Arizona Wildcats Football

Arizona Wildcats quarterback Khalil Tate will miss Saturday's game against the UCLA Bruins due to an ankle injury, according to Michael Lev of the Arizona Daily Star.

Tate, 19, exploded on the scene a season ago as one of the nation's premier dual-threat quarterbacks when he racked up 1,591 passing yards, 1,141 rushing yards and 26 total touchdowns in 11 appearances. 

However, the former 4-star recruit is far from a finished product. 

"Everybody has seen his talent," head coach Kevin Sumlin said upon arriving in Tucson, according to Lev. "He'd be the first to tell you there's room for improvement. He's played in some games, but he's only started eight (in 2017). He's been dynamic in probably six or seven of those eight. He's got huge potential. There's some things we can help him with."

Since Sumlin arrived, Tate has completed 53.4 percent of his passes for 1,415 yards and 11 touchdowns through the air while piling up 112 rushing yards and two scores on the ground. 

Without him, Arizona will hope Rhett Rodriguez, the son of former UA coach Rich Rodriguez, can keep the offense humming. It would be the sophomore's first career start after he was 20-of-38 for 226 yards and a touchdown in Friday's 42-10 loss at Utah. 

Arizona linebacker Santino Marchiol has been dismissed from the football team after a video appeared to show him using racial slurs to describe black players.

"He was informed this morning that he's no longer on the team," head coach Kevin Sumlin said Monday, per Michael Lev of the Arizona Daily Star. 

The video surfaced last week and appeared to show the former Texas A&M player at the team's practice referring to two different black players as "monkeys," via Ben Baby of the Dallas Morning News. While the voice had been unconfirmed to be Marchiol, Lev noted that the decision to remove him from the team confirms the allegations.

"As someone who helped lead the effort to advance diversity in the legal profession ... I understand and respect the University's decision," Marchiol's attorney Thomas Mars told Adam Rittenberg of ESPN. "On the other hand, as someone who's grown close to Santino and who knows the quality of his character, the depth of his faith, and the sincerity of his convictions, I'm heartbroken. What can be heard on the highlights video doesn't reflect the values or beliefs of the young man that I've come to know."

The Colorado native was a 4-star recruit in the 2017 class, per 247Sports, as part of a Texas A&M class that ranked No. 13 in the country. 

Marchiol was prepared to remain with the Aggies even after Sumlin was fired but decided in June to transfer and follow the coach to Arizona. He also alleged several NCAA violations from new coach Jimbo Fisher and his staff regarding recruiting and practice schedules, per Dan Wolken of USA Today.

After sitting out last season with an ankle injury, he had been seeking the opportunity to play right away following the transfer.

However, it appears he will not get a chance to play for Arizona at all following the release of the video.

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — One tweet, 10 words: "I didn't come to Arizona to run the triple-option." 

One tweet, one purposeful and poignant tweet from a football player who three months earlier was an unknown backup on a struggling team, changed the way they do business at the University of Arizona and laid the groundwork for similar change elsewhere in college sports.

A paradigm shift may be coming in the way athletes and universities view their complex relationships. The days of players being excluded from key university decisions that affect them may be on the verge of a dynamic detour.

"I want our student-athletes to have a voice," says Arizona president Dr. Robert Robbins. "I want them to be disruptive problem solvers."       

Years from now we may look back at that moment in January when Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate tweeted out those 10 words that essentially torpedoed Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo's candidacy as the Wildcats' new coach—and eventually led to Kevin Sumlin's hire—as the beginning of innovative change in the way college sports operate. 

The superstar player takes a stand; a willing university proactively responds. Tate's explanation of those indispensable minutes that started it all is as revealing as it is refreshing.

"I knew exactly what I was doing when I tweeted that out," Tate told Bleacher Report. "I don't do Twitter. When I tweet something, I download the app, tweet, then delete the app from my phone. So when I tweet, it's important."

He pauses because he sees the contradiction ahead. He didn't want to run Niumatalolo's triple option, but he ran the read option to near perfection in 2017 for the Wildcats—making a meteoric rise from backup to Heisman Trophy candidate in only 10 games. But the triple option is more dangerous, he says. The quarterback takes more hits in what is almost exclusively a ground-oriented attack.       

