John McKinney Linebacker 40 6-0 220 Copperas Cove, Texas Clarence McRae Tight End 6-1 235 Deltona, Fla. 88 Arizona: RS Expected to challenge for a starting role at inside linebacker entering the 2003 season Redshirted for the Wildcats in 2002 and was a member of the defensive scout team Coaches liked the way McKinney attacked his scout team role last season Named the top defensive scout team player at the annual team banquet UA continued its reach into Texas schoolboy football by venturing to the area about midway between San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth to sign McKinney in 2002 High School: Copperas Cove High School, Copperas Cove, Texas, 2002 McKinney emerged after strong junior and senior seasons at CCHS to become one of Texas solid linebacker prospects... No wonder 105 tackles, five sacks, four forced fumbles and two recoveries... Won Player of the Game honors 11 of 12 weeks... Copperas Cove defense only allowed 182 yards per game and 95 rushing yards per game, plus limited opponents to 7.9 points per game with five shutouts... Had 126 tackles, 16 TFL, seven sacks and two blocked kicks as a junior to earn second-team AP all-state accolades... His speed attracted UA coaches, with a reported 4.6 40-yard dash A SuperPrep All-Southwest selection as Texas No. 79 prospect... Picked No. 99 on Prep Football Report s All-Southwest threestate area... PrepStar All-Midlands region pick... All-league and all-city honors... Nominated for Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Game... First-team all-state pick by Associated Press his senior year... First-team Centralplex Team... All-State 5A first-team honors from Texas Sports Writers Association... Also runs the 110 and 300 hurdles as a two-year varsity track star, finishing fifth in the district in both races... Texashsfootball.com first-team Team Texas 5A... Personal: Academic major to be determined Full name John Hardy McKinney Jr Date of birth: Nov. 16, 1983. Arizona: SQ Expected to challenge for the starting job at tight end entering 2003 fall camp Walked on to the team at the beginning of spring drills and was named the team s Most Outstanding Newcomer on the last day of practice Caught two passes for 29 yards and had a 13-yard touchdown reception in the first scrimmage of spring drills Junior College: Arizona Western Community College, Yuma, Ariz., 2002 Played defensive end and linebacker High School: Pueblo High School, Tucson, Ariz., 2000 Four-year football letterman Team captain for three years Played running back and linebacker throughout high school Personal: Academic major is family studies and human development Full name Clarence Allen McRae Date of birth: Oct. 17, 1981, New Smyrna, Fla. PAGE 76
Lamon Means Strong Safety 6-3 190 Galena Park, Texas 19 James Molina Punter 5-11 195 Tucson, Ariz. 20 Arizona: IL Expected to compete for the starting job at strong safety entering the 2003 season Played in 11 games for the Wildcats as a true freshman and started three games at free safety for an injured Jarvie Worcester in 2002 Ended the year with 26 tackles, a tackle for loss, and three pass breakups Had two solo hits in the California game and returned a blocked punt for a 27-yard touchdown Had a solo tackle in the Arizona State game Had a tackle versus UCLA Led the team with seven tackles and a pass breakup at Oregon State Notched seven tackles and broke up a pass versus Washington State Tallied a career-high eight hits and assisted on a tackle for loss at Stanford Speedy player with a reported 4.45 40-yard dash time High School: Galena Park High School, Galena Park, Texas, 2002 Arizona continued its reach into the Texas prep ranks in 2002 and along with others came back with Means, a standout safety from Galena Park in the greater Houston area... Means received a three-star rating and a Top 50 safety mark from Rivals100.com... Recruited by several Big East, Big Ten and Big 12 schools... Listed No. 76 on the TheInsiders.com recruiting network Texas 100... Earned a spot on the Dallas Morning News Texas 100 list at No. 99 with a three-star rating... 95 tackles, seven forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, one interceptions and 10 passes broken up as a defensive back... Also blocked a punt Had 44 rushes for 249 yards and a touchdown his senior year as a running back... Also had 17 receptions for 191 yards and two scores as a wide receiver... Houston Touchdown Club finalist for Defensive Player of the Year... Defensive Player of Year honor for District 23-4A... Unanimous first-team all-district two consecutive years... Galena Park team Defensive Most Valuable Player... Earned Houston Chronicle Top 100 honors as well Personal: Academic major to be determined Full name Lamon Lewis Means Date of birth: July 20, 1984. Means Career Statistics Year G-GS UT AT TT TFL PD 2002 11-3 16 10 26 0.5-2 3 Arizona: IL... Expected to challenge Danny Baugher for the starting nod at punter entering the 2003 season Played in four games and earned significant duty at punter during the 2002 season Punted 16 times for 587 yards, an average of 36.7 yards per punt Had a career-long 66-yard punt in the UCLA game Downed one punt inside the 20 and did not have any blocked Started at punter in the Oregon State game Punted three times for 78 yards (26.0 average) at California Punted three times for 152 yards, an average of 50.7 yards per punt versus UCLA Punted nine times for 305 yards, an average of 33.9 yards per punt, at Oregon State Saw his first career action at punter in the Washington State game and had one punt for 52 yards 2001 walk-on who earned extensive duty during 2002 spring drills... Junior College: East Los Angeles Community College, Los Angeles, Calif., 2001... Student-athlete dean s list... High School: Pueblo High School, Tucson, Ariz., 1999... Earned four letters in football and was a team captain for three years on the varsity team... Named to the all-conference team as a junior at kicker and punter... Earned all-conference, all-city and all-state honors at quarterback, and was named to the allconference and all-city teams at punter during his senior season... Led the state of Arizona in passing yards and touchdown passes during the regular season as a senior... Holds seven school records in football (five) and weightlifting (two)... Lettered for two years in baseball and one year in basketball... Participated in student council and media communications... Had a job during all four years of high school... Personal: Academic major is Mexican-American studies Son of Sixto and Frances Molina... Father is the South Tucson police chief... Mother is a registered nurse at Tucson Medical Center... Married to Elizabeth and has three children, Reuben, Alyssa, Alexes... Brother, Joseph, plays golf at Pueblo, and brother, Michael, participates in football, basketball, soccer, baseball and golf at Maxwell Middle School... Hobbies include movies, fishing, golf, music, spending time with family and friends and coaching football... Full name James Sixto Molina... Date of birth: April 7, 1981. Molina s Career Statistics Year Punts Yards Avg. Long 2002 16 587 36.7 66 2003 PLAYER BIOS PAGE 77
Matt Molina Linebacker 49 6-2 240 Scottsdale, Ariz. Arizona: 2L Expected to challenge for a position at outside linebacker entering the 2003 season and will continue to see action on special teams Played in 10 games and started the first four games of the 2002 season at whip linebacker Finished the season with 20 tackles (15 solo), a tackle for loss, a sack, two pass breakups and a forced fumble Had two tackles at Oregon State and had two solo hits against Washington State Tallied two solo hits at Stanford, and had three tackles at Washington Tallied a career-high four solo tackles in the North Texas game Notched three tackles, had a sack and broke up a pass versus Utah Had three solo hits, forced a fumble and broke up a pass in the season opener versus Northern Arizona Had a tackle at Wisconsin Molina has made continued progress each year... Played in 10 games for the Wildcats in 2001 and closed the year with 11 tackles (seven solo) and one tackle for loss... Saw action at linebacker and on special teams... Notched a solo hit against USC and two solo tackles against Oregon... Good outing at Oregon State and had three tackles (two solo) and a tackle for loss... Tallied three tackles versus Washington State and two against Idaho... Had a tackle in the 2001 Red-Blue game and ended the three spring scrimmages with six hits, one sack and a fumble recovery... Saw game action as a member of Arizona s special teams unit in the USC game during the 2000 season... Redshirted for the Wildcats in 1999... High School: Chaparral High School, Scottsdale, Ariz., 1999... SuperPrep All-Far West honors and PrepStar All-West selection as a senior, when he recorded 59 tackles, seven sacks and 42.0 yards per kick as a punter for coach Ron Estabrook... Moved to Paradise Valley for his senior year from Marietta, Ga., where as a junior at Wheeler High School he had 85 tackles and six sacks... Three-year football letterman... Molina s Career Stats Year G-GS UT AT TT TFL Sacks Other 2000 1-0 0 0 0 0-0 2001 10-1 7 4 11 1-2 2002 10-4 15 5 20 1-5 1 2 PD, 1 FF Totals 21-5 22 9 31 2-7 1 2 PD, 1 FF Personal: Academic major is communication... Son of Manny and Jennifer Molina of Paradise Valley, Ariz... Parents are both University of Arizona graduates and staunch Wildcat supporters... Dad is in business... Mom is a homemaker... Sister, Michelle, is a high school and club swimmer, and brother, Michael, plays junior high football and basketball... Father was a tight end at Arizona Western College in 1965-66 and played spring ball at Arizona the following year... Enjoys skiing, video games and weightlifting... Full name Matthew Christopher Molina... Date of birth: Dec. 7, 1980. Luis Nunez Cornerback 13 5-11 190 San Diego, Calif. Arizona: RS... Expected to contend for a major role at cornerback in 2003 Received a medical redshirt year after only playing in two games during the 2002 season In those two games, he tallied four solo tackles and broke up two passes Saw action in the Utah and Wisconsin games before being sidelined with a groin injury Arizona looked hard for some cover corners in 2002 and pulled in a mid-year enrollee from the junior college ranks in Nunez Junior College: Southwestern Community College, Chula Vista, Calif., 2001 Assigned by his coaches to cover the other team s best receiver, he came up with five interceptions, broke up 10 passes, and finished with 25 tackles and a fumble recovery as a sophomore... Ten interceptions in his career... Seven punt returns for 49 yards... Earned first-team All-Foothill Conference honors... Three-star rating by Rivals100.com, among its Top 60 as his position... One-star TheInsiders.com juco rating... Named Southwestern College s Defensive Player of the Year... High School: Hilltop High School, San Diego, Calif., 2000...Lettered four years in football and volleyball, and two years in soccer Football team captain as a senior All-academic team as a junior Personal: Academic major is pre-physical education... Son of Luis Nunez and Sepi Nunez Father graduated from Laney Junior College and California-Berkeley, and is a physician s assistant Full name Luis Oscar Nunez Date of birth: Dec. 14, 1980. PAGE 78
