This year–thanks to Tate–UA is 6-2 with four straight PAC-12 wins, the most recent win coming last Saturday in a 58-37 shootout against Washington State’s air raid offense. Last year the Cougars slammed the Wildcats, 69-7.
With its high-scoring offense and risk-taking defense, Tate and the Wildcats make for entertaining Saturday afternoons in the desert.
Just don’t blink. You’ll miss something special.
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About Samuel H. Johnson
As a student at Miami University (Ohio) I spent a lot of time at the campus radio station WRMU and the FM outlet, WMUB. After graduation, I worked at various radio and TV Stations in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC. I was a DJ, sports reporter, and on-air public affairs host/producer, winning three local Emmy awards. Along the way, I appeared in three major movies: G.I. Jane, CONTACT, and Runaway Bride. Today I live in Phoenix, Arizona with my wife, Laraine, and our two daughters, who live nearby. I enjoy writing about sports–mostly my own off-beat and sometimes humorous observations. I also like to write about history. I’ve written several books, including The Cherokee and the Slave. My favorite athletes (current) are Larry Fitzgerald, Ben Roethlisberger, Kawhi Leonard, and Roger Federer; (future) are Devin Booker, Tyler Ulis, and Paul Watson; and (past) Lenny Moore, Sonny Jurgensen, Bobby Mitchell, Charley Taylor, Steve Nash,
Johnny Unitas, Charlie Joiner, Marques Haynes, Elgin Baylor, Dr. “J”. My unsung star is Bob Boyd, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver, 1950-57, and winner of the 100-yard dash at the 1950 NCAA Championships.
