9 Days Ill Arizona Football: Looking Back at Former UA Safety
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The countdown continues as we are now officially in the single digits range till the start of the season as Arizona is nine 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 safety Joe Perkins who played with the Wildcats from 2008-10.
Perkins began his collegiate career at El Camino Community College in California. He earned first-team All-Mission Conference in 2006 after recording 40 tackles with six interceptions as a freshman for a team that was state champions He combined for 56 yards in interception returns across the 10 games he appeared in.
He initially redshirted his transfer season after joining the team after fall camp in 2007. He played his first season with Arizona the following year in 2008.
In his first year in Tucson after playing in community college, Perkins recorded 18 total tackles with one interception for 42 return yards and two pass deflections over 13 games played. His interception that year came against Idaho. He later totaled 21 tackles with another interception in his second year with Arizona. Perkins concluded his career in Tucson with the Wildcats with a career-high 71 total tackles and two interceptions for 22 combined return yards.
Across the three years, Perkins totaled four interceptions with 110 total tackles and 73 solo tackles. One of his interceptions came in 2009 against Stanford. He also lettered in 2008 with his big role on special teams, which included 18 tackles in coverage on kickoffs that led the special teams unit. He twice earned the coaches special teams player of the week honors for his performances against Stanford and Washington State.
After he played in a reserve role across his first two years at Arizona, Perkins entered the 2010 season listed as a starter on the depth chart at free safety following a strong showing in the spring game. He was able to show enough flashes the year prior in a reserve role paired with a strong offseason heading into the 2010 campaign to earn a starting role.
What do you remember from the career for Perkins 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.