Ryan O Hara Quarterback 15 6-6 195 Pasadena, Calif. Matt Padron Tight End 46 6-5 259 San Antonio, Texas Arizona: RS Expected to challenge Nic Costa for the starting job at quarterback entering the 2003 season Impressive showing during 2003 spring drills Completed 32-of-49 passes for 453 yards and seven touchdowns in three scrimmages throughout the spring session Had his best showing in the third scrimmage, as he completed 10-of-11 passes for 187 yards and four touchdowns Redshirted for the Wildcats in 2002 and worked with the first-team offense during fall practice Made the traveling squad for each of Arizona s road games One of the background keys to Arizona s 2002 recruiting efforts was the early commitment (June 2001) made by quarterback O Hara, who formed the cornerstone of John Mackovic s first full-fledged class at Arizona... High School: Muir High School, Pasadena, Calif., 2002 A Nike and Student Sports Elite Quarterback summer camps participant, among others... He opened the year in the USA Today National Top 125 picked by Max Emfinger, and finished in the same vein, as a top-grade QB among Emfinger s drop-back Top 10... He completed 110 passes in 189 attempts (.582) for 1,560 yards and 16 touchdowns, with five interceptions, plus had three rushing touchdowns...also passed or ran for seven 2-point PATs... Earned PrepStar All-America honors as the No. 7 prospect on its All-West team... SuperPrep All-Farwest honors as the No. 88 prospect in the three-state region... Received three votes in the Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West list of senior prep players from Pac-10 states... Tom Lemming s Prep Football Report No. 41 prospect in the six-state All-West region... All-conference and all-area honors each of the last two seasons... Rivals100.com three-star rating as a dual-threat quarterback, with 4.65 speed... Career marks of 3,950 passing yards and 43 touchdowns (231-428, 54%), plus a QB-ofrecord mark of 23-9-3... Student Sports Elite 25 quarterback rating... Athlon pre-season Top 20 quarterback prospect... Fab50recruiting.com Top 50, one of only four QBs... Team captain junior and senior seasons... Tacoma News Tribune Western 100... Four-year letterman in both football and basketball Fox Sports Student-Athlete of the Week honors his senior year Principal s Honor Roll for academics, and carried a 4.0 his junior year Arizona: RS Expected to compete for the starting role at tight end entering the 2003 season Earned extensive duty during spring drills Redshirted for the Wildcats in 2002 and worked with the offensive scout team High School: Clark High School, San Antonio, Texas, 2002 A three-year starter for Clark High... Caught 20 passes for 260 yards and five touchdowns in 2002... Familiar with John Mackovic since the coach s tenure at the University of Texas, where he participated in several summer camps, plus saw appeal in UA s program via televised 2001 games... Recruited by several service academies as well as schools in the Southwest... TheBearsDen.com Texas Top 250 honoree... Dave Campbell s Texas Football Lone Star All-Star Team 2001 finalist as outstanding senior tight end... Texas Sports Writers Association third-team All-State 5A honors... First-team All- District 27 5A honors... First-team All-San Antonio pick... Dave Campbell s Texas Top 300 No. 10 TE rating... Second-team Team Texas 5A honors from Texashsfootball.com... Lettered four years in football, two in basketball and three in baseball President of Friends Helping Friends, a special education program Member of Mu Alpha mathematics club Football team captain senior year Personal: Academic major to be determined Son of Larry and Cindy Padron of San Antonio Father is a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley; Mother is a math teacher at Matt s high school Dad graduated from Trinity, and Mom is a Southwest Texas State graduate Younger brothers, Justin and Kyle, are active in football, basketball and baseball Father played collegiate football and baseball at Trinity Likes camping, golf, fishing and hunting Full name Matthew Tyler Padron Date of birth: Jan. 23, 1984, Hawai i. Personal: Academic major is communication Son of John and Robin O Hara of Glendora, Calif Father attended Iowa State; Mother attended ISU and graduated from Pittsburgh Father is a bloodstock agent, and Mother is a homemaker Older brother, J.P., was a track hurdler Grandfather, Gary Hulst, played basketball at Iowa State, and grandfather, Phil O Hara, played basketball at Georgetown Likes playing basketball, hanging out with friends, impersonating people and video games Says his little brother, Dustin, is his biggest fan Full name Ryan Alan O Hara Date of birth: Sept. 1, 1983, Pittsburgh, Pa. 2003 PLAYER BIOS PAGE 79
John Parada Offensive Lineman 70 6-8 326 Alta Loma, Calif. Jerome Parker Wide Receiver 6-0 155 Tucson, Ariz. 24 Arizona: 1L Projected as the starting left guard entering 2003 fall camp Played in two games for the Wildcats in 2002 as a true freshman Made his first collegiate start at right guard in the season opener versus Northern Arizona Missed time with a knee injury, but some game experience will make him a key in the Wildcats immediate and future success Received a medical hardship year... Typical of the focus by UA recruiters, Parada brought size to the Wildcats front line One of the Cats top recruits by reputation in 2002 Arizona: SQ Expected to provide depth in the Wildcat receiving rotation entering the 2003 season Joined the team as a walk-on at the beginning of spring drills in 2002 and worked with the offensive scout team for much of the season High School: Marana High School, Tucson, Ariz Personal: Academic major is pre-business Date of birth: April 27, 1983. High School: Alta Loma High School, Alta Loma, Calif., 2002 A two-way starter at defensive end and offensive tackle Received nine of 10 possible votes in the Long Beach Press- Telegram s first-team Best in the West recruiters poll... SuperPrep All-Farwest honors as the No. 82 prospect in the region... Considered by his high school coaches to be one of the most talented big men in the area... Benched 385... RIvals100.com No. 26 prospect at tackle... First-team CalHiSports all-state offensive honors... Had 70 pancake blocks as a junior, 80 as a senior... Three-year starter and 2001 team captain... Had 70 tackles and seven sacks as a defensive tackle and helped lead team to state semifinals... Alta Loma Offensive Lineman of the Year... First-team allleague and All-Orange County pick... Los Angeles Times All- Inland Valley... Student-Athlete of the Month honors... Two-time All-California Interscholastic Federation selection... Prep Football Report All-West honors as No. 56 prospect... Las Vegas Sun Super 11 second-team honors... Tacoma News Tribune Western 100... Lettered four years in football, two in track, one in wrestling and twice in basketball Coached Powder-Puff ball for ALHS girls team his last two years Personal: Academic major to be determined Son of Barbara Ann de Los Reyes and Oswald Parada Mother is a licensed daycare operator; Father is a horse trainer Older brother, Adam, played basketball for UC-Irvine Younger sister, Monica, is a high school basketball and volleyball player Uncle, Javier Parada, played college basketball in Mexico Enjoys fishing and body boarding, eating and mowing his mom s lawn Full name John Matthew Parada Date of birth: Feb. 15, 1984, Riverside, Calif. PAGE 80
Lee Patterson Defensive Back 6-0 195 Phoenix, Ariz. 46 Paul Philipp Defensive End 94 6-2 265 San Bernadino, Calif. Arizona: SQ... Should provide depth in the Wildcat secondary entering 2003 fall drills... Played in three games during the 2002 season and finished the season with two tackles Played in his first career game at Washington when he went into the game for an injured Jarvie Worcester Had two tackles against the Huskies Walked on to the team at the start of 2001 spring practice and worked with the defensive scout team in the fall... Junior College: Adams State College, Alamosa, Colo., 2000... Lettered for one season at cornerback... High School: Moon Valley High School, Phoenix, Ariz., 1999... Three-year letterman for coach John Burke... Played cornerback and safety... Had eight career interceptions... Allstate selection... Two-time first-team all-conference honoree... Also earned three letters in track and field (110m and 300m hurdles) and one in basketball (point guard)... Received the Scholar-Athlete Award for four years... National Honor Society... Personal: Academic major is marketing... Mary Roby Academic Achievement Award (2000, 2001 & 2002)... Enjoys listening to music and playing video games... Full name Leslie Patterson... Date of birth: Oct. 17, 1981. Arizona: RS Expected to challenge for a starting role at defensive end entering 2003 fall drills Had a strong showing during spring practice and impressed the coaching staff Redshirted for the Wildcats and was a force on the defensive scout team in 2002 Had shoulder surgery last year but proved in fall practice this his motor was high-powered One of Arizona s key defensive line signees in 2002 High School: San Bernardino High School, San Bernadino, Calif., 2002 A widely recruited lineman with offers from half a dozen schools in the West, Philipp earned PrepStar All- America honors as the No. 12 All-West prospect... Missed some games in 2001 with leg injuries but still had nine sacks and more than 12 tackles per game... SuperPrep All-Farwest selection as the No. 40 prospect in the three-state region... Prep Football Report All-West No. 98 prospect... All-San Andreas League honors at end and offensive tackle... Aggressive style on the edge appealed to UA... Rivals100.com three-star selection as a Top 50 prospect at his position... Three-star Max Emfinger defensive end prospect... No one can block me, he says... Tacoma News Tribune Western 100... Lettered four years in football and one each in basketball and track Personal: Academic major to be determined Son of Marsack and Me Philipp Mother, Me, graduated from St. Joseph s College; Father graduated from St. Mary s College Mom is an officer manager, and Dad is a warehouse supervisor Member of the SBHS Polynesian Club Relative of Stephen Sua, a UCLA defensive end from 1998-2002 Likes to listen to music, PlayStation 2, lift weights and play basketball Full name Paul Y. Philipp Date of birth: July 31, 1984. 2003 PLAYER BIOS PAGE 81
Brandon Phillips Offensive Tackle 68 6-8 330 Chandler, Ariz. 2 0 0 3 Arizona: 2L... Projected starter at right tackle entering 2003 fall practice... Veteran offensive lineman who is poised for an outstanding fifth-year senior season Played in 10 games and started nine at right tackle during the 2002 season After an apprentice season with four starts in 2001, he took over as a junior and owned the right-side role except for a few games missed with a strained knee UA has some good, big and young linemen, and Phillips should be the veteran presence to anchor the unit Played in 11 games for the Wildcats in 2001 and started at right tackle against Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford and Arizona State... Made the switch from the defensive line to the offensive line at the beginning of 2001 spring practice and worked primarily at right tackle... Named the team s Most Improved Offensive Player on the last day of spring drills... Saw limited action on defense in the Utah and Ohio State games and worked with the defensive scout team in 2000... Redshirted for the Wildcats in 1999... Phillips played in one of UA s summer camps and ultimately was recruited for his size... Starred as a prep on both sides of the ball... honors and National Recruiting Advisor No. 39 nationally... Also earned top 15 defensive tackle rating from Max Emfinger and West Region offensive tackle prospect from Tom Lemmings Prep Football Report... SuperPrep All-Far West pick... Team captain senior year... Earned Frank Kush Award... Allcity, all-region and All-East Valley honors in state... Had 47 tackles, six sacks and two fumble recoveries as a senior on a 10-2 state quarter-finals club... Personal: Academic major is family studies and human development... Son of Randy and Gladys Phillips of Chandler, Ariz... Dad is the owner of an archery shop... Mom is a bookkeeper... Dad attended Scottsdale Community College... Brother, Mike, plays high school basketball... Sister, Kellie, is a softball player... Likes playing the guitar, mountain biking, weight training and running... Full name Brandon Joel Phillips... Date of birth: Dec. 1, 1980. High School: Corona del Sol High School, Tempe, Ariz., 1999... Earned three letters for coach Gary Venturo... Dallas Morning News National 100 selection... PrepStar All-America PAGE 82
Lance Relford Wide Receiver 18 6-0 200 Houston, Texas 2 0 0 3 Arizona: 3L... Expected to challenge for one of the top spots in the Wildcats receiving rotation entering the 2003 season... Played in all 12 games and started two during the 2002 season Arizona s third-leading receiver closed the season with 20 receptions for 289 yards, an average of 14.4 yards per catch, and a touchdown Collected 11 tackles and forced a fumble as a member of UA s punt coverage team Caught a career-long reception of 43 yards in the Arizona State game Blocked a punt in the California game that was recovered by teammate Lamon Means and returned for a touchdown Caught a career-best three passes for 59 yards versus Arizona State and added a solo tackle Caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Jason Johnson at California and finished with a career-high three receptions for 48 yards and a solo tackle Had two catches for 16 yards, two solo tackles and forced a fumble versus Washington State Had two catches for 33 yards at Stanford Had two catches for 16 yards and a career-high three tackles as a member of the special teams unit at Washington Had one catch for eight yards against Washington and a catch for seven yards against North Texas Finished the Wisconsin game with two receptions for 18 yards Caught two balls for 30 yards and had two tackles versus Utah Had two catches for 54 yards and two solo tackles in the season opener versus Northern Arizona Saw action at wide receiver and on special teams in 2001, playing in 10 games... Had five receptions for 48 yards, including a season-long catch of 15 yards... Also had two solo tackles as a member of the kick and punt coverage teams... Had a catch for 12 yards and a solo tackle in the Stanford game... Had a solo tackle at California... Had a catch for 15 yards versus Oregon... Had two receptions for 12 yards versus Idaho and opened the year with a catch for nine yards at San Diego State... Finished with five catches for 53 yards after the first two scrimmages of 2001 spring drills... Played in eight games during the 2000 season... Started against Oregon State and had a reception for 16 yards... Redshirted in 1999... UA coaches earned an early commitment from Relford, then had to hold off Big 12 and Big Ten schools... Relford was recruited as an athlete... One of a number of Texas prep stars to sign with UA in recent years... Relford s Career Stats Year G-GS Rec. Yards Avg. TD Long 2000 8-1 1 16 16.0 0 16 2001 10-0 5 48 9.6 0 15 2002 12-2 20 289 14.4 1 43 Totals 30-3 26 353 13.6 1 43 High School: Washington High School, Houston, Texas, 1999... Four-year letterman for coach Joel North as a wideout and free safety... Also earned three letters in basketball and three in track... Earned SuperPrep all-region honors his senior year, as well as allcity honors... Team captain as a senior... Caught 43 passes for 634 yards and 14 touchdowns in 1998, plus intercepted six passes... Track sprinter with 10.6 time in 100m... Personal: Academic major is sociology... Son of Dena Hunter of Houston, Texas, and Frederick Relford... Mother attended Texas Southern University and is a home health provider... Father is a plumber... Likes horseback riding, reading and playing all sports... Full name is Lance Frederick Relford... Date of birth: Jan. 24, 1980. 2003 PLAYER BIOS PAGE 83
