No matter who Arizona hires as its football coach, nobody outside Tucson is picking the Wildcats to go to the Rose Bowl next year, or even to win the Pac-12 South.
But for the first time ever — or close to ever — the Wildcats have a singular offensive player, quarterback Khalil Tate, who has such star-power and is so essential to the school’s football restoration, that it seemed natural for him to sit next to UA president Robert C. Robbins Thursday at McKale Center.
Front row.
It makes you ask: is Tate’s presence at Arizona so far-reaching that Robbins and athletic director Dave Heeke will consult with him about the next coach?