Quarterback Khalil Tate is returning to Arizona for his senior season.
Tate met with Wildcats coach Kevin Sumlin on Tuesday to discuss his future and concluded that he would return to the team in 2019, a team spokesman told ESPN.
After a breakout season in 2017, Tate entered the fall as a Heisman Trophy candidate but struggled early under first-year coach Sumlin. He finished with 2,530 passing yards and 26 touchdowns for the 5-7 Wildcats, but his rushing numbers went down substantially from 1,411 in 2017 to 224 this past season.
Tate was the Pac-12’s newcomer of the year in 2017 and earned offensive player of the week honors in four consecutive weeks, a league record.
The Arizona Daily Star, first with the news of Tate’s return, reported that Arizona sought a draft evaluation for Tate from the NFL’s college advisory board, which recommended that the junior remain in school for one more year.