Reggie Sampay Offensive Guard/Center 75 6-3 285 Houston, Texas 2 0 0 3 Arizona: 3L... Will play a major role in the 2003 season and has shown that he can play in the middle and at either guard spot throughout his career at Arizona... Sampay, who started at center as a true freshman, brings veteran credentials and leadership to the offensive line Played in 11 games and started nine for the Wildcats in 2002 Sampay opened the first game of the season against Northern Arizona at center but then spent most of the season at both guard spots, starting four games at right guard and the last four games of the season at left guard Played in nine games and started eight for the Wildcats in 2001... Helped form the nucleus on the offensive line, with solid experience at both guard and center... Started six games at left guard and started two at center... True freshman started five games (Stanford, USC, WSU, Oregon, UCLA) at center when senior Bruce Wiggins went down with an ankle injury during the 2000 season... Played in seven games... Started at left guard against Washington and Arizona State... Earned third-team Freshman All-America honors from The Sporting News... Named to the True Freshman All-America team by Rivals.com... Anchored Arizona s mix-and-match offensive line in the first five league games... Had his first career start at Stanford... Had never played a snap at center in high school, with the exception of a few snaps during fall drills at Camp Cochise... Helped hold the UCLA defense to one sack and the Huskies to two sacks... Before the Oregon game, the line allowed only six sacks in three games (two versus WSU, four at USC, zero at Stanford)... Moved to left guard at Washington when Wiggins returned to center... High School: North Shore Senior High School, Houston, Texas, 2000... Started three years at left guard for coach David Aymond... Lettered one year in track and field... Personal: Academic major is communication... Son of Ronald and Joyce Sampay of Houston, Texas... Enjoys listening to music... Full name Reggie Taron Sampay... Date of birth: Dec. 7, 1982. PAGE 84
Gainus Scott Halfback 23 5-10 195 La Porte, Texas David Sharp Defensive Tackle 6-3 290 Troy, Mo. 96 Arizona: IL... Expected to challenge for a top role in the running back corps entering 2003 fall camp... Also looks to find a role in Arizona s special teams unit as a kick return specialist Played in six games and started at halfback in the UCLA game during the 2002 season Missed six games during the middle of the season with an ankle injury Finished his redshirt freshman season with 30 carries for 68 yards, an average of 2.3 yards per carry Had a career-long run of 15 yards in the UCLA game Had a career-best 13 carries in the California game Led the team with eight carries for a career-best 32 yards versus UCLA Had six carries for 28 yards in the season opener against Northern Arizona Redshirted for the Wildcats in 2001 and showed promise on the offensive scout team and as a kick returner... Received the Champion Award (scout team) for outstanding contributions on special teams following the season... Has shown great quickness... His older brother, Yusuf, was a Wildcat All-American in 1998 as an offensive guard and one of UA s linemen of recent years to make it in the NFL... A different breed of player than the pancake specialist Yusuf was he s a fleet-footed back... Arizona: JC Expected to challenge for a top job at defensive tackle entering 2003 fall camp One of two junior college transfers who participated in spring drills Arizona has recruited Midlands junior colleges for offensive linemen with success and feels solid with mid-year transfer Sharp Junior College: Highland Community College, Highland, Kan., 2002 Second-team All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference honors and team s Best Defensive Lineman Award PrepStar Juco 125 Six sacks to tie for fifth in the league Preseason first-team All-America by the National Junior College Athletic Association As a frosh he earned KJCCC honorable mention honors Two-star Rivals 100.com rating High School: Buchanan High School, Troy, Mo., 2000 Three-year varsity football letterman Did not play his senior year Saw action at both defensive and offensive tackle Earned first-team all-conference honors during his junior season Personal: Academic major is communication Full name David Sharp Date of birth: Jan. 5, 1981. High School: La Porte High School, La Porte, Texas, 2001... Started as a cornerback then switched at mid-season in his sophomore year... Rushed for more than 3,500 yards in his career and earned All-Texas honors his senior year... A PrepStar All-American, rated as the No. 7 Midlands running back, and was All-Southwest by Prep Football Report... Also made the Houston Chronicle s Texas 100 list, as well as the Dallas Morning News Top 100 and was a two-time all-district pick by Texas coaches... Personal: Academic major to be determined... Full name Gainus Derahn Scott Date of birth: April 13, 1983. Scott s Career Stats Year G-GS Rush Yards Avg. TD Long 2002 6-1 30 68 2.3 0 15 2003 PLAYER BIOS PAGE 85
Gary Shepard Defensive Back 5-10 180 Spring, Texas 17 Arizona: RS Expected to compete for a role in the Wildcat secondary entering 2003 fall drills Worked primarily at strong safety during spring practice but may get a look at cornerback in the fall Redshirted for the Wildcats in 2002 and was a member of the defensive scout team Helped sell himself to UA coaches when they visited Westfield while recruiting a teammate High School: Westfield High School, Spring, Texas, 2002 Shepard and Jason Martin give Arizona some age balance in the defensive secondary An aggressive cover corner who had two picks, made 74 tackles and forced 12 fumbles for Westfield, where he was a teammate of recruit Beau Carr... Blocked two kicks on special teams... Reportedly allowed only two touchdown passes all year... A sprinter on the WHS track team, Shepard posted 40 times in the 4.35 range several times from his sophomore through senior years... Arizona s two-year cornerback starter, junior Michael Jolivette, played host to Shepard on his official visit to the campus... Played a role in Westfield High s improvement from an 0-10 record to 12-2 in just three seasons... Recruited by Big East and Big 12 schools... Second-team all-district honors... Honor roll student and listed in Who s Who among American High School Students Varsity letterman four years in track and three years in football Personal: Academic major to be determined Son of Linda and Gary Shepard Mom is a driver for the United Parcel Service Dad attended Texas Southern, and Mom attended Prarie View A&M First sport he participated in was bowling, then came football Likes movies, running, weight training and shopping Full name Gary Bernard Shepard Jr Date of birth: Sept. 25, 1984. Zeonte Sherman Cornerback 10 6-0 194 St. Petersburg, Fla. Arizona: JC Expected to challenge for a role in the Wildcat secondary entering the 2003 season One of two junior college transfers who participated in spring drills Wildcats signed three players from Arizona in 2003 and one of them is Sherman Comes to Arizona with three years to play two Junior College: Arizona Western Community College, Yuma, Ariz., 2002 PrepStar national Juco 125 Second-team All- Arizona Community College Athletic Conference and Western States Football Zeonte League honors JCFootball.com pre-season JC Top 101 list Rivals100.com three-star JC rating Had 32 tackles Sherman his freshman year, with four interceptions 10 as a corner, then added 69 hits and two picks Cornerback playing safety his sophomore year High School: Pinellas Park High School, St. Petersburg, Fla., 2000 Played four years of varsity football and was a team captain in his sophomore, junior and senior seasons Saw action 6-0 194 Petersburg, Fla. at wide receiver and quarterback Personal: Academic major is sociology Full name Zeonte Demetrio Sherman Date of birth: Aug. 7, 1981, St. Petersburg, Fla. Antoine Singfield Linebacker 45 6-1 220 Moreno Valley, Calif. Arizona: SQ... Expected to challenge for a rotation role in the Wildcat linebacker corps entering 2003 fall drills... Switched from fullback to linebacker at the start of spring drills Played in two games (Washington State and Oregon State) for the Wildcats in 2002 as a member of Arizona s special teams units Had one solo tackle in the Oregon State game Worked with the offensive scout team for much of the season Missed the end of 2002 spring practice with an ankle sprain... Redshirted in 2001 and worked with the offensive scout team... Colleges recruited Singfield as a running back, wide receiver, linebacker and strong safety, but Arizona initially wanted to give him its strongest look at fullback... High School: Rancho Verde High School, Moreno Valley, Calif., 2001... Lettered three years for coach Scott Strosnider and was the team captain and MVP... An all-area and all-conference player on defense and is a quality athlete who earned four votes in the Best in the West ratings by the Long Beach Press- Telegram... PrepStar named him to its all-west team, as did Prep Football Report... Rushed for 1,300 yards and 15 touchdowns last year... Starting forward and team captain on the RVHS basketball team and has a vertical leap of more than 40 inches... Also competed in the 100, 200, long jump and triple jump for the track and field team... Personal: Academic area of interest to be determined... Son of Anthony and Violet Singfield... Father is an MRI engineer... Mother is a teacher... Dad graduated from Southwestern Michigan University... Mom is a graduate of Southern Ohio College... Brothers, Marquis, Pierre and Allonte, are active in sports... Relative, Henry (Hank) Allison, played football for San Diego State (1972-74) before playing for the Eagles, Rams and Broncos in the NFL... Enjoys playing video games, summer sports and drawing... Full name Antoine J. Singfield... Date of birth: Nov. 2, 1982. PAGE 86
Joe Siofele Inside Linebacker 42 6-2 255 Waipahu, Hawai i 2 0 0 3 Arizona: 3L... The projected starter at middle linebacker entering the 2003 season... Enters the season with 104 total tackles in three seasons Played in all 12 games and started 11 games for the Wildcats at defensive end during the 2002 season Filled in for a full season at defensive end last year after his first two seasons as the flex linebacker Led the team in sacks and led the front in tackles, with more than any UA lineman since 1989 Arizona s third-leading tackler finished the season with 66 total tackles (41 solo), six tackles for loss (-31 yards), 5.5 sacks (-30 yards), one pass breakup, one fumble recovery and two forced fumbles Received the Martin Gentry Outstanding Lineman (Defense) Award at the annual team banquet Had four tackles, a tackle for loss and two sacks in the final game of the season against Arizona State Had two solo hits at California Finished with six tackles and a tackle for loss versus UCLA Had six tackles at Oregon State Tallied seven tackles versus Washington State Forced a fumble, had a sack for loss and two tackles at Stanford Had eight tackles (seven solo) and forced a fumble at Washington Tallied a career-best 11 tackles to lead the Wildcats in the Oregon game Had eight tackles, broke up a pass and had a sack for loss versus North Texas Had five hits, including a tackle for loss, at Wisconsin Recovered a fumble and had two solo hits versus Utah Opened the season with five solo tackles and a sack for loss against Northern Arizona Played in eight games and started six for the Wildcats in 2001 in a season shortened by a hand injury... Finished the year with 21 tackles (16 solo), four tackles for loss (-19 yards) and two sacks (-15 yards)... Tallied four solo hits and two tackles for loss (-4 yards) against UNLV... Had four solo tackles, Siofele s Career Stats a tackle for loss and a sack versus Idaho... Had three solo hits, a tackle for loss (-7 yards) and a sack at Arizona State... Had a tackle against Stanford... Notched two solo hits at California and San Diego State... Had two tackles against Oregon and three tackles versus Washington State... Had 2.5 tackles, including one for loss, contributed on a sack and broke up a pass in the spring Red-Blue game... Played in all 11 games for the Wildcats in 2000 and was Adrian Year G-GS UT AT TT TFL Sacks Other 2000 11-0 10 7 17 4-23 2-20 2 PD, 1 2001 8-6 16 5 21 4-19 2-15 2002 12-11 41 25 66 6-31 5.5-30 1 PD, 1, 2 FF Totals 31-17 67 37 104 14-73 9-65 3 PD, 2, 2 FF Koch s backup at whip linebacker throughout the season... Closed the season with 17 tackles (10 solo), four tackles for loss (-23 yards), two sacks, 2003 PLAYER BIOS PAGE 87
