Arizona Football: 5 reasons Khalil Tate will win 2018 Heisman Trophy

2. Improved consistency throwing the ball in 2018

During the spring game in Tucson back in April, Tate showed that he is still developing as a passer. He put several beautiful long balls in perfect position in his time on the field. One hit Cedric Peterson’s hands in the first half, but was dropped by the receiver. Tate kept looking for opportunities to pressure the defense downfield, though, and at the beginning of the second half Tate fueled a bounce-back touchdown drive with a 51-yard completion to Shawn Poindexter.

Tate put in some sublime performances in 2017, but when it came to his arm the quarterback also posted some duds. In three of his nine starts last year, Tate posted a passer efficiency rating above 200. Two other times, his efficiency rating went over 190 points. But Tate also put in a couple of subpar showings, including two starts with sub-100 passer ratings.

In 2017, Tate will improve with more experience throwing the ball. In Rodriguez’s system over the past two years, Tate attempted 224 passes. He will get far more passing attempts in 2018 in Sumlin’s system. In Manziel’s Heisman season, for instance, the redshirt freshman threw 439 passes and completed 68 percent of his attempts.

If he can eliminate even one of the two starts he had last season with a completion percentage under 60 percent, Tate will instantly boost his numbers. With more experience will come greater consistency for the still-young passer.