29 Days Till Arizona Football: Looking Back at Hail Mary
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The countdown continues as we are now officially 29 days away from the season opener for Arizona against Hawaii. Over the next month, we will be taking a look back at some of the top players in Arizona football history by jersey number as we inch closer towards the start of the season.
We continue with former Arizona WR Austin Hill who played with the Wildcats from 2010-14.
After redshirting his freshman season in 2010, Hill appeared in 10 games with one start the following year. He hauled in 21 passes for 311 yards with two touchdowns that season, including a season-high eight passes for 128 yards against Oklahoma State.
It was the next season in 2012 when Hill exploded onto the scene at Arizona. He played in all 13 games with 12 starts, bringing in 81 passes for 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns. The one game he didn't start came against Toledo where he still caught seven passes for 139 yards and a touchdown. He went on to be Biletnikoff Award Semifinalist and was named to the All-Pac-12 Second-Team.
Hill was second in the Pac-12 total receiving yards and receiving yards per game (104.9). He totaled at least 100 yards in five games with his season best game coming against Stanford where he caught 11 passes for 165 yards and against No. 10 USC where he hauled in 259 receiving yards on 10 receptions in the Wildcats 39-36 win.
Hill went on to miss the next season due to a knee injury after he tore his ACL before he played his final year with the Wildcats in 2014. He appeared in 14 games, catching 49 passes for 635 yards and four touchdowns.
The highlight play for Hill that year came against Cal when he caught a Hail Mary pass from QB Anu Solomon at Arizona Stadium. It completed an unlikely comeback for the Wildcats in a game where the Golden Bears were leading 45-30 with 5:21 left in the game. Arizona went on to score three touchdowns in the final five minutes in a span that consisted of not only the Hail Mary, but also an onside kick recovery and a missed field goal by Cal.
Hill went on to be undrafted. He spent time on the Patriots practice squad as well as time with the Raiders, Jets and Rams. He was also known during his time on Hard Knocks with the Rams.
What was your favorite memory from Hill during his time at Arizona? Let us know and be sure to follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.
Ari Koslow is a sports writer covering the University of Arizona athletics at On SI. Koslow has been covering Arizona sports for several years. Born and raised in Seattle, he is a diehard Seahawks fan and a longtime sufferer of the Mariners. He is a huge fantasy football fanatic. Koslow is a graduate of Arizona’s School of Journalism.