Nick Foles escapes the rush at Oregon State last season. Photo by Jim Z. Rider-US PRESSWIRE.

Working behind a young and inexperienced offensive line last season might pay dividends for former Arizona Wildcats quarterback Nick Foles.

He sure learned how to throw under pressure.

ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said Thursday in a media conference call, that he has been impressed with Foles in that aspect of the game.

“I spend a lot of time looking at them under pressure,” McShay of the second-level quarterback prospects behind Stanford’s Andrew Luck and Baylor’s Robert Griffin III.

“Those are the times when you hurry, you’re hit, you’re knocked down … any time you’re affected by pressure in your face or have been flushed and had to make a play. What do you do?

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Nick Foles attempts one of his 15 passes at the Senior Bowl. Photo by Chuck Cook-US PRESSWIRE

Three former Arizona Wildcats have been officially invited to the NFL Combine: Quarterback Nick Foles, wide receiver Juron Criner and cornerback Trevin Wade.

Those three were on an initial list last month, but no other ex-Cat was included in the final list of 328 draft prospects. Six former Arizona State players are on the list.

Criner helped himself at workouts for the Senior Bowl last month, likely moving into the second- or third-round range. A good time in the 40-yard dash would improve or further second his place as a top 100 pick.

Foles received mixed reviews for his week at the Senior Bowl, although he played well in the game, including a touchdown pass to Criner. Foles can use the Combine — held Feb. 22-28 in Indianapolis — to separate from a pack of “second-tier” quarterbacks behind Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and, perhaps, Ryan Tannehill.

Wade, a second-team All-Pac-12 selection as a senior, is generally seen as a late-round pick (perhaps middle-round pick, if all goes well).

“The reality is he played better as a senior than he did as a junior, and scouts are looking for that,” NFLDraftScout.com senior writer Rob Rang told me last month. “Scouts are looking for that mental toughness to come back after a tough year.”

Arizona’s next-best draft prospect likely is defensive back Robert Golden, who recently did a Q&A with New Era Scouting. NFLDraftScout.com rates Golden as a seventh-round or free agent prospect.

Nick Foles attempts one of his 15 passes at the Senior Bowl. Photo by Chuck Cook-US PRESSWIRE

Former Arizona Wildcats Nick Foles and Juron Criner showed in the Senior Bowl what UA fans saw many times in the past few years — a touchdown connection.

Foles’ 20-yard pass down the middle to Criner, just over the goal line, gave the South team its only touchdown in Saturday’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. The North won 23-13.

Foles completed 11 of 15 passes for 136 yards and a touchdowns. None of his attempts were intercepted. Criner caught six passes for 77 yards.

The next big event for each is the NFL Combine from Feb. 22-28 in Indianapolis.

Foles tied the UA record for career passing touchdowns with 67 in his three-year career. Criner set the school record with 32 touchdown receptions — all but one came in the past three seasons.

Here are stories I wrote about each after their week of practice in front of scouts:

Foles: Lukewarm reviews at Senior Bowl

Criner: Draft stock rising

Nick Foles will play for the South team in Saturday's Senior Bowl. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

The reviews of former Arizona Wildcats quarterback Nick Foles at the Senior Bowl practices were mixed at best.

I’ve waded through various reports and tweets and interviews from the hundreds of media, draft analysts and scouts who were there in Mobile, Ala., and then I called Rob Rang from NFLDraftScout.com for his view.

“Basically, he’s what I thought he was,” Rang said Thursday, on his way home from Mobile.

“I will give him some credit. I thought he threw the ball better deep than he had the opportunity to do at Arizona. In that regard, he helped himself in terms of my personal grade.

“But I still have some of the same concerns I had before. For a big athlete, he doesn’t move his feet that well. Can be sluggish. In today’s NFL, they’re asking quarterbacks to move so much more. So that is definitely a concern.”

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Nick Foles will show off his arm at the NFL Combine. Photo by Chris Morrison, US-PRESSWIRE

Three former Arizona players have been invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, according to an initial list compiled by NFLDraftScout.com.

They are quarterback Nick Foles, wide receiver Juron Criner and cornerback Trevin Wade.

More invitations could be coming for former Arizona players.

Foles, who will play in the Senior Bowl (reported here first by TucsonCitizen.com), is in contention to be the third quarterback selected in the draft after Stanford’s Andrew Luck and Baylor’s Robert Griffin III.

