13 Days Till Arizona Football: Remembering Former Arizona Kicker

The countdown continues as we are now officially 13 days away from the season opener for Arizona against Hawaii. Over the next couple of weeks, 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 for the Wildcats.

We continue with former Arizona K Max Zendejas who played with the Wildcats from 1982-85.

Zendejas recorded one of the more iconic moments in Arizona football history back in 1982 when he nailed a 48-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Wildcats to a 16-13 win over Notre Dame. The kick earned him The Sporting News national play of the week.

As a freshman that year, Zendejas connected on 37-of-38 extra point attempts and 14-of-23 field goal attempts for a 61 percent field goal percentage.

The following year, he connected on 39-of-39 extra point attempts and 20-of-25 field goal attempts. He placed No. 5 in the country, connecting on 80 percent of his field goal attempts. He was also fifth in the nation in scoring.

Zendejas continued his success as a junior when he connected on 23-of-24 extra point attempts and 21-of-27 field goal attempts. He ranked No. 7 in the country, connecting on just under 78 percent of his attempts.

For the third straight year, Zendejas connected on 23-of-23 extra point attempts and 22-of-29 field goal attempts for over 20 field goals made in three straight seasons. He ranked No. 3 in the country that year in field goal percentage that year.

In 1985, Zendejas was named the Wildcats team MVP. He helped lead Arizona to a Sun Bowl appearance, where he was selected one of the game's two MVPs. He was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week in 1985 when he connected on three field goals to lead Arizona to a win over Arizona State.

That same year he was named a second-team All-American by The Sporting News and a third-team All-American by Football News. Zendejas was also named to the All-Pac-10 team in 1983 and 1985 and was an honorable mention all-league selection in 1984.

Zendejas was named to Arizona's Ring of Honor.

He went on to be selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 1986 NFL Draft. He did not win the kicking competition and was waived by the Cowboys. He later played with the Washington Redskins, Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts. Zendejas tied a franchise record with Green Bay in 1988 when he connected on four field goals in a win over the Vikings.

What do you remember from the career for Zendejas at Arizona? Let us know and be sure to follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.