Former Arizona cornerback Robbins rightfully gets Ring of Honor exception | Greg Hansen

Arizona cornerback Randy Robbins (1980-83) will be added to the Arizona Stadium Ring of Honor on Aug. 30 in the Arizona-Hawaii game. It’s a smart move by athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois, who looked beyond the “10 years in the NFL standard” to add Robbins. He “only” played nine NFL seasons, but beyond that is surely one of the top 25 or 30 players in UA history. That alone qualifies him for induction. Robbins is just one of five Arizona cornerbacks to be an All-Pac-12 first team selection, joining standouts Darryll Lewis, Keshon Johnson, Chris McAlister and Antoine Cason. And he is only one of six ex-Wildcat first-team all-conference players to coach at his alma mater, joining Ricky Hunley, Chuck Cecil, Jeff Hammerschmidt, Joe Salave’a and Bobby Wade. That’s rare company. That’s Ring of Honor company. Robbins was so good at Arizona that in a 1983 win over Washington State, he was the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week with a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown, a blocked punt, a fumble recovery and a touchdown-saving tackle in the final 40 seconds.

– UA senior-to-be Zach Extine, who finished No 2 in the NCAA 110-meter hurdles finals, did not reach the finals of the USA 2025 Outdoor Championships last week in Oregon. Limited by a hamstring injury, Extine had the 14th-best time (13.46) at the national meet. Had he been fully healthy and able to match his NCAA time of 13.13, he would’ve finished sixth. Extine will return for the 2025-26 NCAA season at Arizona and be a favorite to win the NCAA championship. His ex-UA teammate, Jordan Geist, finished sixth in the shot put with a throw of 70-feet, 1/2 inch.

– Arizona’s 2021 Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Player of the Year Aari McDonald will miss the final 12 games of the Indiana Fever’s regular season with a broken foot. But McDonald re-established herself as a WNBA-worthy point guard while replacing injured Caitlin Clark. In her last five games for the Fever, McDonald averaged 14 points and played 28 minutes per game. She should have no trouble getting free agent offers during the offseason.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

– In his NFL debut Friday night, Arizona 2024 All-American receiver Tetairoa McMillan caught two passes for 42 yards on the first possession by the Carolina Panthers. His first catch, a 29-yarder, was an over-the-shoulder catch against the sideline while covered. He appeared to be Carolina’s top receiving target; with five ‘’targets” in his brief first-half appearance. I saw an interview with McMillan on the NFL Network earlier in the week. He twice used the term “household name” when asked about his career aspirations. Obviously, he has high goals. One negative about T-Mac’s Friday debut: the Cleveland-based TV crew that called the game on the NFL Network referred to him as “Tet,” which he hopes to avoid.

– Arizona made a significant coaching hire last week when it acquired former Texas A&M head swimming coach Jay Holmes to be part of Ben Loorz staff. Holmes had been A&M’s head coach for 21 years, and before that 19 seasons as A&M’s assistant coach. That’s similar to the career of ex-UA track coach Fred Harvey. At 63, Holmes should still have some elite coaching/recruiting years left. He replaces assistant coach Kevin Blum, who was hired off the Hawaii staff last summer. Blum was not retained for the 2025-26 season.