UCLA QB Only Guy Who Couldn’t Beat Tate Martell For Starting Job

UCLA QB Only Guy Who Couldn’t Beat Tate Martell For Starting Job

Dorian Thompson-Robinson had four turnovers in UCLA’s opening day loss versus Cincinnati on Thursday.

Thompson-Robinson’s night started off poorly when he fumbled the ball on the team’s first possession of the half and it did not get much better after that.

The turnover ultimately culminated in the Bearcats going up 7-0 and then, after a Sam Crossa field goal, 10-0.

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Things looked like they might be turning for the better with about eight minutes remaining in the second quarter when Thompson-Robinson connected with Demetric Felton on a 75-yarder that cut the lead to three.

That 75-yarder was far more the result of Felton than anything Thompson-Robinson did, though, as he was the one who took a short pass the distance.

Thompson-Robinson, meanwhile, went 2-for-7 in the first half after initially starting out 3-for-4.

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The second half was no kinder to the UCLA quarterback.

Thompson-Robinson went 3-for-15 in the second half and completed only five of his last 22 passes in the game.

DTR ain’t it.

— Andrew Ungvari (@DrewUnga) August 29, 2019

UCLA would ultimately lose the game 24-14.

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The Bruins have a lot of issues – coaching and general roster composition being a couple of big ones. But no problem is bigger than the one they have at quarterback.

Very few people believed that Thompson-Robinson was the answer for UCLA, and yet the team chose not to address this issue.

Again, it needs to be said: Thompson-Robinson is literally the only guy who could not beat out Tate Martell for a starting job when the two were in high school together.

How will UCLA fix what ails them? There is no easy solution, but there is an obvious first step – get a new quarterback.

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Michael Kyaw

Michael Kyaw, initially a PR Manager, built up a valuable network of connections in the sports world that he then utilized to become an influential sports business reporter. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, Fansided, ESPN and the Wall Street Journal.