"I had to make sure I was heard, make sure the team was heard, because my teammates didn't want to run the triple option, either," Tate continues. "So the idea was to tweet it out, let it get traction, then delete it. I knew people reading it would say, 'Why did he delete it?' But that just magnifies it more."

Says Robbins: "I saw it, and I thought, wow, man, the power of social media." 

This is where it gets serious, where the idea of player power—a force that has yet to be harnessed in college sports—comes into focus. It's a power Tate not only seized, but directed.

"I didn't want to go about the situation and then just be, OK, he's the new coach, I don't care. Because I did care. We did care as a team," Tate said. "I knew tweeting that would create a buzz and maybe not get (Niumatalolo) as our coach. I think Ken Niumatalolo is a great coach. It's nothing against him. But I think it was important to say what I had to say and let everyone know that we're not just going to be quiet and let things happen. We're going to be heard."

They're going to be disruptive problem solvers. 

Soon after, Tate began speaking to Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke on a regular basis about the coaching search. Tate says Heeke would meet with candidates and then get Tate's thoughts.

"I was basically the spokesman for our team," Tate said. "I would tell (Heeke), I like this, I don't like that." 

When asked if Arizona would've moved from its eventual choice of Sumlin as head coach on his suggestion, Tate says, "Maybe. I think it definitely would've been a discussion. The process would've lingered on a little longer. I'm just very grateful that they allowed me to be part of the process. Dr. Robbins and Dave Heeke, I consider them friends. We talk all the time. I want to win a championship here. To even be mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate is just crazy to me.

"But maybe the best thing I think I could do, the best legacy I could leave, is be an inspiration to players at other schools. How cool would that be to say, 'We did this together with the president and athletic director, and you can do it, too'?"

---

Robbins, an internationally renowned cardiac surgeon who left his job as president and CEO of Texas Medical Center, arrived in Tucson 13 months ago to tackle the behemoth that is higher education. 

He has turned everything sideways since he arrived at Arizona, a one-man agent of change. His No. 1 goal: to make Arizona a student-centric university. 

He draws parallels to the healthcare system, which he says is "not really designed to serve the patient, but is changing." 

So why can't universities better serve the student-athlete? More specifically, why can't they do so with the help and input of student-athletes?

"We're trying to change it," Robbins said. "I have a hammer and everything looks like a nail." 

The biggest nail of all is player compensation. 

University presidents rarely talk about player compensation, and if they do, the conversation begins and ends with the athletic scholarships the players receive or the recently approved cost-of-attendance scholarship stipends. 

"We need to do as much as we can to support the players," Robbins says. "There are issues and complexities of paying players, but I wouldn't be against the concept. There needs to be serious dialogue with all involved. Everyone should be at the table, including current student-athletes. I'd be open to any ideas. I certainly would not say, 'Never should we pay the players.' I want to make it fair. I would be a strong advocate for sitting down and beginning an open dialogue."

When Sumlin—who declined comment for this story—was at Texas A&M, his first season in 2012 included the development of a transformative player like Tate in quarterback Johnny Manziel, who went on to win the Heisman Trophy as a redshirt freshman. Manziel was barely 20 years old, and the college football world was mesmerized by his quick feet, talented arm and magnetic personality. Tate, a rising junior, won't turn 20 until mid-October. 

Before his sophomore season, it was reported that Manziel signed memorabilia for money, leading to a fiery social debate on student-athletes and their ability to keep (and profit off) their name, image and likeness. Players relinquish that ability when accepting an NCAA scholarship, a rule the NCAA has spent millions defending (most recently in the Ed O'Bannon case). 

Not surprisingly, Robbins says he's intrigued by the Olympic model, which allows student-athletes to keep that money.

"They could potentially benefit from their name," he says. "Manziel got money for that, and I'd be open to any possibilities or discussion of that." 

---

Tate is strolling around the field at Palisades Charter School, his life forever changed after 10 games last season. For years, he was never the big draw at Steve Clarkson's annual Dreammaker camp, an event that features elite quarterbacks from college and high school working with those as young as five. 

Brian Tate first brought his son, Khalil, to the camp 12 years ago for the exposure and to see if Khalil liked it. Now, his son, who was taught by his father and grandmother how to hold a ball and throw a spiral, is the quarterback everyone is trying to emulate. 

