Hunley sits atop list
But none of them are No. 1.
That’s Ricky Hunley, who starred for the Wildcats from 1980-83. The numbers (566 tackles, most in school history), the awards (2-time consensus All-American, 1983 Pac-10 defensive player of the year, 3-time All-Conference first team) and the recognition (he was Arizona’s first-ever college football hall-of-famer) are proof enough.
The respect Hunley’s peers had for him, though, seals the deal.
Then-Utah coach Chuck Stobart once told reporters that “when Hunley plays, Arizona should only get to have 10 men on the field.”
Arizona coach Larry Smith called him “the prototype linebacker in college."
Hunley himself never quite bought into the praise, another trait that endears him to UA fans more than 30 years after his final game.
"I’m not some kind of God by any means," he once told reporters. "I’m just a human being trying to excel at what I do. It so happens there’s a lot of interest in what I do.”
Here's the list:
