Photo illustration by azcentral sports.
Position, years at UA: Cornerback, 2004-07
Honors, accomplishments at UA: Won the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s top defensive back, in 2007. … Consensus All-American as a senior. … Second-team All-American by SI.com as a junior. … Two-time first-team All-Pac-10, in 2006 and 2007. …. Was second-team all-conference as a sophomore.
Why he made our list: Antoine Cason was the top player of the Mike Stoops era (2004-2011), a game-changer as a defender and a punt returner.
His big-play highlights in big games include a 39-yard fourth-quarter interception return for a touchdown that fueled a 24-20 victory over eighth-ranked California in 2006 and his two-touchdown game vs. No. 2 Oregon in 2007 (video highlights of the game below).
In the latter game, Cason returned an interception 42 yards and a punt 56 yards, both in the second quarter, helping the Wildcats take a 20-point lead. UA went on to post a 34-24 upset Nov. 15, dashing the Ducks’ national-championship hopes. Cason also had seven solo tackles, broke up five passes and caused a fumble that UA recovered at the end of a 40-yard run on a fake punt.
That game, which was played on a Thursday night on ESPN, propelled Cason to the Thorpe Award.
“What a great person, a great leader, great character,” then-defensive coordinator Mark Stoops said at the time. “When the bright lights are on in a big game, he steps up. That is what All-Americans do.”
Cason, who also was an All-American on UA’s 4×100 relay team, is fourth in school history with 15 interceptions and fourth in pass break-ups with 32.
Life after college: Cason was the 27th pick of the first round of the 2008 NFL draft, going to his hometown San Diego Chargers. He mostly played as a backup in his first two seasons but then started nearly every game at cornerback for the Chargers from 2010 to 2012, making a dozen career interceptions.
Cason signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals this off-season. He is competing for a starting spot opposite Patrick Peterson and could figure in the team’s nickel package.
In partnership with the Arizona Republic, we are counting down the top 50 football players in Arizona Wildcats history. Leave your top 10 at AG’s Wildcat Report on Facebook, and check out azcentral.com for the countdown of ASU’s Top 50 football players.
Arizona’s top 50
No. 50 — LaMonte Hunley
No. 49 — Hubie Oliver
No. 48 — Rob Gronkowski
No. 47 — Jim Donarski
No. 46 — Ontiwaun Carter
No. 45 — Steve McLaughlin
No. 44 — John Fina
No. 43 — Glenn Parker
No. 42 — Bobby Lee Thompson
No. 41 — Marcus Bell
No. 40 — Fred W. Enke
No. 39 — Ka’Deem Carey
No. 38 — Juron Criner
No. 37 — Dana Wells
No. 36 — Tom Tunnicliffe
No. 35 — Bruce Hill
No. 34 — Chuck Osborne
No. 33 — Brandon Sanders
No. 32 — Sean Harris
No. 31 — Mike Thomas
No. 30 — Bobby Wade
No. 29 — T Bell
No. 28 — Joe Salave’a
No. 27 — Eddie Wilson
No. 26 — Chuck Levy
No. 25 — Allan Durden
No. 24 — Nick Foles
No. 23 — Tony Bouie
No. 22 — ‘King Kong’ Nolan
No. 21 — Bill Lueck
No. 20 — Walter “Hoss” Nielsen
No. 19 — Trung Canidate
No. 18 — Mark Arneson
No. 17 — Chris Singleton
No. 16 — Mike Dawson
No. 15 — Max Zendejas
No. 14 — Dennis Northcutt
No. 13 — Jackie Wallace