Rob Waldrop had 18 sacks in his final two seasons at Arizona.
Tucson Citizen file photo
Two former Arizona Wildcat teammates from the Desert Swarm era — defensive end Tedy Bruschi and defensive tackle Rob Waldrop — are on this year’s ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame.
The National Football Foundation released the list Monday of 79 players and nine coaches to be considered for induction. The announcement of the 2011 class will be made in May.
Waldrop is appearing on the ballot for the first time.
Individually, but especially as a combination, Waldrop and Bruschi were nearly unstoppable in the early 1990s.
Bruschi’s relentlessness off the edge forced quarterbacks to step up in the pocket — right into Waldrop’s arms from up the middle. Or perhaps it was Waldrop’s push from the interior that chased quarterbacks into Bruschi’s path.
Whatever. It worked beautifully.
Those guys had lots of help, too, from defensive linemen such as Ty Parten, Jim Hoffman, Jimmie Hopkins, Richard Maddox …
Consider: Arizona’s 1993 team had 59 sacks in an 11-game regular season. That was 16 more than any other Pac-10 team. Also contrast that to this season. Even with standout ends Brooks Reed and Ricky Elmore, the Wildcats had 33 sacks in 13 games.
Those Desert Swarm days were indeed special times with special players.
Bruschi had 52 career sacks, tied for the most in NCAA history with Alabama’s Derrick Thomas, who is on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time.
Waldrop won the 1993 Outland Trophy as the nation’s top interior lineman and was the first winner of the Bronco Nagurski Award as the country’s top defensive player.
Two former Arizona players are in the College Football Hall of Fame — linebacker Ricky Hunley and safety Chuck Cecil.
Here is the full ballot, courtesy of the National Football Foundation:
PLAYERS
*Carlos Alvarez, Florida, Wide Receiver, 1969-71
Otis Armstrong, Purdue, Running Back, 1970-72
Steve Bartkowski, California, Quarterback, 1972-74
Hal Bedsole, Southern California, Split End, 1961-63
Bob Berry, Oregon, Quarterback, 1962-64
Eric Bieniemy, Colorado, Running Back, 1987-90
Brian Bosworth, Oklahoma, Linebacker, 1984-86
*Ted Brown, North Carolina State, Tailback, 1975-78
Bob Breunig, Arizona State, Linebacker, 1972-74
Tedy Bruschi, Arizona, Defensive End, 1992-95
*Brandon Burlsworth, Arkansas, Offensive Guard, 1995-98
Dave Butz, Purdue, Defensive Tackle, 1970-72
Mark Carrier, Southern California, Defensive Back, 1987-89
Dave Casper, Notre Dame, Tight End, 1971-73
Gary Collins, Maryland, Wide Receiver, 1958-61
Marv Cook, Iowa, Tight End, 1985-88
Randall Cunningham, Nevada-Las Vegas, Punter, 1982-84
Eric Dickerson, Southern Methodist, Running Back, 1979-82
Bobby Douglass, Kansas, Quarterback, 1966-68
D.J. Dozier, Penn State, Running Back, 1983-86
Don Dufek, Michigan, Defensive Back, 1973-75
Doug English, Texas, Defensive Tackle, 1972-74
Bill Enyart, Oregon State, Fullback, 1966-68
Dave Foley, Ohio State, Offensive Tackle, 1966-68
Tony Franklin, Texas A&M, Placekicker, 1975-78
*Tommie Frazier, Nebraska, Quarterback, 1992-95
Moe Gardner, Illinois, Defensive Tackle, 1987-90
*Joe Garten, Colorado, Offensive Guard, 1987-90
Willie Gault, Tennessee, Wide Receiver, 1979-82
Eddie George, Ohio State, Running Back, 1992-95
