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. 6 CHUCK CECIL
With it being the 6th day until kickoff between the Lobos and Wildcats, the best player for Arizona to wear No. 6 was heat-seeking missle safety Chuck Cecil, who walked on and the played with the Wildcats from 1984 to 1987. A two-time First Team Academic All-America selection (1986-87), Cecil played first under Larry Smith his first three seasons and Dick Tomey for his final year. He began as a recruited walk-on from Helix High School in San Diego, Calif., and finished his Arizona career as one of the Pac-10’s noted and fearless safeties before later being inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009. A consensus All-American in 1987, Cecil was the Aloha Bowl MVP and a two-time first-team all-conference selection, plus earned second-team honors as a sophomore. He was named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 1987. Off the field Cecil was a three-time Pac-10 All-Academic selection and culminated his education as a recipient of the NCAA VI Award, one of the nation’s top scholar-athlete citations. He was named Arizona’s male winner of the Pac-10 Conference Medal. Cecil. who will turn 60 in November, finished his Arizona career with the then No. 1 mark in passes defended, 38. He led the Wildcats with 80 solo tackles his senior year and also posted the school record that season with four interceptions at Stanford. Today, Cecil still ranks No. 7 on Arizona’s all-time tackles chart with a total of 392. Additionally, he holds the Arizona career record with 21 interceptions and among those returned one 100 yards for a touchdown against Arizona State in 1986, the best play in Arizona history. After his storied collegiate career, Cecil was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 1988 NFL Draft. He played in Green Bay through the 1992 season when he was voted to the 1993 NFL Pro Bowl, before moving on to the Phoenix Cardinals in 1993 and later the Houston Oilers for the 1995 season. The safety finished a seven-year professional career with 461 tackles, 16 interceptions and one touchdown. He coached in the NFL from 2001 to 2016 before joining the Arizona staff in 2018. He was named senior defensive assistant, offense this season by Brennan after serving as defensive backs coach from 2020-23 following four seasons as a senior defensive analyst and interim defensive coordinator.
NO. 6 IN 2024 — LB TAYE BROWN & WR AJ JONES
Brown, 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, is a sophomore who graduated from Chandler Hamilton High School. He appeared in all 13 games last season as a true freshman. He appeared in all 13 games on defense and special teams. Made six total tackles (two solo, four assists) at linebacker. Finished with one quarterback hurry and one pass breakup against Arizona State on Nov. 25. A dual-threat athlete who played outside linebacker and tight end at Hamilton. He appeared in 31 games on varsity, making 181 total tackles (94 solo, 87 assists), averaging 5.8 tackles per game and notching 18.0 tackles for loss. Recorded 16.0 sacks for loss of 32 yards. A 3-star prospect per 247Sports with offers from Kansas State, San Diego State, Air Force, Idaho, Idaho State and New Mexico State.
Jones, 6-foot-4 and 211 pounds, is a third-year sophomoure who appeared in 10 games last season. Made five receptions for 27 yards with a long of 14 yards. Posted season-high 17 yards on two receptions at Washington State. He graduated from Colony High School in Ontario, Calif., as a 3-star recruit by Rivals and 247Sports. Pulled in 19 receptions for 521 yards and four touchdowns to help Colony to an 8-7 record and a playoff appearance as a senior. His father Tony played Division II football at Clark University in Atlanta.
NOTE
GOAZCATS.com had a report Saturday of Arizona Class of 2025 quarterback recruit Robert McDaniel, who will join the program for the spring semester. He is a senior at Hughson (Calif.) High School. During the summer, he was a standout at the Elite 11 event in Los Angeles. He opened his senior season Friday night with a three-touchdown performance. Two of the touchdown passes were caught by his brother Bryce. McDaniel has kept in touch with the Arizona coaching staff throughout his offseason, and the message from the Wildcats has been to continue to build his leadership as he is now only months away from joining the program at a key position.
THEY SAID IT
“The biggest thing I took from the Elite 11 is being a better teammate. A lot of stuff I learned I’m taking back from the Elite 11 and being able to cherish these moments especially with the little time I’m going to be here (in high school) and cherish that with my guys. It was great to see the staff again (visiting Tucson after the Elite 11). Being able to bond with the team and see everything out again. It was great to build that relationship over that week. We’re building that relationship over the phone.” — McDaniel
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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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