8 Days Till Arizona Football: Looking Back at Legendary UA Quarterback

Arizona is now eight day away from kicking off its 2025 season against Hawaii at home on TNT.

Oct 1, 2011; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Arizona Wildcats quarterback Nick Foles (8) looks to throw against the Southern California Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Peter Brouilet-USA TODAY NETWORK | Peter Brouillet-Imagn Images

The countdown continues as we are now officially in the single digits range till the start of the season. Arizona is just eight days away from the season opener against Hawaii. Over the next week and a half, 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 QB Nick Foles who played with the Wildcats from 2009-11.

Foles began his collegiate career at Michigan State before transferring to Tucson. In his first season with the Wildcats, he threw for 2,486 yards with 19 touchdowns to nine interceptions. 

He got even better across the next two years, capping off his three seasons at Arizona throwing for 4,334 yards with 28 touchdowns to 14 interceptions while completing almost 70 percent of his passes. In that final year in 2011, he ranked No. 1 in the Pac-12 and No. 5 in the country in total offense per game (352.58). 

Sept. 17, 2011; Tucson, AZ, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck (12) and Arizona Wildcats quarterback Nick Foles (8) talk after the game at Arizona Stadium. Stanford won 37-10. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

Foles was selected by the Eagles in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He made his NFL debut that season in a game where Michael Vick left with a concussion. He was eventually named the starter the rest of the season. 

The next year, he threw for 27 touchdowns to two interceptions across 13 games 

Foles was traded to the Rams for a year before spending the 2016 season with the Chiefs. 

The biggest moment of his professional career came in his second stint with the Eagles. After Carson Wentz had posted an MVP campaign, he tore his ACL late in the season which led to Foles having to step in for the finish to the regular season and into the postseason. He led the Eagles to wins over the Falcons and Vikings in the Divisional Round and Conference Championship to lead the team to the Super Bowl where they defeated Tom Brady and the Patriots 41-33. In the game, Foles caught a touchdown pass from Trey Burton to become the first player to both throw and catch a touchdown in the Super Bowl. He was named the MVP in the game as he also threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns to one interception. 

Foles later had stints with the Jaguars, Bears and Colts. He announced his retirement from the NFL in August of 2024. 

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