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. 42 HANK “BIRDLEGS” STANTON
With it being the 42nd day until kickoff between the Lobos and Wildcats, the best player to wear No. 42 for Arizona is split end Hank “Birdlegs” Stanton, who played with the Wildcats from 1939-41. He is an Arizona Hall of Famer who was a first team Little All-American in 1941 and All-Border Conference pick in 1940 and 1941. He was also named to Rocky Mountain area (NCAA District 7) all-time team. He once held the national record for most receptions in a season with 50 and for receiving yards in a season with 820 in 1941. He held the record for number of receptions for eight years and the record for receiving yards for 20 years. A talented athlete, he also led the 1940-41 baseball team with a .367 batting average. He played football for a professional team called the New York Yankees from 1946 to 1947. He later served as an ends coach at both Arizona State and Arizona, retiring from his position with the Wildcats in 1955 to take a job with the sales department of the Arizona Portland Cement Co. in Phoenix. He passed away from an apparent heart attack at his Phoenix home in 1975 at age 54. Another No. 42 worth mentioning is former defensive end Brooks Reed, a Sabino graduate who was an All-Pac-10 selection in 2010 and went to play in the NFL.
NO. 42 IN 2024 — DE DOMINIC LOLESIO
Lolesio, 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, played in only four games, including the Alamo Bowl, last season which enabled him to keep his redshirt year. He played for powerhouse Long Beach Poly High School in Long Beach, Calif. He made 89 total tackles (53 solo, 36 assists) over two seasons (20 games on varsity). He averaged 4.5 tackles per game and recorded 26.0 tackles for loss. He posted 8.5 sacks for a loss of 41 yards, averaging 0.4 sacks per game and notched 19 quarterback hurries. A three-star prospect per 247Sports who had offers from Washington State, Colorado and San Jose State (when Brennan coached there).
NOTE
Arizona’s biggest question mark going into the 2024 season. Its defensive line. Arizona does not return a full-time starter from last season. The Wildcats did well in this area in the transfer portal with the additions of Stanley Ta’ufo’ou from USC, Kevon Darton from Syracuse, Tre Smith Jr. from San Jose State and Chubba Ma’ae from UC Davis. Ta’ita’i Uiagalelei, who appeared in all 14 games for the Wildcats with one start last season, is the lone projected starter with experience at Arizona.
THEY SAID IT
the range of talents here pic.twitter.com/XT9YgA8KLX
— Arizona Athletics (@AZATHLETICS) July 19, 2024
“Honestly, a gold medal at like getting cozy. You know what I’m saying? Like, getting cozy after a shower. Getting comfy. Pants, sweatshirt on, just chilling on the couch. Big guy at that, absolutely. Yeah.” — Arizona offensive lineman Josh Baker on what he would win a gold medal at the Olympics.
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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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