Kirk Gibson, Michigan State, Wide Receiver, 1975-78
Charlie Gogolak, Princeton, Placekicker, 1963-65
Jerry Gray, Texas, Defensive Back, 1981-84
Curtis Greer, Michigan, Defensive Tackle, 1976-79
*Joe Hamilton, Georgia Tech, Quarterback, 1996-99
Terry Hanratty, Notre Dame, Quarterback, 1966-68
Al Harris, Arizona State, Defensive End, 1975-78
*Leotis Harris, Arkansas, Offensive Guard, 1974-77
Bobby Humphrey, Alabama, Running Back, 1985-88
Dick Jauron, Yale, Running Back, 1970-72
Tommy Kramer, Rice, Quarterback, 1973-76
Tim Krumrie, Wisconsin, Defensive Lineman, 1979-83
*Greg Lewis, Washington, Running Back, 1987-90
Jess Lewis, Oregon State, Defensive Tackle, 1966-67, 1969
*Marty Lyons, Alabama, Defensive Tackle, 1975-78
Robert Lytle, Michigan, Running Back, 1974-76
Bobby Majors, Tennessee, Defensive Back, 1969-71
Paul Martha, Pittsburgh, Running Back, 1961-63
Russell Maryland, Miami (Fla.), Defensive Tackle, 1986-90
Duncan McColl, Stanford, Defensive End, 1973-76
Art Monk, Syracuse, Wide Receiver, 1976-79
Paul Naumoff, Tennessee, Linebacker, 1964-66
Tom Nowatzke, Indiana, Fullback, 1961-64
Jonathan Ogden, UCLA, Offensive Tackle, 1992-95
Philip Olsen, Utah State, Defensive End, 1967-69
Jim Otis, Ohio State, Fullback, 1967-69
*Anthony Poindexter, Virginia, Defensive Back, 1995-98
Ron Rivera, California, Linebacker, 1980-83
*Willie Roaf, Louisiana Tech, Offensive Lineman, 1990-92
Mike Ruth, Boston College, Nose Guard, 1982-85
Deion Sanders, Florida State, Defensive Back, 1985-88
Jake Scott, Georgia, Defensive Back, 1967-68
Jim Seymour, Notre Dame, Wide Receiver, 1966-68
Sterling Sharpe, South Carolina, Wide Receiver, 1984-87
Will Shields, Nebraska, Offensive Guard, 1989-92
Rod Shoate, Oklahoma, Linebacker, 1972-74
*Sandy Stephens, Minnesota, Quarterback, 1959-61
Matt Stinchcomb, Georgia, Offensive Tackle, 1995-98
Darryl Talley, West Virginia, Linebacker, 1979-82
*Derrick Thomas, Alabama, Linebacker, 1985-88
*Scott Thomas, Air Force, Safety, 1982-85
Don Trull, Baylor, Quarterback, 1961-63
*Rob Waldrop, Arizona, Defensive Lineman, 1990-93
Wesley Walls, Mississippi, Tight End, 1985-88
*Gene Washington, Michigan State, Wide Receiver, 1964-66
*Lorenzo White, Michigan State, Running Back, 1984-87
Clarence Williams, Washington State, Running Back, 1962-64
Steve Wisniewski, Penn State, Offensive Guard, 1985-88
Scott Woerner, Georgia, Defensive Back, 1977-80
COACHES
Jim Carlen – West Virginia (1966-69), Texas Tech (1970-74), South Carolina (1975-1981); with a 107-69-6 record (.604)
*Lloyd Carr – Michigan (1995-2007); with a 122-40-0 record (.753)
*Fisher DeBerry – Air Force (1984-2006); with a 169-109-1 record (.608)
Wayne Hardin – Navy (1959-64), Temple (1970-82); with a 118-74-5 record (.612)
*Jimmy Johnson – Oklahoma State ( 1979-83), Miami, Fla. (1984-88); with a 81-34-3 record (.700)
Bill McCartney – Colorado (1982-94); with a 93-55-5 record (.624)
Billy Jack Murphy – Memphis (1958-71); with a 91-44-1 record (.673)
Darryl Rogers – Cal State-Hayward (1965), Fresno State (1966-72), San Jose State (1973-75), Michigan State (1976-79), Arizona State (1980-84); with a 129-84-7 record (.602)
*R.C. Slocum – Texas A&M (1989-2002); with a 123-47-2 record (.721)
First-time ballot members are indicated with an asterisk (*).