The Mount Rushmore of Arizona Wildcats football players

One player is unlike the others on Arizona football's Mount Rushmore, in more ways than one.

Our selections for Arizona's Mount Rushmore: Chuck Cecil, Tedy Bruschi, Ricky Hunley and Noah Fifita.

Other players considered include "Desert Swarm" defensive tackle Rob Waldrop, tight end Rob Gronkowski, quarterback Nick Foles, cornerback Chris McAlister, linebacker Scooby Wright III, wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and running backs Ka'Deem Carey and Art Luppino, among others. 

"There's going to be some guys that say you need to add a couple more heads to that Mount Rushmore," said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan. "I'm thinking about my buddy 'Gronk,' he might have something to say; Nick Foles. There's some guys out there that might have something to say about that.

"We are fortunate to have great alumni. A lot of those guys are here working with us. It's fun that we have so many Wildcat football alumni that are positively impacting our program every single day." 

Bruschi previously held an advisor role when Jedd Fisch was the head coach of the Wildcats from 2021-23. Hunley, who was a defensive line coach under Fisch, is now executive director of player relations and external coordinator for the UA football program.

Cecil has contributed in multiple ways in recent years: defensive analyst, interim defensive coordinator, safeties coach and now offensive assistant. 

Cecil and Hunley, "when you talk to them and you're around them, they're the most humble people you'll ever be around," Fifita said.

"They've been that way since I've been here," added the Arizona quarterback. "They're always in the facility and whenever you walk by, they say hi to you. Every time you ask for stories or advice, they're right there to talk to you. I think they're so special." 

Fifita, who called Cecil a "top-three player in Arizona history," said Cecil's selflessness and generosity are the characteristics that stand above all. During a team meeting at Lowell-Stevens Football Facility, a player asked if he could grab water and chips. Cecil opted to fetch the snack and water for the player.  

"Instead of walking down the hallway, he walked down the street to Circle K, grabbed chips and waters and brought it back for the receivers," Fifita said of Cecil. "You talk about that humility, Coach Cecil is one of the best guys I've been around. He's also one of the best golfers I've been around." 

The odd man on the UA football Mount Rushmore is Fifita, who is the only active player in the group, and he'll be the first one to admit it. 

"They're all in the College Football Hall of Fame, first of all," Fifita said of Cecil, Bruschi and Hunley. "I've got a lot more to prove to be in that conversation with those three."

Not only is Fifita the only non-College Football Hall of Famer in the bunch, but he's also the only offensive player and the only aforementioned player to play at Arizona during the transfer portal era. 

When Fifita faced the possibility of following Fisch to Washington — or transferring somewhere else with McMillan — after the Wildcats' 10-win season capped by a win at the Alamo Bowl in 2023, Fifita and McMillan — nicknamed "Kolo and Nalo" — stayed at Arizona for the start of the Brennan era. 

However, the longtime tandem of Fifita and McMillan, who were teammates for eight seasons going back to the eighth grade, didn't have a storybook ending during their last year together at Arizona. UA went 4-8 before McMillan became the highest-selected offensive Wildcat in NFL Draft history.

Once again, Fifita doubled-down — tripled-down — on the Arizona football program and led the Wildcats to a 9-4 season and an appearance in the Holiday Bowl and nearly willed UA to victory in a 24-19 loss to SMU.

With one more season left, Fifita is on pace to go down as statistically the greatest quarterback in UA football history. The legacy goes beyond the stats of Arizona's four-year starter at quarterback. 

Fifita's career at Arizona "has been nothing short of a blessing — more than I could pray for or ever imagine," he said. "That's the way God works. I'm extremely grateful to him, and I know I wouldn't be in this position without him. In my opinion, that's why I can't be cocky. I can't boast my abilities and what I accomplished, because at the end of the day, I'm just a vessel. God is working through me, and I'm excited to see what he has in store.

"I wouldn't change it for the world. I probably wouldn't have a 4-8 season in my book, but I definitely learned from it. I learned from the ups and the downs, and now it's my last opportunity to take everything that I've learned and go full speed ahead.

"I'm excited for what this year has in store and I'm excited for the personnel that we have. When it comes to the leaders — the head coach, the offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator — I think we have everything we need to go out and accomplish everything we believe we can do." 

Tedy Bruschi

Years at Arizona: 1991-95

What he did: Bruschi was one of the faces of Arizona's "Desert Swarm" era in the 1990s. 

In 1992, Arizona's defense only allowed 8.9 points per game and 65 rushing yards per game. The Wildcats caused four takeaways in their upset win over top-ranked Washington that year. 

The following season, the Wildcats only allowed 13.4 points per game and routed the Miami Hurricanes, 29-0, in the Fiesta Bowl. Arizona only allowed 331 rushing yards the entire 1993 season, which is one of the best marks in college football history. Bruschi's 52 career sacks tied the record for the most by any college football player. 

Leading up to the 1994 season, Bruschi, defensive lineman Jim Hoffman, linebacker Sean Harris and defensive backs Tony Bouie and Brandon Sanders were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Bruschi ended his UA career as a two-time consensus All-American and the 1995 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. 

Following his career at Arizona, Bruschi had a successful 13-year career as a linebacker for the New England Patriots, winning three Super Bowls. Bruschi was a two-time second-team All-Pro in 2003 and '04 and was the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year in 2005. 

Bruschi, Gronkowski and offensive lineman Glenn Parker are the only Wildcats who have played in at least five Super Bowls. 

The College Football Hall of Famer was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame.  

Chuck Cecil

Years at Arizona: 1984-87

What he did: Before Cecil became a coach, he earned the reputation as one of the hardest-hitting defensive backs of all time. Don't believe us, just look up Cecil's Sports Illustrated cover from his time in the NFL. 

Similar to Fifita, Cecil embraced a coaching change. After Cecil rose from scrawny walk-on from San Diego to a mainstay in the UA defense, he helped lead the Wildcats to an Aloha Bowl win in 1986, which was former head coach Larry Smith's last season at Arizona before taking the same position at USC. 

In his only season under Tomey, Cecil received All-American and Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1987. Cecil's 106-yard interception return for a touchdown against Arizona State in the 1986 Territorial Cup is one of the most celebrated plays in UA football history.

Cecil was inducted into the UA Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame. 

Ricky Hunley

Years at Arizona: 1980-83

What he did: Hunley became the face of the Arizona football program under Smith. The linebacker and Petersburg, Virginia, native held offers from Ohio State and Nebraska, among others, but signed with the Wildcats as a highly-touted recruit.

With Hunley leading the defense, the Wildcats knocked off top-ranked USC in 1981 and undefeated Notre Dame in ’82. Hunley was a unanimous All-American, Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, a three-time all-conference player and is the UA’s career tackles leader (566).

In 1998, Hunley became the first Wildcat to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He is one of four Wildcats to have that honor, along with Cecil, Bruschi and Waldrop.

Hunley was taken seventh overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1984 NFL Draft and is the highest-selected Wildcat in draft history. Hunley played in two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos.

Hunley was Inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame in 2025. 

Noah Fifita

Years at Arizona: 2022-current

What he did: The undersized quarterback signed with Arizona's program-changing 2022 recruiting class, along with Servite High School (Anaheim, California) teammates in McMillan, linebacker Jacob Manu and tight end Keyan Burnett. 

Arizona's 2022 recruiting class also had offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea, running back Jonah Coleman, cornerbacks Tacario Davis and Ephesians Prysock — all NFL Draft picks who helped Arizona transform from a downtrodden program into a 10-win team in 2023, when Fifita took over for the injured Jayden de Laura and led the Wildcats to a seven-game winning streak.  

Before the 2025 season, arguably the greatest quarterback for Arizona was Foles, who still holds the UA record for career passing yards (10,011) and single-season passing yards (4,344). Additionally, Foles is the only Wildcat to quarterback a team to a Super Bowl and win Super Bowl MVP honors.

Fifita, who has led the UA to two bowl appearances, is the only quarterback in Arizona history to lead the Wildcats to multiple nine-win regular seasons. After passing for a career-high 3,228 yards (third-most in the Big 12), 29 touchdowns and just six interceptions, Fifita was named a first-team All-Big 12 selection.

Fifita is just the third quarterback in Arizona history to receive all-conference first-team honors, joining Bruce Hill and Ted Bland. Fifita passed Foles and Willie Tuitama for the most career passing touchdowns at Arizona in a road win over 25th-ranked Cincinnati. 

Fifita is just over 800 yards away from passing Foles for the most career passing yards by a Wildcat.