Fansided

25 best Pac-12 football players of the last 25 years

By Nathaniel Reeves

Jan 12, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) warms up prior to the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2015 CFP National Championship at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 12, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) warms up prior to the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2015 CFP National Championship at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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TUCSON, AZ – NOVEMBER 28: Overall view of Arizona Stadium during the Territorial Cup college football game between Arizona State Sun Devils and Arizona Wildcats at on November 28, 2014 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ – NOVEMBER 28: Overall view of Arizona Stadium during the Territorial Cup college football game between Arizona State Sun Devils and Arizona Wildcats at on November 28, 2014 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

9. Rob Waldrop, DT, Arizona

One of the most decorated players in Arizona history, Waldrop dominated for the Wildcats in the early 1990s and was a key cog on one of the best teams in program history.

After being born in Atlanta, Waldrop moved to Scottsdale to play high school football at Horizon. Arizona convinced Waldrop to stay in-state to play for a Wildcats team that was on the rise with an eight-win season in 1989.

Injuries limited Waldrop to part-time duty as an underclassman, but he emerged as a force in starting in his 1992 junior season. Waldrop was a consensus first-team All-American and earned the Morris Trophy while leading the conference in tackles for loss.

The Wildcats “Desert Swarm” defense was one of the best unit’s in the nation the next season, with Waldrop racking up 14 tackles for loss and eight sacks. Waldrop earned another All-American nod and was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year, as Arizona won 10 games for the first time in school history.

While Waldrop would spend just one year in the NFL as a fifth-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs, he was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

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