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. 13 MAX ZENDEJAS
With it being the 13th day until kickoff between the Lobos and Wildcats, the best player for Arizona to wear No. 13 was Max Zendejas, Mr. Clutch who made historic field goals against Notre Dame and Arizona State in his career from 1982-85. The Arizona Hall of Famer made a 48-yard field goal against the wind as time expired at Notre Dame gave Arizona a 16-13 victory in 1982. That kick earned him The Sporting News national play of the week. He placed fifth in the nation in field-goal percentage in 1983, seventh in 1984, and third in 1985. In 1983, he also was fifth in the nation in scoring. As the 1985 team MVP, he helped lead the Wildcats to a Sun Bowl appearance, where he was selected one of the game’s two MVPs. He was named a second-team All-America ( The Sporting News) and third-team All-America (Football News) in 1985; the Pac-10 Player of Week in 1985, after knocking three field goals through the uprights to beat Arizona State; second-team All-Pac-10 in 1983 and 1985; and was an honorable mention all-league selection in 1984. He booted game-winning field goals at Arizona State in 1983 and 1985. He also made a 57-yard field goal against the Sun Devils in 1985. Zendejas went on to play in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts from 1986-1990. Zendejas, 60, went on to own his own Mexican food restaurant adjacent to Arizona Stadium called “Zendejas 13” from 2010 and 2013. He then owned a company called Zemax Soccer based in Scottsdale. The company makes soccer balls. He also assists with AZ Kicking and Training that is based in Phoenix. The business is run by Alex Zendejas Sr., brother of Max and former Arizona State place-kicker Luis Zendejas. Former Arizona kicker Alex Zendejas Jr. is one of the AZ Kicking and Training’s coaches.
NO. 13 IN 2024 — WR DEVIN HYATT & S JACK LUTTRELL
Hyatt, 6-foot-2 and 184 pounds, is a redshirt freshman who prepped at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. He made 20 receptions for 410 yards and three touchdown catches over three seasons on varsity. He averaged 20.5 yards per catch and 24.1 yards per game with a long of 57 yards. Signed with the Wildcats on Feb. 1, 2023 and joined the team as a mid-year entry. Received offers from Auburn, Kentucky, Alabama, Coastal Carolina, Colorado, Florida State, Georgia, Louisville, Marshall, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, UCF, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia.
Luttrell, 6-foot and 180 pounds, is a transfer from Tennessee who figures to make an immediate impact with the program. He is a speedy and athletic redshirt freshman from Gainesville, Ga., located an hour northeast of Atlanta. Rated as a 3-star prospect by all major recruiting services. Named one of the top multi-position players in the state of Georgia for the 2022 season by AJC.com. Versatile throughout high school, logging 850 yards receiving, 495 yards rushing and 247 yards passing, while amassing 1,061 kickoff return yards and 280 punt return yards. On the defensive side, he had 211 tackles, including 103 his senior year, five interceptions and eight pass breakups.
NOTE
How many times did you say last year, “Great play by Tacario Davis but he should have intercepted the pass.”? Davis is a tall cornerback at 6-foot-4, a type of player at that position that Jedd Fisch and now Brennan want to attract. His length allowed him to break up 15 passes last season, which tied for fourth-best in the nation. Davis has worked diligently to improve catching the ball. He mentioned recently that he works with a Jugs machine and simulating his breaks while someone throws him the ball.
THEY SAID IT
“Catching the ball. Just finishing the play. Being there is not enough. One of the things we challenged him with is being a complete corner.” — Arizona cornerback coach Chip Viney on Davis’ focus coming into the season.
FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER!
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.
Recommended for you
