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. 12 TOM TUNNICLIFFE
Former Arizona Hall of Fame QB, Tom Tunnicliffe, cheering on @ArizonaMBB in the last home game of the season! pic.twitter.com/3axFoqzMnU
— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) March 2, 2024
With it being the 12th day until kickoff between the Lobos and Wildcats, the best player for Arizona to wear No. 12 was quarterback Tom “Terrific” Tunnicliffe, who admirably helped lead the Wildcats into the Pac-10 from 1980-83. Tunnicliffe, an Arizona Hall of Famer, passed for 7,618 yards in his career, the fourth-best figure in Pac-10 history at the time, throwing for more than 100 yards in his final 26 games. He was the Arizona record-holder in career total offense and passing and has the top two season totals in those categories. His single-game total of 427 passing yards (21 of 28 for six touchdowns) in 1982 against Pacific was an Arizona record and earned National Player of the Week honors. He led the Wildcats to several of their most memorable victories (UCLA in ’80, USC in ’81, Notre Dame and ASU in ’82, and UCLA in ’83) and in 1983 was honorable mention All-American. Tunnicliffe is now the owner of Burbank (Calif.) Fitness Club. After his playing career at Arizona, Tunnicliffe became the president of his father’s real estate development company in the Burbank area. Another memorable No. 12 — quarterback Eddie Wilson, an Arizona Hall of Famer who was a third-team All-American in 1961 when the Wildcats finished 8-1-1. Wilson was also Arizona’s most prolific passer in the NFL before Nick Foles arrived.
NO. 12 IN 2024 — S GENESIS SMITH & QB COLE TANNEBAUM
Smith, 6-foot-2 and 203 pounds, appeared in all 13 games on defense and special teams last year as a true freshman. He made 24 tackles (13 solo, 11 assists) with one interception and posted season-high five tackles (three solo, two assists) against Washington on Sept. 30. Recorded one tackle and his first-career interception against No. 12 Oklahoma in the Valero Alamo Bowl. He attended Chandler Hamilton High School and was a three-year performer on the varsity team that made 103 total tackles over 24 games (62 solo, 41 assists). Finished with 16 interceptions during his high school career. Rated a 3-star safety with offers from Arizona State, Air Force, Army, Colorado State, Florida A&M, Iowa State, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, Ohio, Oregon State, Rice, San Diego State, Tulane, UNLV, Utah State, Washington, Washington State, and Yale.
Tannebaum, 6-4 and 201 pounds, is a third-year sophomore who made one appearance against Arizona State (taking the knee to finish off a 59-23 win over the Sun Devils in the Territorial Cup). He did not make an appearance during the 2022 season. He came to Arizona from Oaks Christian High School out of Los Angeles. He appeared in 24 games over three seasons and completed 298 of 529 pass attempts for 3,388 yards and 26 touchdowns.
NOTE
The use of tablets is allowed to view in-game video this season in college football. The teams are allowed to use up to 18 tablets in the coaching booth, sideline and locker room. Arizona tested the use of the tablets during Saturday’s practice.
THEY SAID IT
“It’s new for us, too. How do we get reps doing that? We just built it into the practice plan. I thought it was good. I think it has a chance for some of those adjustments to happen a little faster because you have an exact picture of what you think you saw. I think there is value in that and I think especially with the communication from the coaches who are upstairs and what they see, I think it’s going to be good.” — Brennan said of the use of the tablets.
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
