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. 79 JOE DRAKE
With it being the 79th day until kickoff between the Lobos and Wildcats, the best player to wear No. 79 for Arizona is nose tackle Joe Drake, who excelled at Arizona from 1981 to 1984. He was part of two safeties when Arizona beat ASU 28-18 in 1982, keeping the Sun Devils out of the Rose Bowl. Drake had the first of the safeties 15 seconds into the third quarter when running back Darryl Clack was pulled down in the end zone. Drake, who played at 6-2 and 300 pounds, altered the path of running back Dwaine Wright in the fourth quarter, allowing linebacker Glenn Perkins to close in and get Arizona’s second safety of the game. Drake had another significant tackle against ASU the following season in Tempe, stopping ASU quarterback Todd Hons one yard from the goal-line on a two-point conversion try. The play kept ASU’s lead at 15-14 and provided the opportunity for Max Zendejas to convert his 45-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. Drake was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the ninth round of the 1985 NFL draft. He played for two seasons in the NFL for the Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. He passed away in 1994 at age 31 because of a heart attack.
NO. 79 IN 2024 — OT RAYMOND PULIDO
Pulido, 6-foot-6 and 335 pounds, is a significant second-year talent who stuck with Arizona and Brent Brennan and new offensive line coach Josh Oglesby after the coaching change during the offseason. He appeared in six games last season, making five starts during his first year with the Wildcats. A key part of an offensive line that helped pave the way for the 20th-ranked total offense (448.0), eighth-ranked passing offense (308.3), and 18th-ranked scoring offense in the nation (34.6 ppg). He helped the Wildcats finish fifth in the nation in red zone offense (93.0 percent), eighth in third-down conversion percentage (48.8 percent), tied for 14th nationally in fourth-down conversion percentage (66.7 percent), and 10th in team passing efficiency (164.97).
NOTE
Highest Graded Returning Big 12 Defensive Tackles pic.twitter.com/zjIulWvHAv
— PFF College (@PFF_College) June 13, 2024
Syracuse graduate transfer Kevon Darton, who played for Arizona offensive coordinator Dino Babers with the Orange when Babers was the head coach there, is rated one of the top 10 defensive tackles in the Big 12 by Pro Football Focus. In his Orange four-year career, the Massachusetts native recorded 110 total tackles, 55 solo tackles, 12 tackles for loss, five sacks and one forced fumble. He started all 13 games at nose tackle last year with Syracuse, finishing with 42 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks
THEY SAID IT
“He is not average. He’s above that. I would say we have a really good quarterback and we’re excited for the things we can do with him.” — Babers commenting about QB Noah Fifita.
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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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