two pass breakups and recovered a fumble... Had a season-best six tackles (four solo) against Oregon State... Tallied three tackles at Washington... Had two tackles and broke up a pass against UCLA... Notched two solo hits at Utah and added a sack... Had a tackle at Oregon and had a solo hit and a sack against San Diego State... Recovered a fumble at Stanford... Redshirted for the Wildcats in 1999... The Wildcats had not signed a more-heavily recruited player in the last 14 years than Siofele, who brought a total package superior academics, outstanding football talent and a background in one of the more successful prep programs nationally... High School: St. Louis High School, Honolulu, Hawai i, 1999... Three-year letterman for coach Calvin Lee... Also lettered three years in basketball as a forward and in track and field as a weight thrower... Parade Magazine All- America honors... Also was noted for PrepStar Dream Team 100, PrepStar All-America, SuperPrep All-America, PrepStar Super 30 Regional, Student Sports All-America, Tacoma News-Tribune Western 100, Las Vegas Sun Super 11 honorable mention, National Recruiting Advisor Top 10 linebacker, The Sporting News No. 2 linebacker, Hawai i defensive player of the year, and Long Beach Press- Telegram Best in the West honorable mention, among other honors... Earned all-hawai i and all-league honors last two seasons and was a second-team all-league selection as a sophomore... Team captain during his senior year... Academic honors just as abundant principal s list, honor roll, student of the month, Scholar-Athlete Award, Business Emblem Award, P.E. Emblem Award and president s list... Won the state discus and shot put titles as a senior... Recruited heavily by Nebraska, Colorado and Washington and was offered scholarships by several other Pac-10 schools, among others... Ryan Slack Kicker 6-1 195 Tucson, Ariz. 34 Arizona: 2L... Expected to challenge for a spot in the Wildcat kicking rotation entering 2003 fall camp... Played in 11 games during the 2002 season and handled the majority of the kickoff duties for the year Performed admirably as the kickoff specialist throughout 2001 and played in all 11 games... Walk-on who emerged in fall camp... High School: Salpointe Catholic High School, Tucson, Ariz., 2001... Two-year letterman for coach Pat Welchert... Football team captain as a senior... Earned playing time at place kicker and wide receiver... Received all-city, all-region and all-state honors and was named KVOA Player of the Week... Personal: Academic major is pre-business... 2001 Mary Roby Academic Achievement Award... Son of Mary and Roy Slack of Tucson, Ariz... Father is a Northern Arizona graduate... Brother, Jake, plays football... Full name K. Ryan Slack... Date of birth: Feb. 15, 1983. Personal: Academic major is political science... Son of Joseph P. and Suesolo A. Siofele of Waipahu, Hawai i... Father is a heavy equipment operator... Mother is a homemaker... Likes singing, playing the piano and fire dancing... Full name Joseph Samuelu Siofele... Name is pronounced see-oh-feh-lay... Date of birth: April 15, 1981. PAGE 88
Marcus Smith Linebacker 55 6-5 220 San Diego, Calif. 2 0 0 3 Arizona: IL Expected to challenge for a starting role at outside linebacker entering the 2003 season Earned significant duty as one of Arizona s top players on the defensive line in 2002 Played in nine games at defensive end as a true freshman and was the primary backup to Joe Siofele for much of the season Ended the season with 16 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss (-21 yards), 1.5 sacks (-15 yards) and one pass breakup Tied a career-best five tackles in the final game of the year against Arizona State Tallied three hits, three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a pass breakup at California Had a solo hit versus Washington State Had two solo hits in the North Texas game Notched a careerbest five tackles and one for loss at Wisconsin One of the Cats top recruits in the 2002 class, Smith brings the entire package outstanding athletic skills, size, superlative academic background and a demonstrated dedication in all endeavors High School: Mission Bay High School, San Diego, Calif., 2002 Smith s progress during his senior year caught the eye of recruiters in a big way Had 90 tackles, 10 sacks and two interceptions as a senior, plus caused five fumbles... Returned a fumble 96 yards for a score, a CIF- San Diego record... Rated a Top 50 weak-side DE and three-star prospect by Rivals100.com... San Diego Union Tribune All-County honors... Prep Football Report All-West as the No. 90 prospect in the region... SuperPrep All-Farwest No. 107... Max Emfinger national DE list... All-San Diego area at linebacker... His fast and active style appealed to a number of top defensive schools in the West... Las Vegas Sun Super 11 honorable mention... JV football MVP in 1998, he progressed to all-league the following year on the varsity and subsequent only student in area to be all-league in two sports his final two years... Senior MVP in 2001... Most Inspirational Player Award in 2000... Football team captain senior year, JV captain in 1998... Basketball player with 17 points and 16 rebounds per game in 2002... Basketball team MVP in 1999 and Las Vegas Classic All-Star team member... Four-year letterman in basketball and football and twice in baseball National Honor Society Certificate Award in 1997... Mission Bay Honor Roll throughout junior high and high school... Computer technology award from MBHS... Urban League Golden Pyramid Scholar three years... MBHS School Link Crew member, 2001-2002 Bayview Baptist Church 3.0 Partners member 2001 United States Achievement Academy Award Union Tribune All-Academic football and basketball team honors three years New Student Orientation aide African Student Union member Personal: Academic major is general biology Son of Edward and Gracelia Smith of San Diego Father attended the Naval Academy and is retired from the U.S. Navy Mom attended UC-San Diego and is a chief county recorder Younger brother, Eric, is active in sports at Clairemont HS Active in Bayview Baptist Church audio visual department and parking security volunteer Kiwanis Club volunteer for Special Olympics and Soap Box Derby Little League scorekeeper and concessionaire Pop Warner videographer for three years United Way contributor Habitat for Humanity Project in early 2002 Sea World customer service worker his senior year Likes computers, television, video games and sports Full name Marcus E.B. Smith Date of birth: Feb. 7, 1984, San Diego, Calif. 2003 PLAYER BIOS PAGE 89
Justin Stewart Linebacker 57 6-1 240 Woodinville, Wash. Tim Taylor Linebacker 47 5-11 210 San Antonio, Texas Arizona: SQ... Expected to provide depth at inside linebacker entering 2003 fall practice... Worked primarily with the defensive scout team in 2002 but earned special teams duty on a consistent basis Played in four games for the Wildcats last season and had a solo tackle as a member of UA s special teams unit Worked with the defensive scout team in 2001, 2000 and 1999... Redshirted in 1999 as a walk-on... High School: Redmond High School, Redmond, Wash., 1999... Three-year starter for coach Rik Haines... Defensive captain as a senior... Played middle linebacker and fullback... Earned first-team All-Eastside honors at middle linebacker... First-team All-KingCo Conference accolades at middle linebacker... Honorable mention All-KingCo honors at fullback... Led conference in tackles and was voted best tackler by his teammates... Averaged just under nine yards per carry as a fullback and gained nearly half of his total yards after contact... Had 16 tackles, over 100 yards rushing on five carries, a touchdown and a 2-point conversion all in one game... Personal: Academic major is communication... 2001 and 2002 Mary Roby Academic Achievement Award... Son of Larry and Pamela Stewart of Woodinville, Wash... Father graduated from the University of Montana and is a general contractor... Older brother, Matt, plays baseball for Portland State... Full name Justin Larry Stewart... Date of birth: May 10, 1981. Arizona: RS Expected to provide depth in the linebacker corps entering the 2003 season Switched from fullback to linebacker at the start of spring drills A walk-on who joined the team in August and worked with the offensive scout team at fullback during the 2002 season Junior College: Blinn Junior College, Brenham, Texas, 2001 Earned All-America and All-Southwest Junior College Conference honors at quarterback during the 2000 season... Named team s co-offensive Player of the Year in 2000... High School: Madison High School, San Antonio, Texas, 1999 Three-year varsity letterman in football... Played both quarterback and safety... Team captain as a senior... Earned all-district, all-city and all-state honors at quarterback during his senior season... Received all-district accolades at safety during his junior season... Named San Antonio s Offensive Player of the Year as a senior... Team MVP as a senior... Three-year varsity letterman in baseball... Personal: Academic area of interest is sports medicine Son of Lee and Judy Taylor of San Antonio, Texas... Brother, Andy, 20, is a sophomore at Texas Tech... Full name Timothy Dean Taylor Date of birth: Jan. 27, 1981. PAGE 90
Andrae Thurman Wide Receiver 4 6-0 185 Avondale, Ariz. 2 0 0 3 Arizona: 3L... Arizona s top returning wide receiver entering the 2003 season and expected to be the Wildcats key outside threat Enters the season listed at No. 9 in career receptions with 105 and No. 11 in career yards with 1,530 Has four 100-yard games to his credit entering this season Played in all 12 games and started 10 for the Wildcats during the 2002 season Had a breakout season, finishing the year as UA s second-leading receiver behind Bobby Wade Had a career-best 61 receptions for 915 yards and three touchdowns last season Thurman s 61 receptions stand at No. 6 on the singleseason chart, and his 915 yards are eighth on the single-season list Topped Bobby Wade with a 15.0 yards-per-catch average and had a career-long 92-yard reception in the UCLA game Finished second on the team in all-purpose yardage with 1,072 yards, an average of 89.3 yards per game Listed in the top eight in three Pac-10 receiving categories (receptions per game, receiving yards per game and yards per catch) As a tandem, Thurman and Wade combined for 154 receptions, making them the school-record 1-2 punch, and easily eclipsing the mark of 121 catches in a single season by Dennis Northcutt (63) and Jeremy McDaniel (58) in 1998 Returned two punts for 41 yards, an average of 20.5 yards per return, and returned six kicks for 104 yards, an average of 17.3 yards per kick return, last season Tallied a career-best nine receptions for 165 yards versus Utah and caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Jason Johnson Tied a career-best nine receptions at Washington and finished with 142 yards and caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jason Johnson Tied a career-best nine catches at California and finished with 151 yards Thurman s career-long 92-yard touchdown reception from Nic Costa in the second quarter of the UCLA game tied for the third-longest pass play and fourth-longest play in UA history Finished the UCLA game with five catches for 118 yards and a touchdown Had five catches for 45 yards at Oregon State Finished the Washington State game with seven receptions for 89 yards Had four catches for 42 yards in the final game of the year against Arizona State Had two catches for 18 yards at Stanford and had a season-long Thurman s Career Stats Year G-GS Rec Yards Avg. TD Long KOR Avg. PR Avg. 2000 11-1 14 145 10.4 0 22 6-124 20.7 0-34, 1 TD 0.0 2001 11-6 30 470 15.7 2 41 15-269 17.9 1-18 18.0 2002 12-10 61 915 15.0 3 92 6-104 17.3 2-41 20.5 Totals 34-17 105 1530 14.6 5 92 27-497 18.4 3-93, 1 TD 31.0 2003 PLAYER BIOS PAGE 91
