Arizona names Jose Portilla honorary captain for Northern Illinois game

Former Arizona offensive tackle Jose Portilla, who played two years for the Wildcats from 1996-97, will be the honorary captain on Saturday.

Portilla joins defensive backs Treydan Stukes, Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith as honorary captains for the Wildcats this season.

Portilla was born in Zaragoza, Mexico, and his family moved to Houston when he was 6 years old. After a standout career at MacArthur High School in East Aldine, Texas, Portilla started his collegiate career at Ricks College in Idaho. After serving an LDS mission in 1994 and ‘95, Portilla transferred to the UA, where he was a two-year starter at right tackle.

Portilla was a second-team All-Pac-10 selection as a senior in 1997, when the Wildcats went 7-5 and beat New Mexico in the Insight.com Bowl at Arizona Stadium in Tucson. Portilla was a first-team Pac-10 All-Academic selection in 1997.

Portilla went undrafted in the 1998 NFL Draft, but he signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent. In the Falcons’ loss to the John Elway-led Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl at the conclusion of the 1998 season, Portilla became the first Mexican-born offensive lineman to play in a Super Bowl.

Portilla played in four games with the Falcons in 1999 and was released just before the 2000 season. Portilla played for the XFL’s Los Angeles Xtreme and won the XFL championship in 2001 — also known as the “Million Dollar Game.”

Arizona (1-1) faces NIU (0-2) at Casino Del Sol Stadium on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on TNT, HBO Max and TruTV.