Criner has not been announced as a participant in any of the four postseason all-star games. Wade will play in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 21.

Seven former Wildcats will play in the Casino Del Sol College All-Star Game, which will be held Monday at Kino Stadium. They are: receiver Gino Crump, fullback David Hill, defensive back Robert Golden, linebackers Paul Vassallo and Derek Earls, and defensive end Mohammed Usman and C.J. Parish.

The NFL Combine will be held Feb. 22-28 in Indianapolis.

Nick Foles passed for a conference record 361.17 yards per game this season. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

It doesn’t much matter right now if former Arizona Wildcats quarterback Nick Foles is rising or falling on the NFL draft boards.

He will begin his first major post-graduate exam in a few weeks — and that will start to tell the tale.

Foles is headed to the Senior Bowl, his father Larry confirmed Friday, where he will get a chance to work out for a week in front of scouts from every NFL team. The game will be played Jan. 28 in Mobile, Ala.

“He just has to go out and prove himself,” Larry Foles said.

“I told him, ‘It’s all you now.’ You can’t say this or that anymore. Now, it’s how well you prepare and how you do.”

For the record, Foles’ stock does seem to be on the rise. NFLDraftScout.com — which supplies analysis for CBSSports.com — recently elevated Foles to the 49th-best prospect nationally and the fifth-best quarterback available.

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Derrick Williams salutes the student section after his game-saving block against Washington. Photo by Chris Morrison, US-PRESSWIRE

Coaches coming, going and staying. NCAA champions. Memorable games. Unforgettable players.

The year that was in Arizona Wildcats athletics was packed with storylines, good and bad, and we’ll be buzzing about some of it for decades to come.

The longest-standing sports bloggers at TucsonCitizen.com — myself included — voted for the biggest UA stories of the year, trying to sort out individual accomplishments from big games from off-field news … balancing big sports with those that don’t get as much coverage.

Here are the results. The top 12 Arizona Wildcats sports stories of the year:

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First round? How about the second? Photo by Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic

Arizona Wildcats quarterback Nick Foles has plenty of work ahead as he prepares for the NFL Draft, but one draft analyst sees him as a guy teams can project as a starter.

“He doesn’t have anything that necessarily ‘wows’ you on the tape,” said Chad Reuter, a senior writer for NFLDraftScout.com.

“But he does enough in every category for a team to say, ‘If we can make just a little improvement in him, he can be a starter for us.’ You don’t have to have Brett Favre’s arm or Mike Vick’s mobility; as long as you have enough, you can become a starter.

“A good comp is Matt Schaub. Matt Schaub wasn’t great at anything but was good enough at everything that he could succeed.”

Schaub, from Virginia, is an eighth-year NFL veteran who has been the Houston Texans starter for most of the past six seasons.

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Nick Foles ended his career with a conference career record 933 completions. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

Arizona Wildcats quarterback Nick Foles said after the season-ending victory over Louisiana-Lafayette that he was due some “down time.”

It was a grueling season. He attempted (560) and completed (387) more passes than anyone in conference history. He finished hurt, playing through a rib injury. As a team captain, he had to help lead the team after coach Mike Stoops was fired at midseason.

But his down time won’t last long.

His father, Larry Foles, said Nick will sign with Athletes First and start formal training for the NFL Combine on Jan. 3 at the Velocity Performance Center in Irvine, Calif.

Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller, Washington quarterback Jake Locker, and Boise State receiver Austin Pettis were among the agency’s clients last season as they prepared for the draft.

Athletes First is led by one of the guys who gets described as an “NFL super agent” — David Dunn.

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Nick Foles acknowledges the crowd as he leaves Arizona Stadium for the final time. Photo by Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

Game over, college career over, Arizona Wildcats quarterback Nick Foles turned to the crowd and waved. He made his way to the stadium steps behind the bench, finding his dad. They hugged.

“It hasn’t really hit me yet that my career here at Arizona is over,” Foles said a couple of minutes later, “but this is the way to go out — with a victory.”

Foles and the Wildcats ended the season with a 45-37 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette at Arizona Stadium on Saturday night, finishing with a 4-8 record. The final game was classic Foles.

He set another passing record — a school and conference record 560 pass attempts for a season. He tied Willie Tuitama’s school records for touchdown passes in a season (28) and for a career (67). He became the 10th player in conference history to reach 10,000 career passing yards.

None of that was the story.

That Foles went out a winner had nothing to do with the final score. It didn’t have anything to do with records.

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