In the days leading to the 1939 NFL Draft, Arizona fullback Walter “Hoss” Nielsen ran for student body president (he finished second), rode a steer in the La Fiesta de los Vaqueros rodeo, broke the school’s shot put record, ran the 100 yard dash in 10.2 seconds and even participated in the UA’s spring football scrimmage.
A pro day? Nielsen didn’t speak to an NFL coach or scout before the draft.
In an economy of words, the Giants sent Nielsen a telegram informing the bigger-than-life fullback that he had been selected with their first choice, No. 10 overall. They offered him $175 per game. There was no negotiation.
The Giants paid Nielsen’s way to training camp near West Point, where almost immediately he was overcome by pollen from goldenrod plants at the Giants’ practice field.
Nielsen stayed in a New York hotel and periodically commuted to practice, but his season was effectively scuttled by a colossal bout of hay fever and asthma.
The real draft of Hoss Nielsen’s life came two years later. He entered the Army, was assigned to Gen. George Patton’s infantry and sent to Tunisia. On June 8, 1945, 48 hours after D-Day, Hoss Nielsen was on Omaha Beach, destination Berlin.
He was no longer a fullback. He was a reconnaissance official, riding ahead of allied tanks, scouting for German forces. He was later awarded a Purple Heart and the Silver Star.
Maybe you can’t say the Giants got their man, but the United States sure did.
Hoss Nielsen was the first Arizona football player ever selected in the NFL Draft. Since then, 178 Wildcats have been drafted, but only two — linebacker Ricky Hunley, No. 7 in 1984 and linebacker Chris Singelton, No. 8 in 1990 — have been drafted higher.
Oh, how things have changed.
Small-school Arizona had as many players drafted in 1942 — Hank Stanton and Emil Banjavic — as were selected from Rich Rodriguez’s roster in 2015, 2016 and 2017 combined.
It’s possible that former UA cornerback Dane Cruikshank will be drafted this weekend. Or maybe not. That should tell you a bit about the school’s recent football ills. I mean, from 1981-2000, the most productive period of UA football, the Wildcats had a minimum of two players drafted each season, and 73 overall.
Oh, how Kevin Sumlin’s team could use another Hoss Nielsen.
Arizona hasn’t had a player chosen in the top 100 of the NFL Draft since quarterback Nick Foles, No. 88 overall, six years ago.
To win consistently in the Pac-12, you must populate your roster with NFL prospects. Maybe not first-round prospects, but those like tackle Eben Britton, No. 39 overall in 2009 and receiver Bobby Wade, No. 139 overall in 2003.
Oh, what Sumlin would do for players like Britton and Wade.
Arizona has had 32 players drafted this century. That’s not good. Here’s how it compares in the Pac-12:
USC, 103
Stanford, 63
Cal, 61
Oregon, 58
UCLA, 55
Utah, 49
Arizona State, 45
Oregon State, 44
Washington, 40
Colorado 39
Washington State, 24
It’s one thing to say a school must recruit better prospects — to “double down” or concentrate on the Polynesian community — it’s another to get them. There was a ridiculous amount of good fortune involved in Arizona’s successful pursuit of its four top 10 picks in NFL draft history.
Nielsen, from Redondo Beach, Calif., was set to attend USC. But a high school friend, Clarence Sheffer, then a UA halfback, sold Hoss on Tucson’s climate, saying it would be better for his chronic asthmatic condition.
Hunley, from Petersburg, Virginia, was going to choose between Notre Dame and Nebraska, but later opted to visit Arizona, if only because an aunt was stationed at Fort Huachuca. “I got off the plane in January and it was sunny and 75 degrees,” he told me. “I went to a UA baseball game. I canceled my visits to Notre Dame and Nebraska.”
Singleton, of Parsippany, N.J., was heavily recruited by Notre Dame with his twin brother, Kevin. But the day before Chris could sign with the Irish, he chose Arizona. National recruiting analyst Joe Terranova, the 1985 equivalent of today’s Rivals.com, told the Star that Singleton’s choice to attend Arizona “really shocked me.”
The No. 10 overall draft pick of 1999, cornerback Chris McAlister chose Arizona only after his initial decision to play at UCLA — his father’s alma mater — was undone by academic issues. As it turned out, Arizona coach Dick Tomey had coached McAlister’s father at UCLA. Bingo. McAlister became the best cornerback in UA history.
Arizona should end its NFL draft shutout next year. Perhaps 6-foot 6-inch receiver Shawn Poindexter’s measurables will appeal to NFL scouts. And, if all goes well for quarterback Khalil Tate — if he can flourish in Sumlin’s offense at anything close to what Johnny Manziel did at Texas A&M — Tate projects as a draft pick in 2019 or 2020.
Beyond that, linebackers Colin Schooler and Kylan Wilborn, offensive linemen Michael Eletise and Tshiyombu Lukusa and those as far off as a potential 2022 draftee like linebacker Jalen Harris might develop into NFL stock. Who knows?
Four of the most ballyhooed UA football recruits of the last 30 years — tackle Mike Ciasca, pass rusher Louis Holmes, receiver DaVonte Neal and linebacker Joe Siofele — were not drafted.
Arizona hasn’t stirred up much of a draft fuss since the remarkably productive Scooby Wright plunged to No. 250 overall (out of 253) in the 2016 draft. That became news for all the wrong reasons.
It’s time for Sumlin and his recruiters to make the NFL Draft relevant in Tucson once again.
