The following is the All-Decade Team for Arizona football from 2010-19, a decade that included three different head coaches and a Pac-12 South title in 2014. Input from fans via polls assisted our selection of the team.
OFFENSE
First Team
QB: Nick Foles (2010-11)
Foles was an Honorable Mention All-Pac 12 selection in 2011 after throwing for a single-season school record 4,334 yards and 28 touchdowns for the Wildcats. The three-year starter also broke the Arizona record for attempts (560) and completions (387) in 2011 and finished the year with a 69.1 completion percentage. Foles is the Wildcats’ career leading passer with 10,011 yards and is tied for the lead on the school’s all-time list with 67 touchdown passes. He also holds the school record for career attempts (1,369), completions (933) and total offense (9,722). Now with the Jacksonville Jaguars after being the Super Bowl MVP in Philadelphia’s win over New England two years ago.
RB: Ka’Deem Carey (2010-13)
Finished his senior season of 2013 with 1,885 yards (No. 3 nationally) on 349 carries and 19 touchdowns. Averaged 157.1 yards per game (No. 2 nationally) and 5.4 yards per carry. Averaged 29.08 carries per game to lead the nation. He had 16 straight games in which he eclipsed the century mark, the longest streak in Pac-12 history and the longest for any FBS player in the last 10 seasons. His 5,483 all-purpose yards are an Arizona srecord, surpassing Dennis Northcutt’s 5,392 yards (1996-99) . Became the school’s all-time rushing leader with 4,239 yards, surpassing Trung Canidate’s 3,824 yards set from 1996-99. His 52 touchdowns broke Art Luppino’s school record (48) previously set from 1953-56. Played with Calgary of the CFL in 2019 after playing in the NFL with the Chicago Bears.
RB: J.J. Taylor (2017-19)
Taylor, a junior who was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2018, ran for 721 yards and five touchdowns as a senior in 2019. He missed time with an injury, but still managed to average 4.9 yards per carry. Taylor also had a career-high 32 catches for 289 yards . The running back from Corona, Calif., finished his career with 4,764 all-purpose yards, which ranks seventh at Arizona. Declared for the NFL draft.
WR: Juron Criner (2010-11)
Criner, the favorite target of Foles while at Arizona, is the fourth-leading receiver in Wildcats history with 2,859 career yards from 2008 to 2011. He holds the school record with 32 touchdown receptions. He was chosen in the first round (No. 168 overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft by Oakland, but had a limited career, catching 19 passes for 183 yards and one touchdown in 17 games with the Raiders. He spent the 2014 season on the New York Giants practice squad before being released before the 2015 season. He recently has played in the CFL, including in 2016 with Ottawa, which won the Grey Cup that year.
WR: Shawn Poindexter (2016-18)
Played in 35 career games, starting all 25 over his final two seasons. Hauled in 67 receptions for 1,135 yards and 12 touchdowns and averaged 16.9 yards per catch in career. Concluded career tied for 14th in school history with 12 touchdowns. His 11 scoring grabs in 2018 tied the school single-season record. Caught at least one pass in final 15 games of career. An undrafted free agent with the 49ers, Poindexter suffered a torn ACL in Auguez and missed this season.
WR: Austin Hill (2011-14)
Caught the famous Hail Mary pass from Anu Solomon that completed an improbable comeback victory against California at Arizona Stadium in 2014. The play was dubbed the “Hill Mary.” Hill was an All-Pac-12 second-team selection in 2012 after amassing 81 catches for 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns. After missing 2013 with a torn ACL, he had 49 catches for 635 yards and four touchdowns as a senior in 2014. He had stints with the Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots and then-St. Louis Rams but never made an active roster.
Offensive Line
OT: Adam Grant (2010) and Layth Friekh (2015-18). OG: Jacob Alsadek (2014-17) and Freddie Tagaloa (2015-16). C: Kyle Quinn (2010-11)
Grant was an All-Pac-10 second team selection in 2010. He signed as a free agent with Denver and Buffalo and played briefly with the Bills in 2012. … Friekh helped Arizona lead the Pac-12 in rushing offense in each of final three seasons (2016-18). … Alsadek received first-team All-Pac-12 honors as a senior in 2017. He signed with the Packers and Cowboys but did not make the active roster. … Tagaloa was limited to 17 games over two seasons at Arizona. He started four games at left tackle and four at left guard in 2015, and nine games at left guard in 2016. Signed with the Vikings in 2017 but did not make the active roster. … Quinn started 42 games at center and was a two-time All-Pac-12 selection who played with Foles. He went into coaching after playing at Arizona.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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