Wildcats honor seniors; a running back starts at QB; UA draws 32K to final home game

Saturday marked the Arizona Wildcats’ final home game of the season, meaning it was also the last time several Wildcats played their last game at Arizona Stadium.

For the pregame Senior Day ceremony, the Wildcats honored 22 players: Safety Rhedi Short, cornerback Malik Hausman, quarterback Luke Ashworth, punter Jacob Meeker-Hackett, linebacker Donte Smith, fullback Clay Markoff, linebacker Rourke Freeburg, offensive lineman Matthew Stefanski, offensive lineman David Watson, tight end Connor Hutchings, tight end Zach Williams, linebacker Tristen D’Angelo, wide receiver Tayvian Cunningham, offensive lineman Donovan Laie, tight end Bryce Wolma, defensive lineman Trevon Mason, wide receiver Stanley Berryhill III, defensive end Jalen Harris, linebacker Anthony Pandy, wide receiver Thomas Reid III, kicker Lucas Havrisik and center Josh McCauley.

In a social media post made by the UA football team’s account, multiple players reflected on their time at Arizona.

Said Wolma, on the most memorable memory playing for the Wildcats: “I wouldn’t say I have a favorite moment, but just creating lifelong memories and friendships with guys on the team. It’s awesome to hang out with them every day and I’ll definitely miss that aspect of football.”

Added Berryhill: “I’m just going to miss all my friends that I made. I’ve been here for five years, so I’m kind of an old-head. So, being able to teach the young guys what to know and what to expect — stuff like that.”

Arizona remembers Lowe, Jordan

During pregame warmups, the Arizona Stadium video board displayed “TJ and AL forever” inside of a red and white heart to pay tribute to Utah football players Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe, both of whom died from gunshot wounds within the last year..

The UA also placed a bouquet of red roses on the 22-yard line closest to the Utah sideline; 22 was the jersey number worn by both Jordan and Lowe.

Jordan, who was named the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2020, died from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound on Christmas Day, the day after he was announced the conference’s newcomer of the year. Utah created the Ty Jordan Memorial Scholarship following his death; Lowe, a fellas Mesquite, Texas native, was the first recipient. He changed his jersey number from No. 2 to 22 for the 2021 season.

Lowe was shot and killed in September while at a house party in Salt Lake City.

“He approached life with clear eyes and a full heart,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said of Lowe at his funeral last month. “We won’t get over it, but we will get through it.”

Wiley the RB at QB

Arizona running back Michael Wiley took the first snap of Saturday’s game as the “Wildcat” quarterback, making him the fourth UA player to take the first snap this season.

Additionally, Wiley became the first non-quarterback to start at the position for Arizona since the 2006 season, when wide receiver Anthony Johnson started in place of the injured Willie Tuitama and Adam Austin against Oregon State.

Running back Chuck Levy did the same against Oregon and Cal during the 1993 season.

Ex-NFLer Parker is final honorary captain

Arizona’s final honorary captain of the season was former UA offensive lineman Glenn Parker. He rounds out the list of honorary captains this season, joining Brooks Reed, Earl Mitchell, Ortege Jenkins, Lance Briggs and the men Fisch called “The Four Horsemen” of UA football: Chuck Cecil, Ricky Hunley, Brandon Sanders and Syndric Steptoe, all of whom are on his staff.. Golden State Warriors coach and former Arizona basketball star Steve Kerr was also an honorary captain this season.

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Parker played for the Wildcats under Dick Tomey, and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1990. Parker played in five Super Bowls during his NFL career.

Thomas does it all

The day after the No. 22-ranked Arizona women’s basketball team held off No. 6 Louisville in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, forward Sam Thomas — who’s interning for the UA athletic department — returned to her gameday duties.

Thomas’ job on Saturday was to hold the timeout clock on the field during breaks. During men’s basketball games, Thomas checks in media members at the entrance to McKale Center. Thomas recently set UA women’s basketball records for most career minutes played and most career starts.

Fans in stands

The UA announced a crowd of 32,008, the most fans to see a game since the Wildcats’ Oct. 9 game against UCLA.

The UA drew 39,097 for San Diego State in its home opener, 33,481 for NAU a week later, and 43,258 for UCLA. Since then, the UA has announced crowds of 30,880 (Washington), 30,667 (Cal) and 32,008 (Utah). The Wildcats will finish their seasons with road games against Washington State and ASU.

Report: UW coach shoved player in Arizona Stadium locker room

Washington coach Jimmy Lake, who was suspended this week for shoving UW linebacker Ruperake Fuavai against Oregon, has a history of pushing players, according to a report by the Seattle Times.

The latest reported incident happened in Tucson during the 2019 season.

The Huskies trailed Arizona 17-13 at halftime when, according to the Seattle Times, Lake became enraged with a group of offensive players in the locker room.

“Lake comes in on just a complete rampage pretty much, picks up (wide receiver) Quinten Pounds and throws him into a locker,” one of five eyewitnesses told the Seattle Times. “Those lockers there were wooden lockers, and it was violent. It really caught everyone by surprise. It was really unprompted. He just kind of did that and then went on a tangent about how the offense needs to start playing better.”

Lake denied “anything improper” went on during the game.

“There were numerous witnesses in the game — from equipment room, to football staff, to strength and conditioning coaches, and no one came to me with concerns after halftime, after the game, never,” Lake told the Times. “To my knowledge, there’s never been any complaints launched by anyone related to anything that happened during that game, and nobody from the university has ever raised any issues with me about what occurred in the locker room at halftime.”

Another witness said Lake “turned to Quinten Pounds and like pushed him up against the locker — not maliciously, in my opinion anyways. It probably did cross a line, but it wasn’t with malicious intent.”

Another anonymous player vouched for Washington’s current head coach and said: “I was standing right next to Lake. Nothing malicious happened. We had players on that 2019 team that were too soft to take criticism from a coach that wanted to win. That’s it. That’s the truth.”

Lake is scheduled to return from his suspension on Friday.