25-yard kick return Tallied five receptions for 67 yards versus Oregon Had two catches for 20 yards in the North Texas game and two catches for 10 yards at Wisconsin Had two receptions for 48 yards in the season opener versus 2 Northern 0 Arizona 0 3Played in all 11 games and started six in 2001... Ended the season with 30 receptions for 470 yards, a 15.7 yards-per-catch average... Had two touchdowns and a season-long reception of 41 yards in the USC game... Had Arizona s second-best yards-per-catch average behind senior Brandon Marshall (20.5)... Third on the team with 757 allpurpose yards, an average of 68.8 yards per game... Had a punt return for 18 yards in the San Diego State game... Solid kick-off return man, finishing the season with 15 kick returns for 269 yards, an average of 17.9 yards... Caught a pass for five yards and returned a kick for 24 yards at Arizona State... Had four receptions for 44 yards versus Stanford and three catches for 59 yards at California... Had four catches for 96 yards, including a 41-yard reception, against USC... Had three catches for 29 yards at Washington and caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Jason Johnson... Also returned three kicks for 61 yards against the Huskies... Returned four kicks for 48 yards at Oregon State... Had two catches for 22 yards and returned five kicks for 108 yards against Oregon... Caught five passes for 95 yards against Washington State... Had two receptions for 30 yards versus UNLV... Caught three passes for 48 yards, including a 19-yard pass for his first career TD from Jason Johnson... Opened the season with three catches for 48 yards, had a kick-off return for 22 yards and blocked a punt for a safety at San Diego State... Had a strong showing during 2001 spring practice... Finished the spring with four receptions for 79 yards in the Red-Blue game and caught a 19-yard pass for a touchdown from Jason Johnson... Played in all 11 games during the 2000 season and earned his first career start against Ohio State... Closed the season with 14 receptions for 145 yards, averaging 10.4 yards per catch... Also returned six kickoffs for 124 yards, an average of 20.7 yards per return... Had a season-best six-catch game for 82 yards against San Diego State... Recovered a blocked punt and returned the ball 34 yards for a touchdown against San Diego State... Finished with three catches for 22 yards against Ohio State... Caught two balls for 19 yards at Stanford... Caught a pass against Washington State, Washington and Oregon State for one, nine and 12 yards, respectively... Returned four kickoffs for 65 yards in the Arizona State game and had two kick-off returns for 59 yards against Oregon State... Redshirted for the Wildcats in 1999... A close friend of former Wildcat and Phoenix-area player Bobby Wade, they announced their commitments to UA at the same gathering... High School: Westview High School, Avondale, Ariz., 1999... Earned three letters as a wide receiver, corner and quarterback for coach George Martinez... PrepStar All-America honors and SuperPrep All- Far West accolades... Honorable mention Best in the West pick by the Long Beach Press-Telegram and honorable mention Las Vegas Sun Super 11... All-state selection as a junior corner and as a senior receiver... Had 12 interceptions as a junior and 17.5 yards per catch as a senior... Caught 92 balls for 1,583 yards in his last two seasons... Offered scholarships by at least two other Pac-10 schools... Semester honor roll his senior year... Personal: Academic major is family studies and human development... Son of Carnell Thurman and Patricia Woods of Avondale, Ariz... Dad is an engineer and graduated from Texas Southern... Mother is a hair stylist and graduated from Baker University (Kansas)... Brother, Marcus, plays high school football... Likes swimming and weightlifting... Full name D Andrae Carnell Thurman... Date of birth: Oct. 25, 1980. PAGE 92
Andre Torrey Outside Linebacker 6-4 250 Alameda, Calif. 56 Carl Tuitavuki Defensive Tackle 6-3 334 Oakland, Calif. 90 Arizona: RS... Looks to challenge for a role at outside linebacker entering 2003 fall camp Strong showing in spring practice... Sat out the 2002 season with a hip injury, diagnosed on the first day of fall camp, and retained a year of eligibility One of the bright spots in 2002 spring ball... UA sought immediate help at some positions and was able to attract Torrey from the junior college ranks as a mid-year signee who participated in spring drills... Junior College: Laney Community College, Oakland, Calif., 2001... Led Laney CC in sacks with 12, plus had 60 tackles... Earned team Most Outstanding Defensive Lineman award for Laney, the Merced Elks Bowl Champions... A SuperPrep Juco 100 All-America pick, he gives UA an experienced player to build immediate depth on the defensive line... Earned first-team All-Mid Empire Conference honors at Laney, situated in Oakland... High School: Alameda High School, Alameda, Calif., 2000... Lettered three years in football, one letter in basketball as a starter on the varsity team and lettered one year on the JV track team Accumulated 100 hours of community service Personal: Academic major is communication... Son of Susan Torrey of Oakland, Calif., and the late Kenneth Torrey Mother is an administrative assistant Enjoys life, video games and his family Full name is Andre Charles Torrey Date of birth: Jan. 28, 1982. Arizona: IL Expected to challenge for a top spot at defensive tackle entering 2003 fall drills Played in 12 games for the Wildcats as a JC transfer in 2002 Finished the year with 12 tackles, a tackle for loss (-6 yards) and a sack Had two solo hits at California and a solo tackle against UCLA Had a tackle in both the Oregon State and Washington State games Finished the Stanford game with two tackles Had two tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack at Washington Had a career-best three tackles at Wisconsin A key junior college recruit in 2002 who was recruited by Pac-10, Big 12 and SEC schools as a top prospect... Junior College: Ricks College, Rexburg, Idaho, 2002 NCJAA second-team All-America honors in 2001... JCGridwire honorable mention All-America... No. 59 national junior college prospect by JCFootball.com... Rated a four-star junior college prospect by TheInsiders.com service... Earned first-team All-WSFL Conference honors... Third on Ricks with 70 tackles, including 17 for losses and six sacks, plus broke up three passes, forced a fumble and recovered one in 2001... Ricks finished ranked No. 5 nationally in the NJCAA final poll with a 10-1 record... Tuitavuki earned first-team All- Region 18 honors... High School: San Leandro, Calif., High School Played just one year of high school football after moving from American Samoa to the Oakland, Calif., area Also wrestled and was a weight thrower for a year in high school Personal: Academic major is sociology, with an eye toward a career as a parole officer Son of Lui and Lealai Tuitavuki of Oakland Younger sister, Lani, was an accomplished track thrower, wrestler and volleyball player at San Leandro High and is a volleyball player at Chabot College Likes cleaning, disc-jockeying, playing basketball and watching sports Nicknamed Big C Full name Carl Flint Tuitavuki Date of birth: April 6, 1978, American Samoa. Tuitavuki s Career Stats Year G-GS UT AT TT TFL Sacks 2002 12-0 7 5 12 1-6 1-6 2003 PLAYER BIOS PAGE 93
Juan Valentine Wide Receiver 6-1 200 Houston, Texas 81 Tim Volk Defensive End 58 6-2 260 Thousand Oaks, Calif. Arizona: IL. Expected to be an important contributor in the Wildcat receiving rotation entering the 2003 season Played in nine games during the 2002 season and missed the remainder of the year with an ankle injury Finished the year with five receptions for 70 yards, a 14.0 yards-per-catch average Had a career-long 27-yard reception at Washington and one catch for six yards against Oregon Had one catch for eight yards against North Texas Had one catch for 15 yards at Wisconsin Opened the season with a catch for 14 yards versus Northern Arizona Had a good showing during 2002 spring practice Junior College: Tyler Junior College, Tyler, Texas, 2001... A PrepStar All-Region selection out of Houston Clear Lake in 2000, Valentine was one of the Cats offensive perimeter signees two years ago, but attended junior college at Tyler JC, and the Wildcat staff kept up correspondence at contact in hopes he d return... He was a prep star with Dallas Morning News State 100 honors and a Houston Chronicle Super Texas selection... Prep track runner... Rivals100.com Texas all-star... One-star TheInsiders.com juco rating... Starter for 8-4 Tyler club that finished second in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference... Earned firstteam All-Southwest JC Conference Offense honors along with four teammates... Team leader with 34 receptions for 649 yards an average of 19.1 per catch, with six touchdowns... Tyler led the league in total offense with 424 yards per game... Dean s list... High School: Clear Lake High School, Houston, Texas, 2000... Lettered three years in football, four in track and two in basketball... Football team captain... Personal: Academic major is family studies and human development... Son of Natalie Landry and Michael Payne... Enjoys traveling, playing basketball and cutting hair... First person in his family to play a college sport... Full name Juan Anthony Valentine... Date of birth: Sept. 22, 1981. Arizona: RS Expected to provide depth at defensive end entering the 2003 season Redshirted for the Wildcats in 2002 and was a member of the defensive scout team A highly recruited prospect from the 2002 class High School: Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks, Calif., 2002 Volk brings outstanding credentials to the edge-rush mix... One of UA s earliest commitments in August 2001... Earned Long Beach Press-Telegram first-team Best in the West honors with eight votes... Tacoma News Tribune Western 100 selection... Called a high-octane player with a relentless motor... Recorded 180 total tackles and 17 sacks in leading Notre Dame to a 21-2-1 record over the last two years... Strong player with a 345 bench press... PrepStar All-America honors as the No. 13 prospect on its All-West selections... No. 31 on Rivals100.com weakside DE list... League MVP Lineman honors with 70 hits, 8.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one recovery and one interception as a senior... SuperPrep All-Farwest honors as the No. 96 prospect in three-state region... Rivals100.com three-star player on national Top 40 linebacker list and four-star pick by Max Emfinger among Top 50 national defensive ends... The Sporting News ranked him among the top 130 players nationally... Earned first-team CalHiSports state honors three years... All-CIF Southern Section first-team defense his senior year and All-CIF Southern Section Division III defensive line honors two years... Los Angeles Times firstteam all-region pick... Scored twice on the fumblerooski play as a junior... Nose guard his sophomore year, defensive end and offensive guard or tackle his junior and senior years... Team MVP on freshman club, Most Valuable Sophomore on varsity the following year, and selected the league s Most Valuable Lineman his junior and senior seasons... Also lettered in track one year Mission League All-Academic honors Personal: Academic major is pre-business Son of Vince and Cathy Volk of Thousand Oaks, Calif Father is a plumbing contractor Mom graduated from Pasadena City College and is a dental assistant Likes fly fishing and camping Full name Timothy Lee Volk Date of birth: June 10, 1983, Pasadena, Calif. Valentine s Career Stats Year G-GS Rec. Yards Avg. TD 2002 9-0 5 70 14.0 0 PAGE 94
Carlos Williams Defensive Tackle 92 6-4 291 Denver, Colo. 2 0 0 3 Arizona: 2L... Projected starter at defensive end entering the 2003 season Played in all 12 games and started nine at defensive tackle for the Wildcats during the 2002 season Closed the year with 27 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss (-12 yards), one sack and two blocks Had two tackles in the Arizona State game Tied a career-best five tackles and had three tackles for loss and a sack at California Tied a career-best five tackles and had a tackle for loss versus UCLA Had four tackles at Oregon State Had a solo tackle and blocked a field goal attempt against Washington State Finished with two hits against Stanford Tallied a career-best five tackles at Washington Had a tackle versus Oregon and blocked a field goal attempt against North Texas Had two solo hits at Wisconsin Played in nine games as a true freshman and helped out at defensive end, defensive tackle and on special teams in 2001... Finished the season with two tackles and two pass deflections... Had a tackle versus Oregon and a solo stop at Oregon State... Converted from tight end to defensive end at the start of fall camp when injuries slowed the defensive line... Williams was the Cats lone recruit from a state other than Arizona, California and Texas in 2001... Attracted some attention at the Colorado Nike Camp and several other camps in the Midwest in summer 2001 and was recruited by Kansas State and Michigan State, among others... High School: Montbello High School, Denver, Colo., 2001... Played four years under coach Louie Wright and started the final three, playing tight end, guard and defensive end... School MVP and team captain... Earned three-time all-city honors and was selected by the Denver Post as one of the state s top 15 players... Also earned a Post honor as scholar-athlete of the week during basketball season... Earned PrepStar all-region honors for the Midlands area and was a Rivals100.com honorable mention selection...earned four letters in basketball... Listed on Principal s Honor Roll three years... Volunteered at VA hospital... Personal: Academic major to be determined Son of Carl and April Williams... Father is a production operator... Mother is a credit manager... Brother, Durell, plays high school football and basketball... Relative, Karl Williams, was a wide receiver at Texas A&M Kingsville and currently plays for Tampa Bay in the NFL... Enjoys music, assembling model cars, swimming and coaching his younger brother... Full name Carlos Daniel Williams... Date of birth: Oct. 16, 1982. Williams Career Stats Year G-GS UT AA TT TFL Sacks Other 2001 9-0 1 1 2 2 PD 2002 12-9 13 14 27 3.5-12 1-8 2 BLK Totals 21-9 14 15 29 3.5-12 1-8 2 PD, 2 BLK 2003 PLAYER BIOS PAGE 95
