Of all the storylines from Arizona’s offseason, the biggest has to be how many players from a year ago opted to stick around despite a coaching change and the lure of the NCAA transfer portal. So it’s no surprise that half a dozen of those key holdovers have been named team captains for 2024.
The UA formally announced its season captains on Thursday, tabbing quarterback Noah Fifita, offensive linemen Josh Baker and Jonah Savaiinaea, linebacker Jacob Manu and defensive backs Gunner Maldonado and Treydan Stukes. Combined that group has started 137 games for the Wildcats.
Arizona also announced its first honorary captain, as former cornerback Chris McAlister will be on hand for Saturday night’s opener against New Mexico and will participate in the pre-game coin toss.
Super Bowl XXXV Champion, All-Pro & First Round Draft pick, Unanimous All-American and 3x First Team All-Pac 10 and your Honorary Captain against New Mexico!
Welcome back Chris McAlister ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/qwiZe5QgVH
— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) August 29, 2024
UA coach Brent Brennan said it was a “virtual landslide” when the team voted on captains.
“I just feel like there’s such a clear leadership on this team, and I think the players feel it,” he said.
The six captains are down two from a year ago but include three repeat selections in junior Manu and seniors Maldonado and Stukes.
Stukes, along with Baker, are among the five Wildcats remaining from the winless 2020 season. A lot has changed since then, Stukes reflected earlier this week.
“The program’s in a completely different spot than it was when I got here,” he said. “The fan base is in a different spot. The national attention we’re getting is in a different spot, and it’s all a testament to the guys in the room that trusted the processes of any new staff that got in here, believing in one another, loving each other. We’re finally seeing the fruits of all the work we’ve put in since … way back then.”
McAlister, who played for the UA from 1996-98, was a 3-time Pac-10 all-conference selection and unanimous All-American as a junior. His 18 interceptions are third-most in school history and contributed to him getting picked 10th overall by the Baltimore Ravens in 1999 ahead of an 11-year NFL career that included winning a Super Bowl ring in 2000-01.
“What an incredible player he was,” Brennan said. “I kind of got a chance to see him firsthand because my brother was on those (Arizona) teams, and just what a brilliant player. Actually, I was a graduate assistant, my first college game as a graduate assistant at the University of Hawaii, and Chris McAlister housed the opening kickoff like 140 yards.”