Sumlin and his staff have done everything possible to clamp down on the Manziel comparisons and the Heisman hype—even holding him out of campus interviews all offseason—but such talk is inevitable as the season nears.

"It's amazing how much my life has changed in such a short time," Khalil says. 

One day you're a backup quarterback, the next you're setting records and joining the Heisman Trophy race. It was that quick, and that surreal. 

All it took was an injury to starting quarterback Brandon Dawkins on the opening drive of Arizona's Week 5 game against Colorado to set it all in motion. Tate replaced Dawkins and led Arizona to a 45-42 victory, setting an FBS record for rushing yards by a quarterback (327 yards) on only 14 carries. He had touchdown runs of 75, 58, 47 and 28 yards, and threw for 154 yards and a touchdown. 

He finished last season with 1,411 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns, and also threw for 1,591 yards and 14 touchdowns, completing 62 percent of his passes. His 9.2 average yards per carry led the nation.

Tate didn't take a snap in the two games before he replaced Dawkins. But after Arizona gave up a late touchdown in a bowl loss to Purdue, Tate was firmly entrenched as the sport's next great star. 

He knew it, and Arizona knew it—and Tate acted on it a month later. 

"I have always been a proponent of him having a voice, but to do it in a respectful manner," Brian Tate said. "We talk about social injustices, we talk about having a say in your future. That's America, the world we live in. You have to know what's happening around you in order to affect change. He has the platform now, and that's what he's trying to do." 

Said former UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, a vocal proponent of player rights: "(Tate) saw the value and the power of social media. That power is a lot bigger than anyone thinks. It's important for players to feel as though we have a voice, that they're listening to us." 

---

Earlier this spring, Tate worked with the university to record videos for the "I Am, I Can, I Will" Arizona student-athlete motto. Every new athlete who enrolls at Arizona learns the Wildcat Way of thinking, doing, living and choosing. 

Yeah, it's corny, but consider this: The foundation of the Wildcat Way is personal leadership; influential and transcendent leadership in serving something greater than yourself. 

"This thing is a lot bigger than me," Tate said. "Knowing that is a blessing because it has helped me keep my head on straight." 

Want someone or something—or some team—to root for this season? Check out Arizona and Tate. The more the Wildcats win, the more Tate's tweet grows in power and influence. 

"I went home to Los Angeles on (spring) break and I was with my grandmother," Tate said. "All of my friends were saying, 'Did you see what Khalil did?' She was really proud, and that kind of put it in perspective for me. Everyone realizes how important it is." 

One tweet, 10 words. 

Revolutionary change just might be closer than you think.

The Arizona Wildcats got a solid boost to their 2019 recruiting class when quarterback Grant Gunnell committed to play for Kevin Sumlin at the next level.

The St. Pius X (Houston, Texas) High School star announced his decision via Twitter:

Thanks to God, Family, Friends, Coaches and Teamates. COMMITTED. #EraZona19 #BearDown pic.twitter.com/R7rOmIpUV6

— G² grant gunnell (@grantgunnell7) June 6, 2018

247Sports rates Gunnell as a 4-star player and a top-100 recruit.

He had initially committed to Texas A&M but had a change of heart when the Aggies parted ways with Sumlin.

Thank you for everything Aggieland. pic.twitter.com/BDafr4rPer

— G² grant gunnell (@grantgunnell7) February 14, 2018

The 6'6", 222-pound passer wound up choosing Arizona over the likes of Alabama, LSU, Ohio State and Oregon. His commitment gives the Wildcats their first 4-star recruit for 2019, bumping the program's class up to No. 55 overall in 247Sports' rankings.

This represents Sumlin's first big splash since being hired in January. It's a nice boost to start his tenure after ending his Texas A&M career with four consecutive five-loss campaigns.

Still with a season to play, Gunnell has already put together an impressive highlight package, via MaxPreps:

In Gunnell, the Wildcats may have found their eventual successor to Khalil Tate. The star quarterback found himself in the Heisman Trophy conversation last year, but now entering his junior season, it won't be long before the team will have to move on to the next wave.

Former Arizona Wildcats head football coach Rich Rodriguez says his former assistant attempted to extort him for $7.5 million before she filed a lawsuit alleging he sexually harassed her.