Ricky Williams Wide Receiver 84 6-3 210 Los Angeles, Calif. 2 0 0 3 Arizona: IL... Will contend for a role in the Wildcats receiving rotation entering the 2003 season... Played in all 12 games for the Wildcats and started three in 2002 Ended the year with 11 receptions for 166 yards, an average of 15.1 yards per catch Had a career-long reception of 46 yards in the Northern Arizona game Had a catch for 18 yards against Arizona State and a catch for three yards at California Had a career-best three catches for 34 yards at Stanford Finished with one reception for 22 yards versus Oregon and had one catch for 16 yards in the North Texas game Had two catches for 17 yards versus Utah Had two catches for a career-best 56 yards in the season opener against Northern Arizona Saw limited action in four games for the Wildcats in 2001 and worked with both the varsity and scout teams... Caught four passes for 59 yards in three scrimmages during 2001 spring ball... Redshirted in 2000 and worked with the offensive scout team... A California prep standout, Williams was the only wide receiver UA signed in February 2000... High School: Verbum Dei High School, Los Angeles, Calif., 2000... Three-year letterman for coach Lalo Mendoza... Played wide receiver and was team captain... All-state and all-city selection... Had 10 catches for 451 yards as a sophomore... Finished his junior season with 23 catches for 1,005 yards... Had 17 catches for 675 yards in 1999 and finished with 40 career touchdowns... Earned SuperPrep All-America honors and Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West second-team accolades... Named to the Tacoma News-Tribune Western 100 list... Rivals100 region selection... Also earned letters in basketball and track and field... National Honor Society... Personal: Academic major is family studies and human development Son of Ricky and Pamela Williams of Paramount, Calif... Father is a pastor and a graduate of Contra Costa College and Liberty University... Mother is a sales assistant and attended Sacramento State... Sister, Lachelle, plays junior college basketball at Compton Community College... Relative D Marco Farr was a defensive tackle for Washington (1990-94) and played pro ball with the St. Louis Rams... Enjoys reading, music and sports... Full name Ricky Renaldo Williams Jr... Date of birth: Sept. 14, 1982. Williams Career Stats Year G-GS Rec. Yards Avg. TD Long 2002 12-3 11 166 15.1 0 46 PAGE 96
Tony Wingate Strong Safety 30 6-1 200 Tucson, Ariz. 2 0 0 3 Arizona: IL... Expected to challenge for a top rotation role in the Wildcat secondary entering 2003 fall camp after working at strong safety for most of spring drills Should contend for starting special teams roles for the second consecutive season Played in all 12 games for the Wildcats in 2002 and ended the year with 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss (-5 yards) and a pass breakup Tallied three solo tackles and two tackles for loss at Oregon State Had a solo hit in each of the Stanford and Washington State games Notched a career-high four tackles, broke up a pass and had a tackle for loss versus Oregon Played in four games for the Wildcats in 2001 and finished the year with one tackle... Also contributed on the punt and kick coverage teams... Had 5.5 tackles, including a tackle for loss, in the 2001 Red-Blue game... Redshirted for the Wildcats in 2000... Has position flexibility... Led his high school team to the state championship game in 1999 and was the first player to commit to the UA from that class... High School: Sahuaro High School, Tucson, Ariz., 2000... Earned three varsity football letters under coach Nemer Hassey... Played corner, running back, wide receiver and returned kickoffs... Named to the all-state, all-city and all-region teams and was a team captain... Earned SuperPrep All-America honors and named to the SuperPrep all-region list... PrepStar all-region and Rivals100 region selection... Also lettered in track and field in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay... National Honor Society... Superintendent s honor roll... Personal: Academic major is marketing... Son of Eddie and Sherrie Wingate of Tucson, Ariz... Father is a letter carrier... Mother is a social worker... Dad is a Pima Community College and University of Arizona graduate, and Mom is a graduate of the UA and Arizona State University... Sister, Alicia, participates in basketball, volleyball, track and field, softball and cheerleading... Enjoys basketball, movies and church... Full name Anthony James Wingate... Date of birth: June 7, 1982. Wingate s Career Stats Year G-GS UT AT TT TFL Other 2002 12-0 8 2 10 2.5-5 1 PD 2003 PLAYER BIOS PAGE 97
Michael Beach Cornerback INCOMING ESHMAN 14 6-0 172 Los Angeles, Calif. Arizona: A two-way prep star at quarterback and defensive back, Beach will open his UA career as a corner High School: John C. Fremont High School, Fremont, Calif., 2003 Helped coach Peter Duffy and Fremont to an 8-3 record in 2002, throwing for more than 1,700 yards and 20 touchdowns Rushed for about 350 yards, scoring seven times Accumulated some 80 tackles Finished his career with 4,150 yards passing and 38 touchdowns, plus rushed for 1,200 yards and scored 12 TDs All-Coliseum League athlete Played basketball, volleyball, tennis and ran track 200m and 4x100 relay league titlist Timed at 4.5 in the 40 Four-year football and track letterman with one each in basketball and volleyball back Honorable mention 5Atexasfootball.com All-Texas Rushed for more than 1,300 yards and eight scores as a junior to earn unanimous first-team All-District 24 honors as well, averaging more than 10 yards per carry Don Cartwright s Lone Star 100 honorable mention Big game in INCOMING ESHMAN 2002 season opener with 10 carries for 174 yards and touchdowns of 12, 43 and 63 yards to earn 5Atexasfootball.com Player of the Week honors Track sprinter in 100m, 200m and two relays Personal: Date of birth: July 7, 1984. Tommy Briggs JUNIOR TRANSFER Tight End 89 6-5 225 Merced, Calif. Personal: Academic areas of interest are business and kinesiology Son of Michael and Diane Beach of Los Angeles Mother is a Social Security representative; Father is a design artist Dad attended Orange Coast College, and Mom is a graduate of Phoenix College Solid student with cumulative 3.0 GPA and Honor Roll 2003 background Active in high school chess club An uncle played football at Grambling, his grandfather played at Navy and an aunt was an Olympic Volleyball Team alternate Likes to play the piano and video games Played in UA summer passing league in 2002 Full name Michael David Beach Date of birth: June 14, 1985, Los Angeles, Calif. Brent Bolden Halfback INCOMING ESHMAN 20 6-0 190 Leauge City, Texas Arizona: UA looked for some immediate size and experience at the position in signing Briggs to the tight end corps, where UA lost two lettermen Junior College: Fresno City College, Fresno, Calif., 2003 Briggs comes to Arizona as a junior college transfer with three years to play two Solid sophomore year at Fresno City for coach Tony Caviglia with 19 receptions for 277 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 14.6 yards per grab All- Central Valley Conference honors Played on 9-2 club in 2002 that won its first nine games before losing to Reedley College and then again to Reedley in the Northern California Championship game of state playoffs High School: Merced High School, Merced, Calif., 2000 Personal: Date of birth: Feb. 18, 1982. Arizona: Bolden opens fall camp as a Wildcat halfback High School: Clear Creek High School, League City, Texas, 2003 Arizona dipped into its familiar Houston recruiting grounds to snare one the top backs in the metro area in Bolden Dave Campbell s Texas High School Football Texas Top 20 running back and overall Top 300 Finished with 1237 yards and 11 touchdowns for coach Aubrey Schultz, including 120 yards and two touchdowns against North Shore in the playoffs Team was undefeated in regular season Earned unanimous All-District 24-5A first-team honors PrepStar All-Midlands Galveston Daily News firstteam All-County Made the Fort Worth Star-Telegram State 100 chart SuperPrep All-Southwest, No. 67 Honorable mention all-state selection Rivals100 Top 20 all-purpose PAGE 98
Phil Clark Offensive Line INCOMING JUNIOR TRANSFER ESHMAN 6-6 325 Newbury, Calif. Arizona: Clark is pegged to open his UA career as a guard Junior College: Moorpark College, Moorpark, Calif., 2003 Clark played on a Raiders team at Moorpark under coach Jim Bittner that finished the year 10-1 as Western State League titlist Moorpark posted a 55-28 victory over Pasadena City in the Shrine Potato Bowl to earn the nation s No. 6 final juco ranking His big frame and size, and relative experience, appealed to UA coaches 2003 club was best in school history and won the school s first bowl game High School: Newbury Park High School, Newbury Park, Calif., 2000 Four-year letterman Team captain senior year Personal: Academic area of interest is business management Son of Bill Clark of Palm Springs, Calif., and Leeann Guenot of Las Vegas, Nev Father is a an employee of Federal Express; Mother is a housewife Older brother, Jeremiah Clark, played football at Nebraska Full name Philip Douglas Clark Date of birth: Oct. 10, 1982, Westlake Village, Calif. Cedric Cofer Defensive Tackle INCOMING ESHMAN 78 97 Arizona: Cofer will open his UA career inside at the nose tackle position UA went after a big man and came away with Cofer from the Metroplex south of Dallas 6-4 300 DeSoto, Texas High School: DeSoto High School, DeSoto, Texas, 2003 Dave Campbell s Texas High School Football Top 300 pick for coach Dave Meadows in 2002 Had 49 tackles as a junior, with two sacks PrepStar all-region honorable mention Severely fractured his leg in a summer 2002 camp and missed his senior year, but continued to attend practices and all attendant football functions Lone Star 100 Super State as an offensive lineman, plus No. 60 on Don Cartwright s Lone Star 100 final edition Listed No. 39 on the Dallas Morning News Area Top 100 prospects despite the missed season Helped DeSoto reach the state quarterfinals in 2001, playing along both front lines 5Atexasfootball All- Defense prospect and No. 5 on its Region 1 list, with four of five stars A Top 25 DL prospect by Fab50 Recruiting Personal: Academic major to be determined Son of Herman and Barbara Cofer of DeSoto Father is a teacher and graduate of Midwestern State University Mother is a customer service representative and attended several junior colleges Good student who earned Texas Scholar honor INCOMING ESHMAN and served as elementary teacher assistant in school Likes playing basketball and writing short stories Won the school s Fighting Heart Award for football Who s Who Among American High School Students listee Full name Cedric Conte Cofer Likes to be called Big Ced Date of birth: Aug. 19, 1985, Carrollton, Texas Lionel Dotson Linebacker INCOMING ESHMAN 54 6-4 235 Pasadena, Texas Arizona: Coaches will look at Dotson in the outside linebacker corps during his first weeks in camp High School: Dobie High School, Pasadena, Texas, 2003 Texas Top 100 selection by all three major metropolitan dailies, the Dallas Morning News (No. 52), Houston Chronicle and Fort Worth Star-Telegram SuperPrep All-Southwest for coach Mike Stephens Rivals100 Top 25 weak-side defensive end rating and No. 51 overall prospect in Texas PrepStar All- Midlands No. 24 defensive end prospect by Tom Lemmings Prep Football Report Texas Nifty 150 picked by Max Emfinger, rated a Top 11 defensive end Attracted by Arizona s large contingent of Texas players Recorded 50 tackles and 13 sacks his senior year First-team all-district honors in 2002 Dave Campbell s Texas High School Football Top 300 Prep Football Report No. 24 defensive end prospect Selected for Texas-Oklahoma Oil Bowl Don Cartwright s Lone Star 100 honorable mention SuperPrep All-Southwest preseason pick First-team all-district honors in basketball as a junior center, and selected for Texas HS Coaches All-Star basketball game senior year Two-year lettermen in football and basketball Nominated for U.S. Army All-American Bowl high school game Received U.S. Marine Corps Award for distinguished athletes Personal: Academic major to be determined Son of Sheryl Dotson of Houston and Lionel Dotson of Austin Mother is a social worker and University of Houston graduate, where father also attended Recently acquired his Eagle Scout badge Member of Jack & Jill of America, a community service group for young people aiding the elderly Volunteer work for the Salvation Army and at a local hospital and nursing home Grandfather, Leon Bedford, played football at Southern University Father was a basketball player at Houston Uncle, Vance Bedford, played football at Texas and a year for the St. Louis Cardinals Likes to play video games, listen to music and go to the movies... Date of birth: Feb. 11, 1985. 2003 NEWCOMER BIOS PAGE 99
