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Arizona Football Recruiting: QB/ATH Khalil Tate Commits to Wildcats as a Quarterback

Unlike other QB/ATH recruits who spurned Arizona only to never play QB again, Khalil Tate will have the opportunity to play QB at Arizona.

By David Potts
Student Sports

Every time I watch UCLA play, I get a little sad. In 2012, a four-star dual-threat quarterback/athlete named Devin Fuller was deciding where he was going to commit. He eventually chose UCLA over Arizona, Rutgers, and Nebraska. At UCLA, he was moved to wide receiver relatively quickly. He never really got the opportunity to compete for time at quarterback (though he's gotten to use his arm in some gadget plays), and I always wonder if his talent is being wasted at wide receiver and what he could've done as a quarterback in Rich Rodriguez's offense.

I'm not going to feel that sadness with Khalil Tate. A little more than a month after being offered, QB/ATH Khalil Tate committed to the University of Arizona today as a quarterback in the class of 2016:

Tate is a six foot tall (Rivals actually lists him at 5'11"), 200 pound junior out of Junipero Serra High School in Gardena, California. He's a three-star recruit with offers to USC, UCLA, and Florida State.

Importantly, Tate committed as a quarterback. Though Tate is listed as an athlete, he'll above all have the opportunity to compete for time at quarterback. And while the title "dual-threat quarterback" can sometimes be used to refer to fast quarterbacks who can't throw, Tate actually can pass the ball, throwing for 1395 yards last year and averaging 8.8 yards per attempt in his first year as a starter. He still relied heavily on his legs, rushing for 1287 yards, but Tate has plenty of ability and time to develop even more as a passer.

Even if Tate doesn't work out at quarterback, his athleticism will allow him to compete at other positions (most likely wide receiver). Above all, though, he will have the chance to play quarterback. Similar recruits who spurned Arizona -- like Devin Fuller -- didn't even get to compete for time at quarterback at their chosen school. Tate isn't going to have that problem.

Tate is in the class of 2016, so we won't see him on campus for nearly another year and a half. In the meantime, take a look at some of his highlights from this past season:

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