Former Arizona QB Brandon Dawkins recalls historic Territorial Cup in 2016

Nowadays, Brandon Dawkins is working in sports marketing with the brand Skechers.

Dawkins described the job as “mainly handling relationships and partnerships” between the brand and athletes. Dawkins has worked with the NBA, WNBA, MLB, NWSL and professional skateboarding athletes.

“It’s quite a few territories I cover, but still all around sports and I love what I get to do,” Dawkins said.

Dawkins previously had the same role at Adidas, where he worked with notable NFL quarterbacks such as Patrick Mahomes, Brock Purdy and Michael Penix, Dawkins’ college teammate at Indiana.

“That was full-circle when Adidas signed Penix,” Dawkins said.

Ten years ago, Dawkins was the starting quarterback for the Arizona Wildcats and was the bridge between Rich Rodriguez-era standouts in Anu Solomon and Khalil Tate.

Dawkins took over for the injured Solomon before he was “Wally Pipped” by Tate in 2017, when Tate subbed in for the injured Dawkins at Colorado and set the FBS single-game record for rushing yards (327) by a quarterback. Tate took the reins of the offense and became a three-year starter for the Wildcats and one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in program history.

Dawkins was a part of a signature moment in UA football history: he quarterbacked Arizona to a 56-35 win over Arizona State to end the 2016 season, which was a disastrous year for the 3-9 Wildcats. Arizona’s only wins were against Hawaii, Grambling State and ASU. The win over the Sun Devils also prevented ASU from qualifying for the postseason.

More notably, Arizona set a school record in the Territorial Cup and rushed for 511 yards. Arizona had three players — Dawkins, receiver-converted-running back Samajie Grant and Zach Green — rush for over 100 yards. Since the Wildcats were depleted at running back, Grant, who played running back in high school, moved from receiver to running back towards the end of the season. The Wildcats also didn’t attempt a pass in the second half of the 2016 Territorial Cup.

Dawkins completed just 3 of 8 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown, but had 12 rushes for 183 yards and two touchdowns. Grant had 19 carries for 176 yards and three touchdowns. Green had 126 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 14 rush attempts. The Wildcats scored seven touchdowns on the ground and wore down the Sun Devils in the second half.

Over a year after the historic Territorial Cup in Tucson, with Tate firmly in the QB1 spot, Dawkins transferred to Indiana and finished his career with the Hoosiers, but stepped away from the program just before the 2018 season. Dawkins finished his college football career with 2,418 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 1,582 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. After graduating from IU, Dawkins started working for Adidas and Skechers.

Dawkins recently joined “Spears & Ali” on ESPN Tucson to reflect on the 2016 Territorial Cup and his UA career.

What stands out to you when you look back on the 2016 Territorial Cup?

A: “If there’s one game that’s circled on the calendar every year, it’s always against that other Arizona team. We were excited going into it despite the season we were having. We knew a lot was at stake, not just winning the Territorial Cup, but ASU was one win away from making it to a bowl game. We prevented two things from them: winning the Territorial Cup and going to a bowl game. That was priceless.”

What do you remember about running over Miss Arizona on the sidelines?

A: “People still call me out for that. ‘Weren’t you the guy who ran over Miss Arizona?’ ‘Yeah, that was me.’ She was a super cool sport about it. You couldn’t even plan those moments. I’m glad everybody was OK and she didn’t lose any teeth.”

Did the Wildcats intend to end the game without attempting a pass in the second half?

A: “It’s just something that happened. We were killing them with the run all game long. Even the few passes to (wide receiver) Nate (Phillips), it was wide open because they were leaning towards stopping the run. They couldn’t stop anything. It was me, Samajie, Zach Green as the three-headed monster, if one of us had the ball in our hand, it was a gain of 15 yards every play. When you’re chunking runs like that, there’s no need to pass the ball. When you get up and get a lead, we just made sure to chew up as much clock as we can. When you’re getting 10-plus yards every attempt, there’s nothing wrong you can do. It wasn’t by design, but it’s how the game ended up going.”

How was it playing for Rodriguez?

A: “I loved playing for Rich. He was great. People on the outside saw the soundbites and clips of him yelling and screaming. It’s synonymous in football, the day they stop yelling about you, is the day they stop caring. That’s what he always preached. He definitely didn’t take it easy on us, but he was the reason I went to Arizona. His mastermind of the offense, the run-pass-option, it was something that fit with my skillset very well. It opened up a lot of options for me as a quarterback. I had a great time playing with Rich, I have a lot of respect for him, so I’m happy to see him have success again.”

How do you reflect on your time in Tucson?

A: “A lot of love from the city of Tucson. I remember the relationships. Those are the things I take from it, the memories and positive highlights. I loved running out the tunnel and that was the icing on the cake. Whether we went 100-0 or 0-100, the love from the city of Tucson was felt and it was something I’ll always take with me.”