Wilrey Fontenot Cornerback INCOMING ESHMAN 5-11 170 Garcia 18 73 Offensive Guard Humble, Texas Ismael INCOMING ESHMAN 6-5 335 Pomona, Calif. Arizona: Arizona will examine Fontenot s athletic abilities in a potential variety of ways this fall, though he is initially listed at cornerback High School: Humble High School, Humble, Texas, 2003 Three-way threat for coach Neal Quillin and the Humble Wildcats, who won 10 consecutive games in the regular season and finished 11-2 in the state semifinals Honorable mention 5Atexasfootball.com All-Texas pick In one game, he scored a 54-yard touchdown on the opening run of the contest (vs. Deer Park) and also had a 26-yard catch in the game Returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in 50-14 victory over Port Arthur Memorial Don Cartwright s Lone Star 100 honorable mention Finished with 40 tackles, three interceptions and four PBU on the corner Track sprinter who ran on prestigious Track Houston s intermediate boys 4x100 B relay group at the 2000 National Youth Athletics Championship in Decatur, Ill., to a fifth-place finish with the B Team in the Young Men s 4x100 at the 2002 USATF Youth Nationals in Miami, Fla., and to a fifth-place finish in the 4x800 relay at the National Junior Olympics in Omaha, Neb., in July 2002 Ran on Humble s 2002 5A state champion 4x400 relay Finished sixth in state 400-meter dash senior year Team finished ranked No. 1 nationally in 4x400 relay Four-year track letterman and three years in football Football captain final two years Personal: Academic area of interest is business management Son of Cheryl and Wilrey Fontenot Jr. of Houston, Texas. Mother is a University of Houston graduate and assistant school principal; Father attended Texas Southern and is a police officer Younger brother, Denzel, plays middle-school football and runs track in the summer for Track Houston Likes video games and listening to music Full name Wilrey Fontenot III Date of birth: Oct. 14, 1984, Houston, Texas. Arizona: UA continued its trend toward recruiting size in the trenches with Garcia s signing... He will open as a guard in his first camp High School: Garey High School, Pomona, Calif., 2003 PrepStar honorable mention all-region honors All-league and all-county honors for coach Joe Marianni Garey rushed for more than 2,000 yards each of the three years he started All-Inland Valley honors Arizona coaches liked his footwork and relative speed for a 340-pounder, and think he projects as a big-body guard rather than a tackle Recruited by UA line coach Charlie Dickey and hosted on campus by freshman quarterback Ryan O Hara Personal: Date of birth: April 12, 1985. Peter Graniello Offensive Tackle INCOMING ESHMAN 76 6-6 280 El Paso, Texas Arizona: UA kept its eye on El Paso for Graniello, who will open at tackle in fall camp High School: Coronado High School, El Paso, Texas, 2003 Arizona went back to the city where it recruited star receiver Mike Jefferson in 2003 and came away with an all-city big man up front in Graniello, who immediately announced plans to get bigger and stronger Honorable mention Texas High School Football Coaches Association 5A Academic All-State selection All-district offensive line honors for coach Don Brooks in 2002 Dave Campbell s Texas Football Blue Chips Top 300, Top 50 offensive line prospect 5atexasfootball.com preseason All-Region 1 Had 29 tackles playing on the defensive line Rivals100 two-star rating Finished fifth in the District 1-5A Track Championships in the shot put his junior year Personal: Academic area of interest is electrical engineering Son of Marcia Graniello of El Paso and Afilio Graniello of Houston Mother is a health specialist for State Farm Insurance Who s Who Among American High School Students listing in 2003 Lettered in football, wrestling and track Older brother, Ben, was a scholarship offensive guard at UTEP Likes lifting weights and computers Older sister, Molly, graduated from Texas-Arlington with a business and finance degree Earned National Honor Society distinction in 2002 Said he was attracted to UA s offensive philosophy of a balanced attack Full name Peter Lee Graniello Date of birth: June 3, 1985. PAGE 100
Ray Gurley Tight End INCOMING JUNIOR TRANSFER ESHMAN 6-5 255 Little Elm, Texas Arizona: One of two juco tight end prospects the Cats brought in to bolster a young corps Junior College: Independence Community College, Independence, Kan., 2002 Gurley earned PrepStar Juco national 125 honors for his work in the KJCCC under coach Gordon Schuler Also was named to SuperPrep Juco 100 Earned first-team All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference honors in 2002 Caught 46 balls for 479 yards and six TDs Preseason honorable mention National Junior College Athletic Association All-America pick JCFootball Top 101 prospect, among top 10 at tight end Three-star rating by Rivals100.com College: Pittsburg State, Pittsburg, Kan., 2001 Played one year at the Division II school before switching to Independence CC High School: Little Elm High School, Little Elm, Texas, 2000 Earned second-team all-district honors at Little Elm as a sophomore and first-team honors his final two years, capped by District Offensive MVP and all-state honors 38 catches for 334 yards and seven TDs as a senior... High on Texas and national TE prospects charts Personal: Attended Pima Community College in Tucson in spring 2003 Date of birth: March 24, 1982. touchdowns his senior year Rivals100 Top 50 regional prospect and SuperPrep All-Southwest entering the year after he threw for 1767 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior, running for 285 yards and five scores Early in his senior year he accounted for all the scores in one game, passing for four touchdowns INCOMING and ESHMAN running for two others in Johnson City s 47-39 loss to San Saba Also played baseball, basketball and track Three-time all-district honoree in hoops High jumped 6-2 Alldistrict pick in baseball two years Twelve letters in football, basketball and baseball, with another in track Team captain in football and basketball Personal: Academic areas of interest are education and coaching Son of Ruby Heavner of Johnson City Mother is an assistant to an elementary school English as a Second Language teacher Who s Who Among American High School Students listee Assisted with youth sports programs and served in role modeling projects in his small town Younger brother, Darnell, and sister, Heather, are active in multiple high school sports Young sister, Kelsey, played introductory Little League coach-pitch Likes to work out Writes that he believes hard work pays off, goal-setting is important, and don t let others influence your quest for your goals Full name Kristopher Shane Heavner Date of birth: Sept. 24, 1984, Fredericksburg, Texas. Chris Henry Halfback INCOMING ESHMAN 27 6-1 210 Stockton, Calif. Kris Heavner Quarterback INCOMING ESHMAN 12 6-3 215 Johnson City, Texas Arizona: Will compete for position in the quarterback rotation in the fall... High School: Lyndon B. Johnson High School, Johnson City, Texas, 2003 One of Arizona s first recruits in the class First-team Associated Press Sports Editors Class 2A All-State honors Dave Campbell s Texas High School Football Top 15 quarterback selection under coach Todd Brown PrepStar All- Midlands SuperPrep All-Southwest, No. 104 Max Emfinger Texas 150 Top 10 drop-back QB prospect Don Cartwright s Lone Star 100 honorable mention 5Atexasfootball.com Top 100 prospect All-district for four years, plus one year each as a safety and punter Accounted for more than 5,338 yards passing and 1,645 yards rushing from his sophomore through senior years at Johnson City Capped his career with 2,104 yards passing, 813 rushing yards (14 TDs) and 18 passing Arizona: Coaches slate Henry for the halfback position to open his freshman camp, but has other position potential High School: Edison High School, Stockton, Calif., 2003 UA recruited a number of guys pegged as athletes in 2003 and brings Henry to Tucson from Central California PrepStar All- West for coach Booker Guyton SuperPrep All-Farwest Rivals.com Athletes 2003 national list at No. 43, one of three UA recruits on that chart Rivals.com three-star rating and its California 100 chart at No. 85 Has a reported 10.4 time in the 100 and clocked in sub-4.4 time for the 40 Finished third in the Metro Relays 100m in March 2002 SuperPrep preseason all-region pick Rushed for 300 yards as a junior fullback Some colleges projected him as an outside linebacker, all considered him for positions requiring speed Won the 100- meter dash in the 2003 Stanford Invitational (10.71) and the 2003 Oakland Invitational (10.77) Team captain for track final two years Also earned two letters in basketball and three in baseball Personal: Academic area of interest is in criminal justice Son of Claude and Erica Henry of Stockton Mother is a teacher; Father is a correctional officer Honor Roll his final three years in high school Younger brothers are active in sports Darren (football) and William (baseball and basketball) Full name Christopher John Henry Date of birth: June 6, 1985, Oakland, Calif. 2003 NEWCOMER BIOS PAGE 101
Marcus Hollingsworth Safety INCOMING ESHMAN Anthony Johnson Wide Receiver INCOMING ESHMAN 24 5-11 195 San Diego, Calif. Arizona: Arizona will put Hollingsworth in the free safety equation to open his first camp High School: San Diego High School, San Diego, Calif., 2003 National profile as an athletic prospect on either side for coach Bob Perone Rivals100.com 2003 Athlete, No. 45; Western League Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Western League as offensive utility player All-CIF region honors, all-league as junior Recruited as a defensive back and option quarterback Had 79 tackles and four interceptions on defense The only team to beat Mission Bay High School in regular-season games in 2000 and 2001 Led team to 8-2 record as a junior Team MVP all four years Four games with 200 yards passing and 100 yards rushing as junior 275 yards rushing on 19 carries in loss to La Jolla in 2002 First-team all-conference as junior with 1,610 yards passing and 1,030 yards rushing.. Rivals100.com 3-star and a California 100 player at No. 95 Personal: Honor Student of the Month by San Diego Union- Tribune National Scholar Athlete three years in high school Homecoming King his senior year Date of birth: June 20, 1985. 6-2 185 San Diego, Calif. Arizona: Coaches continued to recruit some height on the offensive perimeter with Johnson, as it did with Biren Ealy and Mike Jefferson in the 2002 class High School: Horizon High School, San Diego, Calif., 2003 Solid background on a contending team that played in the San Diego Section CIF Division IV Championship game, (losing narrowly, 23-20, to San Diego Christian) Prep Football Report All-West PrepStar honorable mention all-region honors All-Coastal South League receiver 30 receptions, 15 of those going for scores Returned a kickoff 75 yards for a score Threw seven TD passes while playing QB for five games Team offensive player of the year, plus Coach s Choice award All-league free safety as a junior Listed as a SoCalHoops.com Top 30 shooting guard and nominated for McDonald s All-America team Selected for Super 60 all-star hoops league play Football captain his senior year Also played basketball and ran track 9 Lamon Personal: Academic areas of interest are business management, architecture and physical education Means 6-3 Son190 of Patricia Johnson of San Diego Mother is a health specialist Coached Safety Clairmont Pop Warner team INCOMING Community ESHMAN service through Thanksgiving Outreach program, plus basketball ministry for Prison Evangelism Active in the school s Associated Student Body council Coached in high school by his brother, Chris, the head coach at Horizon Chris was a San Diego State Aztec who later played for the San Diego Chargers, Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Stallions Hobbies include basketball, sport cards collecting, cooking, shopping, traveling, and spending time with family and friends Full name Anthony L. Johnson Nicknamed Twelve Date of birth: May 23, 1985. Ryan Kilpatrick Outside Linebacker INCOMING ESHMAN 60 Galena Park, Texas 6-4 220 Forth Worth, Texas Arizona: Coaches liked his all-around athletic skills and will place him as an outside linebacker to open his first camp High School: All Saints Episcopal, Fort Worth, Texas, 2003 A four-sport starter, Kilpatrick was SuperPrep All- Southwest for coach Matt Cook, listed the No. 65 prospect in the region Rivals100 three-star prospect and No. 28 at defensive end position Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram Texas 100 LoneStar100 honorable mention Recruited by a number of Big 12, Big Ten and SEC schools Three-year letterman and 2002 team MVP Athletic skills with prospects at running back, linebacker or tight end, and will open UA career at defensive end 14 sacks in 2002 Punted for a 37.4 average in 2002 DFWrecruiting.com Top DE prospect list, No. 5 5Atexfootball.com top DL prospect, listed as high as No. 7 Reported 38-inch vertical leap In 2002 he had 832 yards rushing, 11 TDs 198 yards rushing on 20 carries, plus three touchdowns vs. Trinity Rushed for 115 yards and a pair of TDs in game against Austin St. Andrew s, with scores of 49 and 25 yards Had 95 yards and two TDs against Irving Cistercian Played for Division II champions Had 91 tackles, 11 sacks, five PBU and five fumble recoveries as a junior, plus rushed for 767 yards and seven TDs Dave Campbell s texashigh schoolfootball.com top 20 DL Starter on basketball, baseball and track teams Personal: Academic areas of interest are real estate and business... Son of Kevin and Debbie Kilpatrick of Fort Worth, Texas... Date of birth: Aug. 18, 1984. PAGE 102
