Amid rumors that the Arizona Wildcats are strongly considering hiring Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo for the same position, quarterback Khalil Tate has seemingly spoken out against such a hire.
https://twitter.com/KhalilDTN/status/951888182441787392
In a tweet that he has since deleted (thank you Internet), Tate declared he “didn’t come to Arizona to run the tripple option.”
And, of course, the tweet from Khalil Tate saying he "didn't come to Arizona to run the tripple option" has been deleted. Maybe because he misspelled triple? pic.twitter.com/wSwIhVAvC7
— ClevelandFootballTalk (@CFTalk) January 12, 2018
Tate has also strongly advocated for defensive coordinator Marcel Yates to be his next head coach.
We need to hire Coach Yates as our head coach period, he's the best man for the JOB !!! Beardown
— Khalil Tate (@KhalilTate323) January 3, 2018
— Khalil Tate (@KhalilTate323) January 12, 2018
Anyone who watched Navy in recent years know that Niumatalolo’s offense is almost exclusively a running offense, utilizing the triple option. His quarterbacks attempted just 102 passes all year long during the 2017 season, completing just 42 for 1,005 yards.
Appearing in 11 games this past season for the Wildcats, Tate — a dual-threat quarterback who had nearly as many rushing yards as he had passing — went 111-of-179 for 1,591 yards with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions. While he is very much a running threat, it’s obvious he doesn’t want to be pigeon-holed here.