College Coaching Carousel: Can Kevin Sumlin lift Tate to Heisman heights?

In 2011, Kevin Sumlin accepted the head coaching position at Texas A&M, a program ready to take the next step. Little did he know he had a sleeping giant at quarterback who was ready to send shockwaves through college football.

Seven years later, Sumlin, who went 51-26 before being fired by the Aggies, has once again accepted a position at a university that's tired of its middling football program. This time, his quarterback isn't a sleeping giant - he's one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy.

Khalil Tate, who was responsible for 26 touchdowns and more than 3,000 yards of total offense in 2017, is hoping to recreate the success Johnny Manziel had at Texas A&M with the University of Arizona. The Heisman hopeful proved to be the most exciting non-draft-eligible player in college football last season after starting the final eight games.

Get your popcorn ready, Arizona.

Offensive philosophy

Sumlin brought his offensive coordinator at Texas A&M, Noel Mazzone, with him to Arizona. Mazzone's philosophy is simple: Play fast and get the ball to your playmakers in space.

Mazzone subscribes to the "window dressing" philosophy that many spread teams adhere to. His offense only has about 20 concepts in it, but each play can be presented in a variety of different formations. He'll use pre-snap motions to disguise his plays and create confusion on defense.

By keeping it simple, Mazzone gives his offenses the ability to play as fast as possible, adjusting their pace of play for each opponent.

Like every other spread offense in college football, this one is littered with run-pass options (RPOs), which should only increase with Tate at the helm. RPOs create indecision on defense, and Tate is exactly the type of explosive athlete who will make teams pay with his arm or legs.

Mazzone's passing offense is predicated on setting up short throws to his best playmakers in space.

On top of Tate, the diminutive dynamo J.J. Taylor, who averaged 8.2 yards per carry over the last six games last season, should see an even bigger role, especially with backup running backs Nick Wilson and Zach Green having graduated.

Tate's two favorite weapons in the passing game are back, giving Mazzone a full cupboard to work with in his first season with the Wildcats. Tony Ellison and Shun Brown don't have prototypical size, but each knows how to get open and has built a nice rapport with Tate.

Offensively, Sumlin couldn't have walked into a better situation. Even if the defense doesn't hold up its end of the bargain, Tate and the offense will certainly be appointment viewing throughout the season, especially if he keeps doing things like this:

Defensive philosophy

On defense, Sumlin will be reunited with Marcel Yates, who was his co-defensive coordinator at Texas A&M from 2012-13 before he came to Arizona in 2016. Despite disappointing results in his first two seasons with Arizona - the Wildcats allowed 33.4 points per game in 2017 - Sumlin decided to retain the noted recruiter.

Yates will continue developing a young but talented Arizona defense. In the front seven, sophomores Kylan Wilborn, Tony Fields II, and Colin Schooler give the Wildcats some intriguing talent that can get after the quarterback. In the secondary, sophomore cornerback Lorenzo Burns is ready to build off of his exciting rookie campaign, while senior cornerback Jace Whittaker is looking to improve on his stellar junior season.

Don't expect Yates' base 4-2-5 defense to suffocate many opposing offenses. He uses a variety of blitzes to create pressure with mostly zone coverage. The defense is too young and devoid of depth to even be an above-average unit in 2018. Luckily for him, the offense should be one of the most prolific in college football.

Ultimately, Arizona's D just can't be terrible. Situational defense will be vital for Yates' unit as it tries to slow down opposing offenses trying to keep pace with Sumlin, Mazzone, and Tate.

Season outlook

After a successful start to his Texas A&M tenure, Sumlin stagnated and failed to recreate the magic Manziel cultivated in 2012 and 2013. If Arizona makes similar noise early in the coach's tenure with Tate at quarterback, will Sumlin use that as leverage to develop a program that will have sustained success in the Pac-12?

That remains to be seen, but what we do know is the combination of Tate and Sumlin will create fireworks in 2018.

If Arizona can stay healthy, its offense will undoubtedly be among the best in the nation and its defense should be good enough to get some timely stops. This will be one of the most exciting teams in the country and a dark horse to win the Pac-12.

Other entries in this series:

• Jeremy Pruitt (Tennessee)
• Joe Moorhead (Mississippi State)
• Herm Edwards (Arizona State)
• Chad Morris (Arkansas)
• Willie Taggart (Florida State)
• Scott Frost (Nebraska)
• Dan Mullen (Florida)
• Chip Kelly (UCLA)

John Owning is a football writer at theScore. He has written for Bleacher Report and Football Insiders. He was also the lead NFL content editor at FanRag Sports. John provides analysis on the Dallas Cowboys for the Dallas Morning News and edits for The Quant Edge. Find him on Twitter @JohnOwning.