Twenty-six football players from Tucson high schools have been selected in the NFL draft, one for each letter of the alphabet. Sometime this week, Stanford linebacker Blake Martinez will become No. 27.
While it still has perfect symmetry, here’s how it breaks down, A through Z, and how Tucson’s top football players became farmers, musicians, artists and bank presidents:
A. John Black, 15th round, 1941, UA/Tucson High: Rather than accept $165 per game from the New York Giants, Black enlisted in the Navy and was soon aboard the USS Salamaua in the Pacific. “A Japanese kamikaze pilot crashed into the deck of our ship, killing 60 of my friends,” Black told me. Life after football: Black raised cattle in Missouri, sold insurance in Phoenix, beat lung and colon cancer, coached Phoenix Union to the state football championship and lived to be 85.
B. Fred W. Enke, seventh round, 1948, UA/Tucson High: After leading the NCAA in total offense in 1947, Enke, a Navy veteran of WWII, bypassed his final two seasons of eligibility to sign with the Detroit Lions. His agent was UA basketball teammate Mo Udall, who ran for the presidency in 1976. Udall charged Enke $300 for his services and insisted he be paid in $100 bills. Enke played quarterback for seven NFL seasons. Life after football: He owned and operated a large cotton farm near Maricopa.
C. Mark Arneson, second round, 1972, UA/Palo Verde High: A nine-year starting linebacker for the St. Louis Cardinals, Arneson had to ask UA defensive coordinator Sharky Price to recruit him in 1968. Arneson said he didn’t get a single recruiting letter from another school. Life after football: He is among those who have sued the NFL for physical damages ; Arneson says he suffered seven concussions. He lives near St. Louis and owns a carpet business.
D. Jim Arneson, 13th round, 1973, UA/Palo Verde High: Younger brother of Mark Arneson, Jim played two seasons on Dallas’ offensive line and another at Washington. In the ’73 Dallas-St. Louis game, the Cowboys sent Jim in specifically to block his brother. “Roger Staubach took Jim aside and said, ‘Isn’t that your brother over there?’” Mark said years later. “And when Jim nodded yes, Roger called a play that was designed for Jim to block me. I knew it was coming. We collided, helmet first. I can’t say I enjoyed it.” Life after football: He operates Arneson Development LLC in Phoenix.
E. Ransom Terrell, 15th round, 1974, UA/Amphi. A linebacker, Terrell was drafted by both the Cleveland Browns and the WFL’s Boston franchise. “What does being a two-time All-WAC player mean to the pros?” Terrell said. “They’ve never heard about the WAC and they don’t care about it.” He was released by Cleveland in August 1974. “I sat down and cried,” he said. Life after football: He was a stockbroker and worked in purchasing for a Las Vegas school district. He died at 60 in 2012.
F. Leonard Thompson, eighth round, 1975, Oklahoma State, Pueblo High: He was discovered at obscure Arizona Western College in Yuma by Oklahoma State coaches and went on to a 12-year career, all as a receiver for the Detroit Lions. Thompson caught 35 touchdown passes. Life after football: Has worked in private business in Phoenix.
G. Mike Dawson, first round, 1976, UA/Tucson High: The highest-drafted Tucsonan ever, Dawson, a defensive tackle, played 10 NFL seasons, mostly with St. Louis. On draft day 1976, he awoke at 6:30 a.m., but didn’t hear from St. Louis until almost noon. He was old school; his agent, ex-NFL lineman Ernie Wright, flew to Tucson and was taken by Dawson to interview with UA head coach Jim Young. Once approved by his coach, Dawson signed with Wright. Life after football: He operated Tucson’s first sports bar and ran a landscaping business. He died at 54 in 2008.
H. Brian Murray, 13th round, 1976, UA/Salpointe: The All-WAC offensive lineman was released by the Cleveland Browns a week before the 1976 season. He signed to play for the CFL Calgary Stampeders in ’77, but was killed in April of that year when he slipped and fell about 100 feet at Chivo Falls near Redington Pass. “I could write 10 pages about him,” said his former Salpointe coach, Jerry Davitch. “He was a special guy.”
I. John Mistler, third round, 1981, ASU/Sahuaro High: The prolific All-Pac-10 receiver rented a truck and towed his car from Tucson to New York for his rookie season. After stopping in Arkansas to drop off his brother Mark, a Razorback lineman, John drove to St. Louis to visit a grandmother. While there, his car and truck were stolen. Mistler played four seasons with the Giants and Bills. Life after football: He is a bank president in Phoenix and former football radio analyst.
J. Steve Doolittle, seventh round, 1981, Colorado/Amphitheater High: What position didn’t Doolittle play? He was everything from quarterback to linebacker at Amphi, and tight end, fullback, punter and linebacker at Colorado. He was drafted by the Bills, released, and signed with San Diego a year later. His signing bonus was $20,000. He did not play in an NFL regular-season game. Life after football: He runs a business-development firm in Los Angeles, where he is an officer in the NFL Alumni chapter.
K. Sam Merriman, seventh round, 1983, Idaho/Amphitheater High: The only Division I-AA player in the 1984 East-West Shrine Game, Merriman was a sideline-to-sideline linebacker who excelled at special teams in five seasons with Seattle. He watched the ’83 NFL draft at the home of Idaho head coach Dennis Erickson. “He knew I’d go crazy by myself,” said Merriman, “so he invited me over for breakfast.” Life after football: He coached high school football in the Seattle area for 14 years, but has returned to Tucson and is in the real estate business.
L. Riki Ellison, fifth round, 1983, USC/Amphitheater High: He grew up in Australia and didn’t play football until the ninth grade. Two knee surgeries at USC deflated his draft value, but he played for three Super Bowl champions with the San Francisco 49ers and married a USC song girl. Life after football: He is the founder and chairman of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance in Washington, D.C.
