FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER!
[rps-paypal]
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE
[ezcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]
All week leading up to Saturday — when Arizona plays New Mexico in the New Mexico Bowl at Albuquerque — AllSportsTucson.com will continue to run an Arizona All-Bowl team comprised of players at each position that performed the best in the postseason. We’re honoring defensive linemen. Next will be the linebackers. You can access our previous selections by continuing in the slideshow (click on “Next”).
ARIZONA ALL-BOWL TEAM
Defensive Line
First Team — Tedy Bruschi, 1994 Fiesta Bowl and 1994 Freedom Bowl
Recorded a sack and was named the Defensive MVP in Arizona’s 29-0 win over Miami in the 1994 Fiesta Bowl. In the following season, Bruschi was also the Defensive MVP of the Freedom Bowl against Utah with three sacks.
[/ezcol_1half]
[ezcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””]
Site founder and award-winning sports journalist Javier Morales has published his first e-book, “The Highest Form of Living”, a fiction piece about a young man who overcomes a troubled upbringing without his lost father and wayward mother through basketball and hope. His hope is realized through the sport he loves. Basketball enables him to get past his fears. His experience on the court indirectly brings him closer to his parents in a unique, heartfelt way. Please order it at Amazon (for only $4.99) by clicking on the photo:
[/ezcol_1half_end]
First Team — Ty Parten, 1989 Copper Bowl vs. North Carolina State and 1992 John Hancock Bowl vs. Baylor
Parten, only a freshman, prevented North Carolina State running back Aubrey Shaw from converting a fourth-and-one at the Arizona 26 with 3:03 remaining and the Wildcats clinging to their 17-10 lead (the final margin). Donnie Salum, a linebacker, was also in on the tackle. Parten later became a founding father of the Desert Swarm defense as a senior in 1992, leading a defense that limited Baylor to only 47 yards rushing on 43 carries in the John Hancock Bowl.
First Team — Jim Birmingham, 1985 Sun Bowl vs. Georgia and 1986 Aloha Bowl vs. North Carolina
Birmingham recorded seven tackles in the 13-13 tie with Georga in the Sun Bowl. The following season, he recovered a fumbled in the victory over the Tar Heels in Honolulu.
First Team — Jimmie Hopkins, 1994 Fiesta Bowl vs. Miami
The defensive end was a big part of the Desert Swarm’s success against the Hurricanes leading the Wildcats with two sacks.
CLICK ON THE NEXT ARROW TO CONTINUE IN THE SLIDESHOW