The 2018 season felt like what the first year under a new coach typically feels like. There were bumps in the road and those bumps came early with quarterback Khalil Tate injuring his ankle in the second game of the season and things unraveled to open the year. It eventually led to Tate having to sit out when the team went to play UCLA on the road.

The Los Angeles native went into his junior year with all the hype a quarterback could have. There were members of the national media touting him as a Heisman Trophy candidate and he was the face of the program. Tate was riding high and that quickly took a turn once the season started.

Heading into the season opener against Hawaii in 10 days the hype is not as great, the expectations are not as high but that might not be the worst thing for Tate and Arizona. Sports can be humbling and it doesn't take long for the pendulum to swing the other direction.

Tate found that out last season as the support turned to criticism and he had to learn to adapt on the fly. At times his demeanor came off as prickly with short answers after losses with some animosity to them.

As the last few weeks have unfolded there has been a new sense of leadership coming from the senior quarterback. His teammates see it, his coaches do too. And, they aren't afraid to talk about it.

That didn't quite happen organically. It's something that took a change and effort from Tate and has come with maturing and knowing there is one last season to prove what needs to to make the game into a career.

“We’ve talked a lot more this year just about life,” UA head coach Kevin Sumlin said. “Then if it’s football related just about how you handle those things. It couldn’t have been a higher peak coming in here last year with talk about winning the Heisman and everything else. Then it couldn’t be lower than being in your hometown in street clothes not being able to help your teammates and watching us lose by one point. Knowing that if he’s healthy who knows what that looks like?

"All those things go into maturity and growth. How you handle that. I think those experiences really kind of drove him in the offseason with how he approached the offseason.”

Tate went into the 2018 season coming off a much-talked about sophomore campaign that brought him plenty of attention as a runner and playmaker. The 2019 season brought a different look. He was throwing the ball much more and running far less than anyone could have anticipated.

The quarterback who ran for 327 yards in one game against Colorado back in 2017 ran for just 224 yards in all of 2018. Fans and media looked for someone to blame. The new coaching staff, the coach calling the plays, Tate himself.

It brought plenty of negativity to what seemed like the perfect type of situation heading into the season. Tate had to take a lot of that criticism head on and there were moments when he didn't seem quite ready.

Now he is and he understands how much being a quarterback also means dealing with the positives and negatives. He credits the people closest to him for helping him to understand that but also push through and end up in a better spot heading into his final season.

"I think it comes with really taking losses," he said about his approach in the offseason. "When you take losses you actually understand, first, you see who's around you. Who stays around. And, also, you see how much better you can do. I thank my family for staying together, staying with me in that time when it was a rough situation.

"Everybody around me did a great job of making sure that I was still healthy mentally and really being on my side."

All of the things that Tate did off the field to become a better leader and become someone teammates trusted not only to hold them accountable but to also hold him accountable is only part of the story. All of that is well and good, but fans care about wins and losses and the production on the field.

The growth outside the lines has also seemed to have helped him when he steps on the field, however. The hope is that he can settle in as an all-around player at his position to set the team up for success.

"This season. as opposed to last camp, I really think he's attacked it more as a quarterback instead of just being a playmaker," offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said last week. "... So that's been good for us."

As for those post-game questions after losses? Well, Tate just hopes that his personal development and the team's progress will mean he doesn't have to answer them avoiding the situation altogether.

"Hopefully we'll get more wins," he said. "I think with the wins you guys (media) ask easier questions, in my opinion. So, with the wins I think that will die down."

The Wildcats open the season Aug. 24 when they travel to Hawaii.