Richard Kovalcheck Quarterback INCOMING ESHMAN Dane 6-3 205 Krogstad 5 39 Linebacker San Diego, Calif. INCOMING ESHMAN 6-3 220 Guerneville, Calif. Arizona: One of two highly regarded prep quarterbacks the Cats bring into the mix, and each will get a legitimate shot in the initial weeks High School: St. Augustine High School, San Diego, Calif., 2003 UA sought a pro-style quarterback from the West coast and lured Kovalchek away from several other noted QB schools Completed his senior season for coach Jerry Ralph with 2,600 yards passing and 19 touchdowns in leading St. Augustine to the CIF San Diego Section championship game Threw for more than 7,000 yards and 70 touchdowns in his career at St. Augustine High School on defense his senior year Earned Best in the West secondteam honors from the Long Beach Press-Telegram, with six votes Prep Football Report All-America Tacoma News- Tribune Western 100 PrepStar All-West SuperPrep All- Farwest, No. 47 First-team All-Eastern League All-San Diego Section second-team honors from the San Diego Union-Tribune Rivals.com four-star rating, Rivals California 100 listing at No. 35, and Student Sports theinsiders.com rating as the No. 11 QB Tom Lemming s Prep Football Report Top 100, and listed as the No. 11 QB Right knee injury slowed his career in 2001 Played in Global Junior Championship game for team USA in comefrom-behind 28-21 victory Personal: Academic area of interest is business Son of Dick and Ella Kovalcheck of San Diego Mother is a registered nurse; Father owns and operates the renowned Pennant tavern in South Mission Beach Mom is a University of San Diego graduate, and Dad is a graduate of UC- Santa Barbara Dad played football and rugby at UCSB in late 1960s Four-year Honor Roll student, with advanced placement studies in English and mathematics National Football Foundation/Hall of Fame scholar-athlete honors his senior year, with a 3.66 grade point average Union Tribune All-Academic Athletic Award Distinguished Student honor at annual Principal s Banquet Sister, Cece, is active in volleyball More than 100 hours of community service working with disabled children Lists hobbies as surfing, horsehoes, golf and hoops Coached under-12 flag football team Date of birth: Oct. 1, 1984, San Diego, Calif. Arizona: Projected to open his UA career as an inside linebacker, though he has a good background at other positions High School: El Molino High School, Forestville, Calif., 2003 Krogstad was a running back and wide receiver on offense and a linebacker and strong safety on defense for coach Tony Saiz and El Molino in 2002 An athletic player rated a Top-25 tight prospect on Rivals.com Tight Ends 2003 list PrepStar All-West honors as tight end Basketball regular, plus a discus thrower, for three years Had league-best discus throws (164-5) and shot put (46-0) in 2002, with the discus effort the top in the Redwood Empire area and the No. 6 throw in the CIF-North Coast Section On 4x400 relay that won league title three years Personal: Academic area of interest is sports medicine Son of Steve and Suzanne Krogstad (divorced) Mother is a banquet manager... Father is a mortgage broker Dad graduated from San Diego State Lived about 12 miles off the Pacific coast in Guerneville, about seven miles from his high school in Forestville, both about 60 miles north of San Francisco El Molino High student leadership council member Scholar-athlete honors from ninth through 12th grade Younger sister, Brianna, is active in basketball and soccer Student Leadership Council for El Molino Golden State Exam Award winner in history, biology and chemistry Likes to coach basketball Full name Dane H. Krogstad Date of birth: Jan. 4, 1985, La Jolla, Calif. 2003 NEWCOMER BIOS PAGE 103
Jason Parker Outside Linebacker INCOMING ESHMAN Ryan 6-5 255 Patterson 53 11 Cornerback San Diego, Calif. INCOMING JUNIOR TRANSFER ESHMAN 6-1 200 Phoenix, Ariz. Arizona: Quality athletic skills put Parker in the mix on the defensive edge to open his UA career High School: Mission Bay High School, San Diego, 2003 UA went back to MBHS for another defensive prospect and came away with a good one San Diego Union-Tribune All- San Diego Section first-team defensive selection League Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Western League honors in 2002 for coach Desi Herrena SuperPrep All-Farwest Team lost in semi-finals his senior year Twoway star who was the school s inside presence on the Buccaneers basketball team Had 60 tackles and nine sacks his senior year, plus had 38 receptions as a tight end, winning MBHS Most Valuable Player honors SuperPrep preseason No. 60 Farwest prospect Union-Tribune top area prospect list All-league honors as a junior Secondteam all-league baseball player in 2002 One of San Diego County s top basketball scorers in 2003 at 19 points per game, earning second-team all-league honors and an invite to all-county league play Senior year Honor Roll student Team captain of basketball and football teams in 2003 Personal: Academic areas of interest are business and history Son of Brenda Morell of San Diego and Carl Parker of Anniston, Ala Mother is a physical therapist; Father is an electrician Mom graduated from San Diego City College Member of Bayview Baptist Church Participated in African- American Club School monitor Served on YMCA fundraising projects Likes playing video games, and spending time with his friends and his mother Piqued by car stereo systems Cousin of probable outside linebacker starter Marcus Smith, a former classmate at MBHS Date of birth: Jan. 23, 1985, San Diego Arizona: UA coaches like Patterson s hard-hitting style and should open his first camp at cornerback... Junior College: Pima Community College, Tucson, Ariz., 2003 The University of Arizona s first recruit from Pima, which began football play in 2001 First-team All-Arizona Community College Athletic Conference honors for coach Jeff Scurran, plus Western States Football league first-team selection as a safety Five interceptions, and returned one 40 yards for a score Also ran a fumble back 45 yards for a TD against the USAF Academy junior varsity Named to NJCAA All- America watch-list prior to last season and earned secondteam honors Attended Eastern Arizona JC in 2000 High School: Desert Vista High School, Phoenix, Ariz., 2003 High school teammate of former Wildcat star receiver Bobby Wade Personal: Date of birth: March 12, 1982. Tom Robinson Offensive Line INCOMING JUNIOR TRANSFER ESHMAN 63 6-5 295 La Mirada, Calif. Arizona: Ability at center or guard for the Wildcats, Robinson will open at the center position and contend for the starting long- and placements snapper jobs Junior College: Cerritos Community College, Cerritos, Calif., 2003 PrepStar Juco 125 SuperPrep Juco 100 for coach Frank Mazzotta Three-star rating by Rivals100.com Helped Cerritos average 5.7 yards on 414 rushing attempts in 2002 College: Attended Fordham University out of high school and redshirted in 2000 before transferring to Cerritos High School: La Mirada High School, La Mirada, Calif., 1999 At La Mirada as a senior, he earned Suburban League Offensive Lineman of the Year and first-team divisional All-CIF honors All-league and second-team Division CIF pick Sixth place in state track meet in shot put senior year Shot putter in high school, scored in 99 CIF Southern Section meet Personal: Academic major to be determined Initially signed to be a mid-year transfer, but returned to Cerritos to continue specific coursework not available at UA Date of birth: Dec. 26, 1980. PAGE 104
Clifton Stanford Defensive Tackle INCOMING ESHMAN 62 6-4 275 Los Angeles, Calif. that summer, and also recorded a 37-inch vertical leap in Texas Nike Camp Top five finishes in 2002 District track championships in long jump and 4x100 relay Point guard in hoops and a three-year lettermen Football team captain final INCOMING two years ESHMAN All-district and all-state academic honors as a senior Arizona: Recruited on both sides but will open his career at Arizona on the interior defensive line. High School: Thomas Jefferson High School, Los Angeles, Calif., 2003 Potential on both sides of the ball, although he will likely open his UA career on defense CIF-LA Section All-City honors as second-team offensive lineman for coach Doi Johnson Jefferson beat Carson in the first round of City Section playoffs and lost to Gardena to finish 6-6 Played in the CaliFlorida Bowl prep classic in January 2003 10 sacks, 64 tackles, 18 TFL Los Angeles Times All-City DL honors Rivals100.com two-star rating, Top 150 nationally Three-year starter Two-time Coliseum League defensive line pick Starting basketball center in 2003 Personal: Date of birth: Aug. 13, 1985. Syndric Steptoe Wide Receiver INCOMING ESHMAN 5-10 160 Bryan, Texas Arizona: Considered an athlete recruit who projects at a number of positions, Steptoe will open his first UA camp as a wide receiver and potential kick returner High School: Bryan High School, Bryan, Texas, 2003 SuperPrep All-America as a wide receiver for coach Marty Criswell Dave Campbell s Texas High School Football secondteam Super Team honors Rivals.com Athletes 2003 national list at No. 48 Dallas Morning News Top 100, along with Houston Chronicle state 100 honors Athlete pick for 5atexasfootball.com second-team All-Texas fab50recruiting.com Top 50 defensive back PrepStar All- Midlands as an athlete Prep Football Report All-Southwest as a receiver SuperPrep Southwest No. 30 Played mostly quarterback his senior year and earned first-team All District 13-5A honors as a utility back Played wide receiver, slot back, running back and QB in one game against Temple Had 32 catches for 607 yards and five scores as a junior receiver 5A All-District 13 honors and a Texas Football second-unit Super Team pick junior year Has potential in the return game, with outstanding speed... Had 10 punt returns for 215 yards as a junior Attended U.S. Army All-American Camp 1 Personal: Academic area of interest in teaching Son of James and Annette Steptoe of Bryan, Texas Mother is a nurse s aide Brother, James Jr., will be a football senior at BHS this fall Full name Syndric Marquis Steptoe Date of birth: Dec. 6, 1984. Marquell Stinson Linebacker INCOMING JUNIOR TRANSFER ESHMAN 50 6-3 235 Tulare, Calif. Arizona: UA coaches will test Stinson s game readiness at an inside linebacker position to open camp Junior College: Fresno City College, Fresno, Calif., 2003 An accomplished junior college linebacker, Stinson should fit in well at one of the positions where UA lost all three starters from its 2002 club Arizona coaches liked his pursuing style of play and rangy frame In 2002 he had two interceptions for 37 yards Earned 2002 All- Central Valley Conference first-team honors for coach Tony Caviglia Rivals100.com three-star rating Played on 9-2 club his sophomore year that won its first nine games before losing to Reedley College, and then again to Reedley in the Northern California State Juco Championships game High School: Western High School, Tulare, Calif., 2000 Team captain senior year Also earned two letters and was basketball team captain and lettered one season in track First-team all league player in both basketball and football as a senior Personal: Academic major is international business One of two FCC recruits signed by Arizona along with tight end Tommy Briggs Likes music, the movies, football, basketball and video games Date of birth: April 4, 1983. 2003 NEWCOMER BIOS PAGE 105
Marcus Thomas Wide Receiver INCOMING ESHMAN 86 6-1 185 Phoenix, Ariz. INCOMING ESHMAN Arizona: The all-time leading rusher in Arizona prep history, Thomas opted for another position during recruiting and will open his career at receiver for the Wildcats High School: Tolleson High School, Phoenix, Ariz., 2003 Parade All-America honors for 2003 First-team Best in the West honors from the Long Beach Press-Telegram Tacoma News-Tribune Western 100 Prep Football Report All- America SuperPrep All-America and No. 19 RB prospect Phoenix Metro Football state Player of the Year and Super All- State for coach Dan Widmaeir Whizzer White Award as state s best running back SuperPrep All-Farwest No. 2 prospect Rivals.com Athletes 2003 national list at No. 11 No. 22 national tailback by Tom Lemming s Prep Football Report PrepStar All-West as an athlete Set Arizona prep rushing record with 3,573 yards on 334 carries his senior year, scoring a phenomenal 41 touchdowns Rushed for a staterecord total of 5,878 yards during his career Also caught 18 passes for 360 yards and five touchdowns in 2002, plus recorded 52 tackles and had seven interceptions playing safety Reported 4.33 speed Rushed for 400 yards three times and 300 yards five times The season total of 3,573 rushing yards is the eighth best in U.S. high school history Also was a high jumper and long jump track performer and scored in both at the State 4A meet Personal: Date of birth: May 28, 1984. PAGE 106