Brandon Dawkins to grad transfer from Arizona

The quarterback will get his degree this spring

Arizona Wildcats quarterback Brandon Dawkins made it official on Thursday night, announcing that he will transfer from the school after he graduates in May.

Dawkins will have one year of eligibility left wherever he decides to play next season.

“ARIZONA. The past 4 years have been nothing short of phenomenal,” the redshirt junior QB tweeted out. “I would like to thank the U of A for the chance to not only play the sport I love, but have the opportunity to get my degree. With that being said, I will be a graduate transfer after I graduate this May. #BearDown”

This is the second straight offseason where a player who has started double-digit games at quarterback for Arizona has become a grad transfer. Anu Solomon left for the Baylor Bears last year, where he started Baylor’s season opener. Solomon then suffered a concussion that forced him to withdraw from school later in the season.

Dawkins threw for 2,414 yards and rushed for 1,582 yards in 23 career games with the Wildcats. He ran in 20 touchdowns and threw an additional 15 scores.

In 2015, Dawkins burst onto the scene in what was a blowout Territorial Cup in Tempe. Jerrard Randall started that game for a concussed Solomon, and Arizona was getting blown out right from the start while Randall struggled to execute basic plays.

Dawkins came in and threw for 305 yards on 16 completions including a 95-yard touchdown pass to Trey Griffey. ASU won that game 52-37, but all of the sudden Dawkins had some confidence.

Solomon still got the call to start the 2016 opener against BYU, but as he struggled, people started calling for Dawkins to get a chance. He would get that chance after Solomon suffered a knee injury in practice, and would not relinquish the starting role (besides injuries that forced him out of games) until Khalil Tate had his own coming out party against Colorado this year.

Dawkins is from Oxnard, CA but also lived in Hawaii before making his way to Tucson. It will be interesting to see what opportunities he has next year, and if he’d be open to converting to wide receiver to possibly become a potential NFL prospect with his size and speed.

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