According to the Arizona Republic's Anne Ryman and Craig Harris, Rodriguez informed the University of Arizona, the United States Attorney's Office and the FBI of the alleged extortion.

Arizona fired Rodriguez without cause Jan. 2.

The Arizona Daily Star reported a woman, identified as Melissa Wilhelmsen by Ryman and Harris, had filed a $7.5 million notice of claim with the Arizona Attorney General's Office. The report outlined how Rodriguez and others allegedly kept a "hideaway book" that included the phrase "Title IX doesn't exist in our office."

Deadspin's Lindsey Adler and Diana Moskovitz reported the filing included allegations Rodriguez sexually harassed and groped Wilhelmsen and that Rodriguez had pressured Wilhelmsen to hide an extramarital affair he was having.

In a statement provided to USA Today's Dan Wolken, Rodriguez acknowledged having an affair but also said, "The claims by my former assistant are simply not true, and her demands for a financial settlement are outrageous:"

In a statement emailed to @usatodaysports, Rich Rodriguez admits to extramarital affair but disputes the allegations of sexual harassment pic.twitter.com/UT07HcfxEU

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) January 3, 2018

According to Ryman and Harris, Wilhelmsen's attorney notified Rodriguez's representation on two occasions (Nov. 2 and Nov. 4) of the harassment allegations. The attorney, Augustine Jimenez, reportedly then sent an email Nov. 8 in which he said Rodriguez would need to pay "multiple million dollars" to make the allegations go away.

The University of Arizona hired a law firm to investigate the allegations before it fired Rodriguez. In a statement released to the media, the university said the allegations "could not be substantiated based on the evidence and witnesses available to it" but that the university had "[cause] to be concerned with the direction and climate of the football program."

An amendment to a lawsuit filed against the University of Arizona reportedly says the school "promoted the success of the football program at the expense of the safety of female students on campus."

According to the Arizona Daily Star's Caitlin Schmidt, the amendment alleges players on Arizona's football team gang-raped female students and staff and that the school did not take the necessary steps to intervene. 

"Although UA received reports of this sexual harassment and violence, little, if anything, was done to stop it and/or take prompt action to redress the harassment, particularly if corrective action might have negatively impacted the potential success of the football program," the lawsuit reads, per Schmidt. 

The lawsuit, which was initially filed in October, alleges the school violated Title IX laws and did not take the steps necessary to protect its students against former running back Orlando Bradford after it was alerted to his abuse of multiple women.  

Bradford was sentenced to five years in prison in November after he pleaded guilty to two counts of felony aggravated assault. 

Former Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez, who was fired in January, was also issued a $7.5 million sexual harassment claim by his former administrative assistant, Melissa Wilhelmsen. 

Wilhelmsen later filed a separate $8.5 million suit against the University of Arizona alleging "she was subjected to assault and sexual harassment by Rodriguez, and a hostile work environment within the athletic department," per Schmidt. 

A woman who said former Arizona running back Orlando Bradford physically abused her has filed a Title IX lawsuit against the school, per ESPN's Mark Schlabach.

The lawsuit comes after Bradford was sentenced to five years in prison last November after pleading guilty to two counts of felony aggravated assault. 

Arizona dismissed Bradford from the football team after he was arrested on domestic violence charges in September 2016. 

Per Caitlin Schmidt of the Arizona Daily Star, last October a separate lawsuit filed by a woman who accused Bradford of domestic violence said Arizona officials "knew for months before her attack that he posed a danger to women but failed to take action."

Bradford appeared in nine games for the Wildcats football team over two seasons from 2015-16. He was dismissed by the program after the second game of the 2016 season. 

The University of Arizona announced Sunday that former Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin has been named its new head football coach.

Sports Illustrated's Bruce Feldman first reported the news. On Tuesday, Ryan Finley of the Arizona Daily Star reported Sumlin's contract is for five years and will start at $2 million annually and increase from there.

Feldman also reported Sumlin will retain defensive coordinator Marcel Yates, with Noel Mazzone and Clarence McKinney expected to join the staff as offensive coordinator and running backs coach, respectively.

