The Arizona Wildcats are far from the most storied Division I college football team and they don’t typically produce early NFL Draft picks. However, every once in a while a player comes along whose greatness is recognized nationally while wearing the red and blue uniform with the “Block A” on his helmet.
Six Arizona football players have been recognized as unanimous first-team All-Americans and 12 as consensus All-Americans. In this series, we’ll look at their careers in Arizona, position by position. While we’ve already looked at cornerbacks Darryll Lewis and Chris McAlister, another cornerback earned consensus All-American honors, was Arizona’s last first-round Draft pick before Jordan Morgan in 2024, and ranks fourth on Arizona’s interception leaderboard.
Cason, a 6-foot-13, three-star prospect from Los Alamitos, California, played for Arizona for four seasons from 2004 to 2007. He earned a spot in the starting rotation as a freshman in 2004 and immediately made a big impact. He led the team with four interceptions, finished second with 70 total tackles and three forced fumbles, and third with six pass deflections and 5.5 tackles for loss, leading to honorable mention All-Pac-10 honors in his debut season as a Wildcat.
As a sophomore, Cason’s production dipped a bit, but the accolades did not. His 50 total tackles ranked fourth on the team, and he only managed 2.5 TFLs. However, he played in all 11 games in the 2005 season and finished second on the team with five pass deflections and three interceptions. This brought his career total to seven interceptions in just two seasons, and he earned second-team All-Pac-10 honors.
In 2006, Cason returned to his 2004 form as a junior, finishing third on the team with 70 total tackles. His three interceptions tied for the team lead and he was the only one to return an interception for a touchdown for the Wildcats that season. He also finished second on the team with seven pass deflections. He was named to the All-Pac-10 First Team and was a semifinalist for the 2006 Jim Thorpe Award. Despite being draft-eligible, Cason opted to return for one final season in Tucson.
Cason’s college career peaked as a senior in 2007. He finished third on the team with 71 total tackles (a career-high) and paired it with four TFLs and one sack. He led the team with an absurd 14 PBU total, doubling his total from the previous season. He also led the Wildcats with five interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns to lead the conference and finish fourth in the nation.
He also replaced Syndric Steptoe as the punt returner his senior year, receiving 27 of them for 271 yards and two touchdowns, which ranked as the Pac-10 leader and second in the nation. Against then-No. 2 Oregon, Cason returned an interception and a punt for a touchdown to seal a 34–24 victory. Cason was named to the All-Pac-10 First Team, was named a consensus First-Team All-American, and won the 2007 Jim Thorpe Award for college football’s best defensive back, becoming only the second Arizona player to win the prestigious award.
Following his stellar 2007 season, Cason was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft with the 27th overall pick. He went on to carve out a seven-year NFL career, where he played in 14 games each season before a foot injury caused him to miss the 2015 season and retire. No matter how unceremoniously his professional career ended, he will always be an Arizona legend for his four years controlling the Wildcats’ defensive secondary.
Running back Ka’Deem Carey. Dark. All-American for Arizona Football. AAKC
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