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. 16 ORTEGE JENKINS
With it being the 16th day until kickoff between the Lobos and Wildcats, the best player to wear No. 16 for Arizona is quarterback Ortege Jenkins, known of his “Leap by the Lake,” touchdown late in win at Washington in 1998. Jenkins was a gifted playmaker who split his time with Keith Smith. We are not sure what could have happened if he was given full reign of the offense, but what he did for the most part was solid. Scenario of the Leap by the Lake … Arizona had the ball at the Washington 9, down 28-24, with 12 seconds left. Arizona coach Dick Tomey was out of timeouts. Jenkins ran out of options and scrambled up the middle and went airborne at about the 3 when confronted with a trio of Huskies. The defenders hit Jenkins low, sending him head over heels, nearly landing on his feet in the end zone. Tomey mentioned it was the most unbelievable ending he ever saw. Jenkins is a regular at Arizona alumni events. He has owned 1 Body Strength and Conditioning LLC based out of Long Beach, Calif., since 2013. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Arizona in applied science (human development, family studies and related services) in 2001. Another top No. 16 for Arizona is former quarterback Dan White, a transfer from Penn State who went 3-0 against Arizona State in his career.
NO. 16 IN 2024 — WR CHRIS HUNTER & DB GAVIN HUNTER
Hunter, 6-foot-1 and 192 pounds, is in his third year in the program. He saw action in five games including the Valero Alamo Bowl 38-24 win over No. 12 Oklahoma during the 2023 season. He made the Pac-12 Fall Academic Honor Roll. He hails from Isodore Newman High School in New Orleans. He made 26 receptions for 420 yards and four touchdowns over three seasons for Newman.
Gavin Hunter, 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, appeared in one game and made one tackle against Northern Arizona on special teams during the 2023 season as a freshman. He attended Mililani High School in Mililani, Hawai’i and was named to the Polynesian Bowl roster. He was a 3-star prospect who had offers from Oregon State, San Diego State and Utah State.
NOTE
Many might be confused with the term “Stars” in the Arizona defensive backfield. The ‘star” is a hybrid safety type that could play outside linebacker. He essentially roams to a wider area on the field in nickel packages. Brett Arce is Arizona’s “Stars” coach. He coached the safeties and nickelbacks in Jedd Fisch’s three seasons at Arizona.
THEY SAID IT
“Coach (Duane) Akina always says, we’re trying to build a better mousetrap. If we have a special weapon, we’re gonna fire them.” — Arce, who has plenty of weapons with the defensive backfield a strength with returners such as Treydan Stukes, Gunner Maldonado, Dalton Johnson, Genesis Smith and Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine and newcomers Jack Luttrell and Owen Goss.
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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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