4 Days Till Wildcats Football: Who Wore the Number?

Over the next week, we will continue to take a look back at some of the top players in Arizona football history by jersey number as we inch closer towards the start of the season for the Wildcats.

We continue with former Arizona defensive back Darryll Lewis, who played with the Wildcats from 1986-90.

Lewis redshirted his first year before playing the next four years with the Wildcats in Tucson. He began his freshman season at Arizona as a running back before he later moved to the defensive side of the ball. He did look back.

He posted his best season in his final year in Tucson, where he won the Jim Thorpe award, was named a unanimous All-American, was the Pac-10 Co-Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the First-team All-Pac-10 list all in 1990.

Lewis was also named to the Second Team All-Pac-10 the year prior.

He went on to have his jersey number retired with the Wildcats and was named to Arizona’s Ring of Honor. He is still tied with Allan Durden for the fifth most interceptions in program history (14).

Lewis was a second round selection of the Houston Oilers in the 1991 NFL Draft.

He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1995. He caught six interceptions during that season for 145 total return yards and one touchdown. That same year, Lewis was inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame.

In every year from 1994-97, Lewis had caught at least five interceptions. He scored one touchdown in five different seasons throughout his career.

Lewis was later traded to the San Diego Chargers in 1999. He also played for the Tennessee Titans as part of the 199 season before he was released. He played 10 years before he was released by the Denver Broncos in 2001.

Lewis totaled 465 combined tackles, 32 interceptions, five sacks, seven touchdowns, six forced fumbles and eight fumble recoveries across his NFL career.

After his playing career had finished, Lewis entered the coaching field. He started as the defensive backs coach at Oregon State in 2003. He was only with the Beavers for two months before he resigned. The school cited personal reasons as the reason for Lewis's decision to resign.

What do you remember from the career of Lewis at Arizona and in the NFL? Let us know and be sure to follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.