M. Vance Johnson, second round, 1985, UA/Cholla High: Although he lost his starting tailback job as a UA senior in 1984, Johnson impressed pro scouts by running a 4.36 time over 40 yards in the NFL Combine. Denver coach Dan Reeves said that was faster than his ex-Dallas teammate Bob Hayes, an Olympic gold medalist. As a receiver for Denver, Johnson caught 415 passes in 10 years. Life after football: He owned several restaurants in western Colorado and continues his lifetime avocation as an artist, selling paintings.
N. David Adams, 12th round, 1987, UA/Sunnyside High: Adams, who played at 5 feet 6 inches and 165 pounds, carried seven times for the Dallas Cowboys in 1987. He led the Pac-10 in rushing at Arizona and was an all-conference player after famously earning the team’s last available scholarship in 1982. Life after football: Adams is an entrepreneur in Tucson.
O. Rodney Peete, sixth round, 1989, USC/Sahuaro High: Although he finished No. 2 in the 1988 Heisman balloting, Peete’s draft stock plummeted after a bad game against Notre Dame and in two postseason All-Star games. “A day that was supposed to be one of the most exciting days of my life turned out to be the most devastating,” he said. He played 16 seasons for six teams. Life after football: He married actress Holly Peete and now stars in the TV show “For Peete’s Sake.”
P. John Fina, first round, 1992, UA/Salpointe High: Arizona football coach Dick Tomey scouted Fina in a high school basketball game and was satisfied he had the speed and frame to be a Pac-10 lineman. A few days before the ’92 draft, Fina’s agent phoned and said then-Cleveland Browns head coach Bill Belichick wanted him to work out the next day at Scottsdale Community College. Belichick worked Fina at every position on the offensive line, and then every position on the defensive line. He started 131 games in 12 years, mostly for Buffalo. Life after football: He is a Tucson businessman.
Q. Michael Bates, sixth round, 1992, UA/Amphitheater: Leaving the UA football team after two years to concentrate on the 1992 Barcelona Olympics (he won a bronze medal in the 200 meters), Bates did not commit to the NFL enough to suit scouts. Cardinals scouting director George Boone said football “is not sitting in a sailboat, cruising around a lake.” Bates went on to be a five-time Pro Bowl special-teams player. Life after football: Bates returned to Tucson and works as a physical trainer.
R. Richard Griffith, fifth round, 1993, UA/Catalina High: He did not attend the NFL Combine but impressed scouts with his versatility and intelligence in private workouts. “I was surprised I went as high as the fifth round,” he said. Griffith, a tight end, played seven NFL seasons. Life after football: He is a youth pastor in Colorado.
S. Mario Bates, second round, 1994, ASU/Amphitheater High: He left ASU after his junior year, worried about a 1992 knee injury that cost him a full season. “A lot of people say if I’d waited another year I’d be one of the top five picked,” he said. “A lot of people say I would’ve dominated the college game.” He gained 3,048 yards in the NFL and was a starter for almost three years. Life after football: He lives in Phoenix.
T. Steve McLaughlin, third round, 1995, UA/Sahuaro High. You could often find the 1994 Lou Groza Award winner practicing alone at LaCima Middle School before the ’95 draft. He earned a $300,000 signing bonus. McLaughlin spent one full year with the Rams and five more in the Arena Football League. Life after football: He is a singer, songwriter and music producer who has lived in Atlanta and Nashville.
U. Sean Harris, third round, 1995, UA/Tucson High: A third-team All-American on the 1994 Desert Swarm defense, Harris ran a 4.69 time in the 40 at the NFL Combine to raise his draft value. He prepared for his rookie season with the Chicago Bears by running up and down “A” Mountain. He played six years for the Bears and another for Indianapolis. Life after football: He works in private business in Phoenix; his son Jalen is one of the state’s top Class of 2017 football prospects at Desert Ridge High School, where his dad is an assistant coach.
V. Mike Scurlock, fifth round, 1995, UA/Cholla High: Even though he was only a part-time starter in his final three UA seasons, Scurlock “won” the NFL Combine by running the 40 in 4.40 seconds, posting a 35-inch vertical leap and lifting 225 pounds 27 times in succession. He played five years for the Rams and two for Carolina, mostly as a nickel back. Life after football: He was a youth counselor, worked in real estate and is now a sheriff in York County, South Carolina.
W. Cole Ford, seventh round, 1995, USC/Sabino High: Known for his booming kickoffs as a Trojan, Ford kicked 45 field goals for the Oakland Raiders in a three-year NFL career. Life after football: Ford manages Enclave Farms in St. David, which specializes in the growth and sale of hay for horses and cows.
X. Brooks Reed, second round, 2011, UA/Sabino High: A speedy running back at Sabino, where he ran an 11.75 100-meter dash, Reed ultimately became a defensive end after a redshirt year at Arizona. He started 52 games in four years for the Houston Texans and started five last year for the Atlanta Falcons, who signed him to a five-year, $22 million contract.
Y. Michael Smith, seventh round, 2012, Utah State/Sunnyside High: He spent two years at Eastern Arizona College, where he broke his hip. After transferring to Utah State, he rushed for 1,313 yards and impressed NFL scouts by running a 4.35 in the 40. He spent a full year on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster, but did not carry the ball. Life after football: He married Australian pro basketball player Alice Coddington.
Z. Ka’Deem Carey, fourth round, 2013, UA/Canyon del Oro High: A consensus All-American tailback in 2012 and 2013 at Arizona, Carey bypassed his senior year . His position in the 2014 draft was damaged when he was timed in 4.70 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. Carey has rushed just 79 times for 317 yards, mostly as Chicago’s second or third tailback. He has scored two touchdowns.
