To get ready for the upcoming Arizona football season, All Sports Tucson offers a countdown, which will include history notes and a look ahead to the season — a good way to keep Arizona football on the mind in the summer months leading up to fall camp in early August and then kickoff against New Mexico on Aug. 31 in the start of the Brent Brennan era.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS PREVIOUS DAYS IN THE COUNTDOWN
A LOOK BACK — NO. 98 LAMONTE HUNLEY
With it being the 98th day until kickoff between the Lobos and Wildcats, the best player to wear No. 98 for Arizona is linebacker LaMonte Hunley, who starred for the Wildcats from 1981 to 1984, playing with his brother Ricky — the greatest Arizona player in history — during most of that time. LaMonte made a name for himself as a third-team All-American as a senior. He finished with 400 career tackles. He played three seasons for the Indianapolis Colts and one for the Miami Dolphins in the NFL. He started his fitness equipment sales business nearly 40 years ago called Arizona Health, LLC, which is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of 22nd Street and Wilmot Road.
NO. 98 IN 2024
No player is listed with No. 98 on Arizona’s roster for 2024.
NOTE
Arizona has added a commitment from former New Mexico offensive lineman Shancco (Ise) Matautia, who played for new Wildcats’ linebackers coach Danny Gonzales (the Lobos’ former head coach). The 6-foot-2, 346-pound redshirt junior from California made 11 starts at right guard for New Mexico last season. He played in all 12 games. He’s made 21 starts throughout his career. He transferred to ASU in the winter and participated in the Sun Devils’ spring practice. He is an alum of Anaheim (Calif.) Servite, giving him a connection with former high school teammates Noah Fifita, Tetaiora McMillan, Jacob Manu and Keyan Burnett. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
THEY SAID IT
“I hope anybody that comes around our program can feel that it’s a great place to be, that it’s a fun place to be, and it’s an exciting place to be and that the people care about each other. I think everybody says ‘family,’ and I don’t think it’s real in most places but it’s real here.” – Arizona coach Brent Brennan.
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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. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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