Arizona Tuesday Twitterbag: Examining the Wildcats’ running back situation

This is obviously the biggest question mark facing the team right now

Heading into the year, you could have made the argument that running back was the Arizona Wildcats’ strength.

Two injuries and 11 counts of domestic violence later, the Wildcats are moving wide receivers to running back, and walk-ons are close to playing.

You had plenty of questions about the situation on Twitter for our Tuesday Twitterbag, so let’s talk it out. As always, be sure to follow us @azdesertswarm and tweet us your questions on Monday nights and Tuesday mornings to be included in this.

@azdesertswarm Any idea of JJ's recovery time?

— Scott Mather (@scott_mather) September 27, 2016

I’ve been told they’re estimating 6-8 weeks, but Rich Rodriguez said Monday that J.J. Taylor is “more than likely” out for the rest of the year. I believe if they hold Taylor out for the rest of the year that he’d be eligible for a medical redshirt, so that’s probably the way that they’re going to lean, because you gotta keep that guy on campus for as long as possible.

@azdesertswarm What is Nick Wilsons injury looking like for this weekend? And if he healthy, can we end this drought against ucla?

— Arizona Fan (@ArizonaFan7) September 27, 2016

I don’t know specifics on Nick Wilson’s injury, but I would be surprised if he was “healthy” for this weekend’s game. Maybe he can get limited snaps, but I think we’re going to get the Tyrell Johnson and Zach Green show at running back at UCLA. Brandon Dawkins’ composure on the road will be a bigger reason why Arizona can or can’t win than the running back position. This is the time to beat UCLA since its offense is in flux and there seems to be a little bit of turmoil there. I’m inclined to pick the Wildcats this week.

@azdesertswarm Rich takes pride in being best conditioned team in the country. Practicing hard and fast. Any correlation with injury woes?

— Phil (@Ogormanpj) September 27, 2016

I think there’s a little correlation there, yes. Being the best conditioned team also means you’re typically smaller, which makes injuries more likely in a league like the Pac-12. Is it the sole reason? No. But you could certainly see it as being a contributor to what we’ve seen the last couple years.

@azdesertswarm what is the latest with Khalil Tate? Is it worth giving him run at another position to avoid a transfer?

— Dragon Slayer (@coach_kain) September 27, 2016

My understanding is that Khalil Tate only wants to play quarterback, and that the odds of him transferring at the end of the season are pretty high. His Twitter account doesn’t really do anything to change those feelings either. So to answer your question, putting him at another position wouldn’t really impact the odds that he transfers out. With two more years of Brandon Dawkins after 2016, plus a guy like Braxton Burmeister coming in, I don’t see Tate ever being the starting quarterback at Arizona.

@azdesertswarm are we ever going to have a day game?

— Dane Miller (@DMillerPublic) September 26, 2016

USC, Stanford and at Washington State seem like pretty good games to be day games. Also the game at Oregon State. One’s coming, but it is pretty frustrating that halfway through the season, Arizona will not have finished a game before 10:30 local time. That’s trash.

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