Arizona Football Top Five All-Time Cornerbacks

Throughout its history, Arizona football has seen many ups and downs with the program making 22 bowl games and recording four 10-win seasons. In 1998, the Wildcats finished with a school-record 12 wins capped off with a 23-20 win over Nebraska.

As the program gears up for its 122nd season with head coach Brent Brennan entering his second season at the helm, we will be ranking the top five players at each position to get you ready for the 2025 season.

As we continue throughout this position process of breaking down the top five players of all-time, we have arrived at cornerbacks, which has been one of the deepest positions in the history of the program:

5. Randy Robbins (1981-83)

During the 80s, Arizona was a well-rounded program with a solid offense and great defense with head coach Larry Smith leading the way. One of the top defensive players in that era was cornerback Randy Robbins who was a menace to opposing quarterback and receivers.

Throughout his Arizona career, Robbins snagged 12 interceptions and took four back to the house for a touchdown.

Robbins was named an All-American and First-Team All-Pac-10 during his senior season in 1983 where the Wildcats went 7-3-1 in his final season on the team.

4. Jackie Wallace (1970-72)

You could say that Jackie Wallace set the tone at the cornerback position and what it means to play in the secondary at Arizona. While on campus, Wallace was all over the field picking off 20 interruptions, which was a program record that sat for 12 years.

Wallace earned First-Team All-American honors and was named a two-time All-Wac First-Team selection during the 197 and 1972 seasons.

3. Antoine Cason (2004-07)

During the Mike Stoops era there were a lot of great defensive players that made it to the next leave and helped rebuild the program from the ground up. But, the one that stands out from the rest was cornerback Antoine Cason, who made an impact right from the start.

During his freshman season, Cason racked up four interceptions despite the team going 3-8 on the year.

Cason is a highly awarded player that was named a All-PAc-10 three times and a consensus All-American during the 2007 season. That year, he won the Thorpe award, which was the last time an UA player received the honor.

By the end of his Arizona career, Cason picked off the ball 15 times and ran three of those interceptions back to the house for touchdowns.

2. Darryll Lewis (1987-90)

As coach DIck Tomey was trying to get the Wildcats back to their winning ways, he had a rock solid defensive unit that struck fear in the opponents eyes and not only in the running game but in the passing game as well.

The top cornerback of the late 80s and early 90s was Darryll Lewis, who has his No. 4 jersey retired at Ariona. Lewis totaled 14 interceptions and went out with a bang during his senior season.

In his last season, Lewis was an All-American, All-Pac-10 and was named Co-Dwefensive Player of the Year. But, his crowning achievement was winning the Jim Thorpe Award.

1. Chris McAlister (1996-98)

The most complete cornerback in program history and part of the greatest team in WIldcats history is Chris McAlister, who was the definition of a lockdown defensive back.

Legendary defensive backs coach Duane Akina always uses McAlister as the “greatest” he has ever coached throughout his extensive career.

 During his time with the program, McAlister hauled in 18 interceptions that led him to be named All-Pac-10 three times and an All-American during his senior season.

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