Sumlin will replace Rich Rodriguez, who was let go Jan. 2 after he became the focus of a sexual harassment claim. This comes after Texas A&M fired Sumlin following a 7-5 regular season in 2017.

"Our expectations at A&M are very high," Texas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward said in a statement following the firing. "We believe that we should compete for SEC championships on an annual basis and, at times, national championships. I believe that we need a new coach to take us there."

The future looked bright for Sumlin after his initial season with the Aggies. He led them to an 11-2 mark that included a win over Alabama and a Cotton Bowl victory over Oklahoma. He previously had posted a 35-17 record as the Houston head coach from 2008 through 2011, featuring a 12-1 mark in his final season.

However, Texas A&M didn't finish above .500 in the SEC in any of Sumlin's final five seasons with Texas A&M as his stock dropped. In all, he finished with a 51-26 record with the Aggies.

Despite some of the recent falloff, Arizona gets a coach in Sumlin who has extensive experience on the offensive side from when he served as an assistant for Washington State, Wyoming, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Purdue before he became a head coach.

If he can replicate the success he had at the end of his Houston tenure and beginning of his time at Texas A&M, Sumlin's new team figures to compete for conference championships in the coming seasons.

With the Wildcats, Sumlin will inherit a team that went 7-6 last season and has one of college football's ascendant talents in dual-threat quarterback Khalil Tate.

As a sophomore, Tate completed 62 percent of his passes for 1,591 yards and 14 touchdowns and ran for 1,411 yards and 12 scores.

Arizona Wildcats quarterback Khalil Tate had a negative response on social media Friday to rumors of Navy's Ken Niumatalolo becoming the next head coach at Arizona.

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg reported Friday that Niumatalolo is emerging as a strong candidate to replace Rich Rodriguez along with Beau Baldwin and Kevin Sumlin.

Max Olson of The Athletic tweeted a screenshot of a since-deleted tweet from Tate that appeared to be related to Niumatalolo's playcalling:

Now deleted but still 👀 pic.twitter.com/FzJSAcKCoJ

— Max Olson (@max_olson) January 12, 2018

Rodriguez was fired as Arizona's head coach on Jan. 3 following a sexual harassment allegation.

Arizona defensive coordinator Marcel Yates was named Arizona's interim head coach following Rodriguez's firing, and Tate showed his support for Yates by tweeting, "#YatesForHeadCoach."

The Wildcats went 7-6 in 2017, which marked Tate's first full season as the team's starting quarterback.

The sophomore completed 62.0 percent of his passes for 1,591 yards, 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also rushed for 1,411 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Despite his rushing prowess, Tate expressed dismay with the thought of running Niumatalolo's triple-option offense.

In 11 seasons at Navy, Niumatalolo has a record of 84-48, and he has led the Midshipmen to a bowl game on 10 occasions.

Navy attempted just 99 passes during the 2017 season, but it ranked second in the nation in rushing with 4,568 yards, while Arizona was third with 4,021 yards.

Rich Neuheisel may be on his way back to the Pac-12.

Jason Scheer of 247Sports' WildcatAuthority.com reported Wednesday that Neuheisel is "a legitimate candidate" for the vacant head coaching position with the Arizona Wildcats. One source told Scheer that Neuheisel "is among the leaders."

However, Michael Lev of the Arizona Daily Star reported Neuheisel has yet to interview for the opening, and reports of him being a serious candidate "appear to be exaggerated." 

Neuheisel was the head coach at Colorado from 1995 through 1998, Washington from 1999 through 2002 and UCLA from 2008 through 2011.

Neuheisel was 87-58 in 12 seasons as a head coach, although much of his success came with Colorado (33-14) and Washington (33-16). He had just one losing season in eight years at those two stops, and his tenures were highlighted by an 11-1 effort and Rose Bowl victory over Purdue in the 2000 season with the Huskies.

However, he struggled mightily at UCLA and went 4-8 in two separate seasons while going just 13-12 in the other two before he was fired.

According to Scheer, Neuheisel stressed his ability to put together a strong staff when interviewing with Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke.

The Arizona job is open because the Wildcats fired Rich Rodriguez amid sexual harassment allegations.

Neuheisel, who has been a broadcaster since UCLA fired him, will look to turn around a program that has just one season with double-digit wins since the 1998 campaign if he is hired by the Wildcats.