Arizona State’s Manny Wilkins Getting Last Laugh Over Khalil Tate

Arizona State quarterback Manny Wilkins has severely outplayed Arizona’s Khalil Tate so far in 2018. Earlier in the year, the pair got into an argument on Twitter.

When you look at the two big-time college football programs in Arizona — the Arizona State Sun Devils and Arizona Wildcats — they couldn’t be further apart. At this point in the 2018 season, the Sun Devils are nationally ranked and undefeated while the Wildcats have fallen out of the national rankings after starting 0-2.

Ironically, Arizona State is ranked No. 23 at the moment; that’s the exact spot Arizona started the season in.

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Outside of Herm Edwards, Arizona State’s head coach, and Kevin Sumlin, Arizona’s head coach, the two biggest college stars in the state are the program’s quarterbacks — Manny Wilkins (ASU) and Khalil Tate (U of A). And while Tate got all the hype coming into the season (including a Sports Illustrated cover), Wilkins has severely outplayed Arizona’s signal caller and put his team in much better position to secure a legitimate bowl game.

Manny Wilkins vs. Khalil Tate (through Week 2)

Passing Yards: Wilkins, 617; Tate, 538
Yards Per Attempt: Wilkins, 8.57; Tate, 6.81
Passing TDs: Wilkins, 5; Tate, 1
Interceptions: Wilkins, 1; Tate, 2
Rating: Wilkins, 156.0; Tate, 108.2

It should be noted that although Tate was a master in the ground game last year, Wilkins has twice as many rushing yards as Tate in 2018 (53 compared to 22) on fewer carries.

And while that’s a cool story as it is, it becomes even more interesting when you look at the heated Twitter exchange between the two this past January. Tate, responding to a photo of the Sun Devils’ coaching staff at his old high school, told his HS team to not let ASU “scam” them. Wilkins, in response, spoke how the staff may be offering opportunities to players Arizona may not be recruiting, adding that it’s “BIGGER THAN FOOTBALL OR A RIVALRY.” Then, Tate told Wilkins to “chill out” before referring to him as “Preacher Wilkins” and saying it was a “joke.”

https://twitter.com/KhalilDTN/status/958493701768060928

To my knowledge, Manny Wilkins didn’t directly respond.

It’s safe to say these guys aren’t the best of friends. In fact, Wilkins told Arizona’s ABC affiliate that Tate was merely an “acquaintance.” Either way, it’s nice to have two quarterbacks with school pride that care about what they’re doing. At this point, however, Wilkins is just doing it much better.

Arizona State will play San Diego State in Week 3 while the Wildcats will play lowly Southern Utah.