Ten Arizona football players have landed on the Shriner’s Children’s East West Bowl watch list, with the Wildcats represented by four offensive players and six defensive players on the 1,000-player list that includes athletes from all four levels of college football.
On offense, quarterback Noah Fifita, offensive linemen Tristan Bounds and Alexander Doost, and wide receiver Tre Spivey made the cut. On defense, the list includes defensive linemen Tre Smith and Leroy Palu, linebackers Taye Brown, Chase Kennedy and Everett Roussaw Jr., plus cornerback Jay’Vion Cole.
Fifita is back in Tucson for one last season after putting up 3,228 passing yards and 29 touchdowns. He’s already been named to the preseason all-Big 12 team and the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.
Bounds was originally expected to finish his Arizona career last season, but a season-ending injury led to an extra year of eligibility. He’s set to line up next to Doost on the right side and help protect Fifita.
Spivey gave Arizona plenty of big-play juice last season. He finished with 381 receiving yards, seven touchdown catches and one rushing touchdown, with two of those scores coming from 70 and 57 yards out.
Smith’s Arizona career also looked like it might be over after injury cut short what was supposed to be his final season, but he received another year of eligibility and will get one more run on the defensive front.
Palu is also entering his final season in Tucson. Last year, he recorded 28 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
Brown, Kennedy and Roussaw Jr. are all in their last seasons with the Wildcats. Brown posted 93 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and an interception last season. Kennedy added 42 tackles, eight tackles for loss, four sacks and two forced fumbles.
Roussaw Jr. arrived from Memphis, where he logged 64 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and an interception. Cole returns as the anchor of Arizona’s secondary and was a key piece of team 122 last season.
He finished with 23 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. His biggest number was the four interceptions, including a pick-six against Weber State.
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