I've long wanted to see what would happen if a coach brought the triple option to a P5 school and it looks like I might get my wish. According to reports, Navy's Ken Niumatalolo has moved to the top of the list at Arizona. If nothing else, that offense with Khalil Tate at QB will be fun for as long as he's in school.
So...yeah, never mind. This is kind of interesting, though, because it will reveal a lot about who holds the power and how concerned Arizona is with short-term wins versus long-term vision. The absolute best thing to do to maximize win totals in 2018 and 2019 is to have Khalil Tate playing quarterback. But would it be worth not being as good over the next two years if the Arizona administration is 100% convinced that Niumatalolo would make their program better in the long run? Honestly, for a program in Arizona's position, trying the triple option thing is so crazy it just might work. I think Georgia Tech is a great parallel, as those two programs have traditionally occupied similar places in the college football hierarchy. GT was a mediocre program that would occasionally pop up to play a role in the ACC title race, which is more or less where Arizona is now in the Pac-12. GT was a program largely overshadowed by an in-state rival in Georgia, and although the gap between GT and UGA is bigger than the one between Arizona and Arizona State, the Wildcats are in the same position. While GT fans have kind of grown weary of running that particular offense and many are calling for a change, it's tough to deny that installing the option immediately made GT more relevant and successful within the ACC.
Good call. What's funny is I was literally typing up a post comparing Arizona to GT when GT made the decision to move to the option when I saw your post. I guess it's just been long enough now since GT made the move to the option with Paul Johnson that I take them for granted. So I'll put it this way...I'm interested in seeing what a move to the option could do for a program in another area against a different set of foes.
I wonder if circling back on Kevin Sumlin is even an option anymore. It's kind of strange that all of the momentum was headed in that direction for a while, only for it to completely dissipate seemingly overnight, with Niumatalolo emerging as the top candidate. Makes you wonder if the two sides were just two far apart when they started negotiating.
For at least one season, Sumlin will have the stellar QB play required for his teams to be successful. We'll see after that.
I actually hadn't thought about the fact that Sumlin might essentially be walking into coaching Johnny Manziel 2.0. Clearly he's a gifted runner, and if Sumlin can find or develop a Mike Evans-type receiver who can go up and grab some jump balls, the Wildcats could be really dangerous over the next two seasons.
On an assistant coaching note, Alabama OC Brian Daboll is heading to Buffalo to the Bills' OC. This will technically be Saban's fourth OC in three years. Kiffin, Sarkisian (until he promptly left to join the Falcons), Daboll, plus this new hire. One name to watch is current Bama offensive assistant Mike Locksley. He started with the program as an offensive analyst a couple of years ago, but before that, he was an OC at Illinois and Maryland, and was the head coach at New Mexico. His time as HC at UNM, frankly, ended poorly. In addition to going 2-26 in three years, he had a discrimination lawsuit filed against him, and he was suspended at one point for getting into an altercation with one of his assistant coaches. But with that said, he's always been known as an ace recruiter on the east coast, particularly in the DC area, and being a high-level assistant seems to be the best way to do quick image rehab. It's easy to see a scenario where Locksley becomes the new OC, Tua has a big year at QB, Bama wins a bunch of games, and Locksley is able to say that he's a changed coach (whether that's true or not), which earns him another shot as a head coach.
Khalil Tate is a dynamic player. He's an incredibly gifted runner. What really blew me away was his passing against my alma matter (Purdue) in the bowl game. Before the final hopeless drive, he was 17/22, 300 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTs. Purdue game-planned to not allow Tate to win with his legs and he tore them up through the air. Arizona's offense will be fun this year. ASU might wish they had hired Sumlin instead of (doomed to failure) Herm Edwards.
Wait...someone hired Herm Edwards to coach college kids? Was Steven A Smith unavailable? If Tate is the guy you say he is, he's perfect for a Sumlin offense. Perfect for the Pac?? as well.
Rich Rod and Sumlin are pretty similar in styles (offensively with the football, not offensively with the ladies), right?
On Sumlin's new fancy QB: I think Kingsbury made Manziel, more so than Manziel made Sumlin... not at all a bad hire for Arizona though.