College football: 10 teams that could be the next Georgia

Arizona doesn’t recruit as well as the other teams on our list, but the Wildcats have done a good job finding talented playmakers. The most important signee of the Rich Rodriguez period was Khalil Tate, who exploded onto the national scene as a sophomore in 2017.

Tate’s running ability is well-known. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder ran for 1,411 yards and 12 touchdowns while averaging 9.2 yards per carry. However, he was also an underrated passer. Though he threw for just 1,591 yards with a 14:9 touchdown:interception ration, Tate completed 62 percent of his passes and averaged 8.89 yards per attempt.

Sumlin isn’t exactly a “quarterback whisperer,” and truthfully his reputation developing players at the position has taken a massive hit in recent years – especially after five-star signees Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray both left Texas A&M despite receiving a large amount of playing time early in their careers.

However, Sumlin and his coaching staff did amazing things with Johnny Manziel, and Tate has a similar skill set. Also, let’s not forget Case Keenum became the all-time FBS leader in passing yardage (19,217) and touchdowns (155) when Sumlin coached him at Houston. That bodes well for Tate, who should be considered a Heisman Trophy candidate, as will the return of top running back J.J. Taylor and leading receivers Shun Brown and Tony Ellison.

But Tate can’t do it alone. Fortunately, Rodriguez and his coaching staff gave Sumlin a solid foundation on defense as well. Arizona returns its top four tacklers from last season (the top three of whom were freshman), and eight of its top nine. The schedule also sets up well as the Wildcats host USC and Oregon, and also play Oregon State, Cal and Washington State from the Pac-12 North, missing Washington and Stanford.