Antoine Cason was the most important recruit of the Mike Stoops era. He started 4 years at cornerback and won the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in CFB as a senior. Here is why Gimino ranks him the #12 player in school history:
Position, years at UA: Cornerback, 2004-07
Honors, accomplishments at UA: Won the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s top defensive back, in 2007. … Consensus All-American as a senior. … Second-team All-American by SI.com as a junior. … Two-time first-team All-Pac-10, in 2006 and 2007. …. Was second-team all-conference as a sophomore.
Antoine Cason was the top player of the Mike Stoops era (2004-2011), a game-changer as a defender and a punt returner.
His big-play highlights in big games include a 39-yard fourth-quarter interception return for a touchdown that fueled a 24-20 victory over eighth-ranked California in 2006 and his two-touchdown game vs. No. 2 Oregon in 2007.
In the latter game, Cason returned an interception 42 yards and a punt 56 yards, both in the second quarter, helping the Wildcats take a 20-point lead. UA went on to post a 34-24 upset Nov. 15, dashing the Ducks’ national-championship hopes. Cason also had seven solo tackles, broke up five passes and caused a fumble that UA recovered at the end of a 40-yard run on a fake punt.
That game, which was played on a Thursday night on ESPN, propelled Cason to the Thorpe Award.
“What a great person, a great leader, great character,” then-defensive coordinator Mark Stoops said at the time. “When the bright lights are on in a big game, he steps up. That is what All-Americans do.”
Cason, who also was an All-American on UA’s 4×100 relay team, is fourth in school history with 15 interceptions and fourth in pass break-ups with 32.
