Bear Down Wildcats

So sad, another former player in the 90's has passed away. Hicham El-Mashtoub apparently passed away due to cancer.
http://allsportstucson.com/2021/09/16/f ... sses-away/

OMG, that is an inordinate amount of players passing away it seems. RIP big man

Cancer still suck!

azcat49 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 16, 2021 11:43 am OMG, that is an inordinate amount of players passing away it seems. RIP big man

That's really crazy. Reminds me of the John Wayne movie they filmed in the Nevada desert after atomic testing.


Jim Hoffman, a defensive tackle who was part of Arizona’s Desert Swarm defense at that time, passed away in June at age 48.

Others to pass away include Smith, Akil Jackson, Mu Tugoai, Pulu Poumele, Troy Dickey and Chuck Osborne. Smith, Tugoai, Poumele and El-Mashoub were offensive linemen.

RIP Hicham

Ran into once at the Safeway on Campbell and Broadway. I was behind him at the checkout counter and I made a mistake of thinking he was done putting his stuff on the counter I got too close. He gave me an evil look and I quickly apologized and said something, "Sorry. I just figured you'd be used to little guys ducking in right behind you!" (I'm about 5' 10" and was about 215 pounds at the time)

I think I caught him off guard at being recognized that he stopped for a 1/2 second before bursting out laughing. He said he got a kick out of scaring people from time to time, but he was really just a big teddy bear off the field at heart. On the field is where he liked to turn things loose. He seemed like a great guy with a good sense of humor.

RIP, Hicham. Very underrated player on a very good offensive line. And way too many players from my school days are no longer with us.

Damn, far too young. RIP young man.

I saw Akil Jackson was mentioned in that article and looked it up. He died from an allergic reaction and chocked to death. I mean the guys on this team seem to be jinxed I must say. Cancer, ALS, heart attacks, allergic reactions. Your heart just goes out to them all and their families. It hurts

Man, that was when I was at Arizona. I didn’t realize all those guys had died.