Tharpe is a 6-5, 275, redshirt Junior defensive lineman from Carrollton, TX. Last year was Tharpe's first with the Wildcats and he played in 8 games with 16 total tackles (8 solo and 2.5 for a loss). Not a super impressive season, but pretty good when you remember that he did not join the team until the end of August and then had to work his way off the scout team to the field.
I would expect a big jump for Tharpe this year if for no other reason that he finally gets off season fundamental and S&C work and a spring and summer camp to prepare. When the team brought him in from Tyler Junior College (TX) they knew he was raw and need to hit the weight room. He also has pretty good genes. Tharpe's dad played 8 seasons in the NFL on the offensive line.
Expect Tharpe, who is still a walk-on, to see plenty of playing time on the defensive line and compete for a starting spot.
In 1998, Arizona football won 12 games, beat Nebraska 23-20 in the Holiday Bowl and finished ranked 4th in the country for the highest final ranking in school history. Here are some highlight from the assU game that year.
ANGCatfan personal rant - This is by far the most pathetic the official football site has been since I have been doing the countdown! Football bios have not been updated with last year's info, last year's stats no longer show how many games each player started, Tharpe is not even listed as having played on the participation list although he shows up in the stats, and they stopped posting pregame and post game materials after the ucla game last year. It is like our football sports information staff quit half way thru last season and no one but me even noticed. I know we had a lousy year, but there is no excuse for not even attempting to keep the site current. I never trusted the weights on the site, but now I know Tharpe's weight hasn't been updated since he arrived on campus last August because that is the last time his official bio was touched. If a kid is going to bust his ass all year to play Wildcat football some guy in an air conditioned office can at least take the time to keep his bio up to date. Pro tip -- If you want people to care about Wildcat football make it look like you care both on the field and in the offices to include the website.
But besides that everything is fine, we're going to be better this year, and I am back to drinking my Wildcat kool aid.
