Arizona QB Brandon Dawkins will pursue a graduate transfer

With Khalil Tate entrenched at quarterback for Arizona, Brandon Dawkins has decided to pursue a graduate transfer.

Dawkins announced Thursday night that he will leave the university once he completes his undergraduate degree in May. From there, he will be eligible to suit up for another program in 2018.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Dawkins played in 22 games during his time with the program. He became the team’s starting quarterback in 2016 after Anu Solomon went down with a knee injury. Dawkins carried the starting role into the 2017 season, but was injured against Colorado, paving the way for a record-setting performance from Tate. In a 45-42 win, Tate rushed for a whopping 327 yards — an FBS single game record for a quarterback.

From there, the job belonged to Tate — even when Dawkins was healthy again. Tate, in just eight starts, went on to rush for 1,411 yards and 12 touchdowns while passing for 1,591 yards, 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Tate, who will be a junior in 2018, is considered an early contender for the Heisman Trophy.

Overall at UA, Dawkins threw for 2,414 yards, 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 56.3 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 1,582 yards and 20 touchdowns during his time with the program.

With Dawkins moving on, Arizona has Tate, Rhett Rodriguez and K’Hari Lane as the only scholarship quarterbacks on the roster for the first spring practices under new head coach Kevin Sumlin. Two other freshmen quarterbacks, Jamarye Joiner and Kevin Doyle, will arrive on campus this summer. Both Joiner and Doyle were three-star prospects, according to Rivals.com.

Dawkins’ scheduled May graduation should allow him to transfer to a new school in the summer.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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