TUCSON, Ariz. – If things go like they normally do for Brandon Dawkins, around the second, maybe third quarter Friday night, he'll become Arizona's all-time leading rusher for a quarterback.
 
The redshirt junior enters Friday night's game versus Utah with 1,374 yards on the ground. He needs just 46 more rushing yards to pass Ronald Veal for the most rushing yards ever by an Arizona quarterback. Veal rushed for 1,419 yards and 27 touchdowns in his Arizona career.
 
Dawkins, who has 15 career rushing scores, still has plenty of work to do to catch Veal's touchdown record. But Dawkins, who is averaging 83.7 rushing yards through the first three games this season, should be able to catch Veal in yards.
 
Last week against UTEP, Dawkins recorded his fourth career 100-yard game, rushing for 133 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 carries. He averaged 9.5 yards per carry and also went 18 for 21 through the air for 155 yards and three touchdowns. His six total touchdowns were the most by an Arizona player since quarterback Willie Tuitama had five passing touchdowns and one rushing score in 2007.
 
The three passing touchdowns established a new high for Dawkins and the three rushing touchdowns tied his best. It was an all-around good performance for Dawkins in a nationally televised showcase game at UTEP.
 
"We challenged our whole offense in particular the quarterback position to execute a little better, to see the field more, and I thought Brandon did that," coach Rich Rodriguez said after the UTEP game. "He's a very competitive runner and I thought he showed that again. He made some nice throws as well. He made some good decisions and was seeing the field well. You could tell during the week he felt like he had something to prove. I thought he played pretty well. It was the best game he's played this year."
 
In Week 2 against Houston, Dawkins didn't have his finest game and said he felt he missed some throws and could have executed Rodriguez's offense better. Following that game, Dawkins worked with the coaching staff to properly prepare for the UTEP game and it paid off with his stellar performance.
 
"He probably heard a lot of the stuff last week; he's more competitive than he lets on because he's a happy-go-lucky type of personality," Rodriguez said. "But I could sense during the week and warmups, and even during the game, that he had a focus like 'I'm going to prove myself all over again.' But I want them to have that all of the time. It doesn't matter if you get challenged the week before or you don't. If you're a competitor, you've got to have that same mindset all of the time.
 
"Knowing Brandon, I think he'll do that."
 
That's the goal now for Dawkins, who will lead his team against the 23^rd-ranked Utes Friday night at 7:30 p.m., on Fox Sports 1. Last year against Utah, Dawkins found Shun Brown for a 75-yard touchdown pass on the first snap of the game. He accounted for 292 yards and two touchdowns against Utah before being forced to leave with an injury.
  Senior Jack Banda entered the year with five career sacks and 21 total tackles over three seasons. He played in all 25 games over the past two seasons on defense and special teams and served as a game captain against Houston this year.
 
Last week though, with the Cats a little thin at tight end, he approached Rodriguez and co-offensive coordinator Calvin Magee about helping out on offense. The coaches gladly accepted his help and moved him to tight end for the UTEP game. He caught a 10-yard pass, much to the delight of the Arizona sideline. After the game, the team chanted his last name over and over again in the winning locker room.
 
"He actually came to us about it. He was still playing some at defensive end and on special teams but he wasn't in the regular rotation," Rodriguez said. "He went to Coach Magee and explained he played tight end in high school. After two to three days' worth of teaching and practice, he learned very quickly. We threw him in there and I think we found a home for him. I will still like to see him on special teams, but this is probably where he will finish his career here. He will get some normal time at tight end."