TUCSON, Ariz. -- Some of what Arizona Wildcats quarterback Anu Solomon has done is quantifiable.
He is the national leader among freshmen in attempts (239), completions (402), yards (2,816), yards per game (312.9) and touchdowns (25). He has four games with at least four touchdown passes. So, if nothing else, we know he's passed a lot, and usually pretty well.
Then there are the things that are harder to grasp. Is he getting the team into the right play? Is he making the right give-keep decisions after the snap? Is he making the right reads down field?
Coach Rich Rodriguez says, "Yes."
"His awareness of the system right now as a redshirt freshman is at a high level," Rodriguez said. "The exciting part is that he'll keep getting better."
Only a handful of freshman quarterbacks -- redshirt or otherwise -- have started every game this season for a Power 5 conference school. Solomon is one. Then there's Ohio State's J.T. Barrett, Miami's Brad Kaaya and Wake Forest's Wake Wolford. Clemson's Deshaun Watson and Texas A&M's Kyle Allen are other first-year players who are emerging as part of the next wave of quarterbacks.
Some of those other freshmen might have more dynamic physical skills, but the best part of Solomon's game has been that he has used that awareness Rodriguez spoke of to be as mistake-free as you could hope for from a freshman quarterback.
Arizona took advantage of four turnovers -- two interceptions and two fumbles -- by Colorado sophomore quarterback Sefo Liufau last Saturday, turning each into touchdowns. Afterward, Buffs coach Mike MacIntyre said "you have to kind of roll with" the ups and down of a young quarterback.
Arizona hasn't. When Solomon has been down, he hasn't been turnover-prone. He has thrown only five interceptions -- his 5-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio is one of the best in the nation -- and he has not fumbled. For a 7-2 team that has played so many close games, Solomon's contribution to a 59-3 edge in points off turnovers has been critical.
"I've played some freshmen or redshirt freshmen before, and he's as sharp or sharper at this point with understanding the system and scheme were going against as anyone I've coached," Rodriguez said.
Solomon needs to be sharp and careful with the ball this week against Washington. The Huskies lead the nation with seven defensive touchdowns.
Arizona has already faced UCLA linebacker/running back Myles Jack. Now, the Wildcats will face Washington's two-way star, Shaq Thompson.
Thompson has started the past two games at running back, rushing for more than 100 yards each time, but Huskies coach Chris Petersen said Monday at his weekly press conference that Thompson (6-foot-1, 228 pounds) will start at linebacker this week, although the junior could still get 15 or so carries.
"He's a tough runner, hard runner," said Arizona senior safety Jared Tevis. "We have to gang tackle and make him pay for being on the offensive side of the ball."
Arizona sophomore Scooby Wright, who like Thompson is having an All-American kind of season of linebacker, said recently he kind of missed his high school running back days. Rodriguez said there were a couple of practices last season when he had Wright and jumbo-sized linebacker Derrick Turituri at running back.
UP NEXT: Arizona (7-2) vs. Washington (6-4)
When: Saturday, 1:30 p.m. MT
Where: Arizona Stadium, Tucson
TV: FOX (Gus Johnson, Charles Davis)
"I think it teased them enough that they thought maybe it would happen in the future," Rodriguez said. "But he (Wright) is playing so many plays on defense right now that we haven't brought him over. Maybe in the future. We'll see. If I ever tell them that, though, they'll be bugging me until the end of time."
Wright is doing fine where he is. He has made 107 tackles, including 20.5 for loss and 13 sacks. He also has caused five fumbles. Bruce Feldman of FOXSports.com has Wright as No. 5 on his Heisman list this week.
Sophomore cornerback Devin Holiday, who was slowed in camp and through the early part of the season because of a back injury, appeared in only his second game of the season Saturday night, filling in for Cam Denson, who left with an injury. Holiday came up with a key interception early in the fourth quarter.
"You would have seen more of Devin throughout the year if he had been healthier," Rodriguez said. "Now, with our injury situation defensively, he had to play, he had to go in there. I'm proud of how he competed. He's a good football player. We need him."
Rodriguez said about 20 to 25 players were on the team's injury list Monday morning. The status of Denson and starting cornerback Jarvis McCall, who has missed the past two games because of a shoulder injury, will be updated by Arizona on Thursday.
Follow Anthony Gimino on Twitter
