Arizona All-Quarter-Century Team: Kickers
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So far in the Brent Brennan era of Arizona football, the Wildcats have had their struggles on the road with four-straight losses dating back to last year. UA has lost those games by an average of 28 points and have fallen behind by double-digits in all four games.
Arizona (4-3, 1-3 Big 12) was able to get things going early by striking quickly as quarterback Noah Fifita hit receiver Tre Spivey for a 70-yard touchdown pass, which seemed to set the tone early for the offense.
Despite the fast start, Arizona found itself trailing 21-14 to Houston (6-1-,3-1) at the half thanks to defensive struggles in the second quarter. And once again, the Wildcats lost the middle eight of the game, which resulted in a Cougars 31-28 win over the Wildcats.
Although Arizona fell on Saturday against Houston and has lost two-straight games, the program is clearly moving in the right direction and has improved drastically from a season ago.
Now with the Wildcats in the bye-week, we at Arizona Wildcats On SI have decided to roll out our All-Quarter-Century Team breaking down the top players at every position over the last 25 years of Arizona football.
Today we are taking a look at what the two top kickers would be over the last 25 years with one player at each position.
Top Kickers
2. Nick Folk (2003-06)
- One kicker has had the longest NFL career by an Arizona player by playing 17 years in the league for five different franchises and playing in 242 career games. During that time, he has connected on 84% of his kicks and hit 47 field goals of 50-plus yards.
- While at Arizona, Folk got better each season and in his senior year he hit 75% of his chances while recording 74 punts on the season. Why do the punts matter? Well, that means he was working double the amount of time as a regular kicker.
- During the 2006 season, Arizona was in a 13-13 game against BYU at home to open the season against a team that would go on to finish 11-2 and at No. 16 in the final AP Poll. In that game, Folk went 3-for-4 and hit the game-winning 48-yard field goal to complete the upset win.
1. Tyler Loop (2020-24)
- One dark area of Arizona athletics was the Kevin Sumlin tenure where the program nose dived to new lows and caused a historic losing streak. However, one bright spot was the recruitment for kicker Tyler Loop, who despite the tough times stuck with the program even when a coaching change happened.
- By sticking with the team, Loop would develop and become one of the most accurate and complete kickers in program history. He hit on 84% of his field goal attempts and went 126-for-128 on point after attempts.
A 62 yard NO-DOUBTER 💪@ArizonaFBall K Tyler Loop makes a 62-yd field goal just before halftime! pic.twitter.com/Qx43XbFTYr
— Kicker Update (@kickerupdate) November 16, 2024
- During the 2024 season against Houston, Loop lined up for a 62-yard field goal attempt. He nailed it and by doing so, he hit the longest field goal in UA football history.
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Troy Hutchison grew up attending Arizona athletic events, which gave him a unique perspective and knowledge of the athletic department's rich history. He attended UA and began covering the Wildcats in 2018. As the Arizona Wildcats Beat Writer on SI, he is set to deliver wall-to-wall coverage to give fans an in-depth perspective.
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