Full Squad Mini Camp June 6-8th

College Archive

Click here for entire Bruschi Article Archive

Tedy and his University of Arizona "Desert Swarm" defense appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated College Football Preview issue August 1994.

Click the thumbnails to read the article.

WILDCATS' BRUSCHI PROVES TO BE FAST LEARNER
Arizona Republic - WEDNESDAY September 16, 1992
By: Marcia Hammond, The Arizona Republic

TUCSON - There  is  so  much about football that Tedy Bruschi wants to learn that he is like a computer just waiting for data.

Bruschi,  who plays defensive end for Arizona, has learned enough and executed enough since his arrival in 1991 to earn a starting spot this season.

A  red shirt  freshman,  Bruschi has nine tackles (four unassisted) and 1.5 sacks in the two games.

In  last  week's  23-20  loss  to  Washington State, Bruschi zeroed on Cougars quarterback  Drew Bledsoe, ran him down, knocked him down, caused a fumble and recovered it.

And he wasn't satisfied after the game.

"The  longer  I'm  on  this  team,  the  more I learn," Bruschi, 6-foot-1, 255 pounds, said.

"I  get  mentally  stronger every week. I'm so inexperienced, but I learn each play.  'Oh,  I  get  it, I'm supposed to go that way.' Or, 'Oh, I go like that instead of like this.' "

Part  of Bruschi's eagerness to learn is his competitiveness. Part of it could be from feeling like he's playing catch-up.

Last  year,  Bruschi  earned a starting role midway through the season, but he broke his thumb in his second start.

 Bruschi  had impressed the coaches during preseason camp that year. His skill and  ambition  pushed  him  to  the forefront of the depth chart. Then pinched nerves in his neck kept him out of the first three games.

Though  he  doesn't  worry  about getting hurt again, Bruschi does acknowledge that he thinks about improving his strength.

"The  coaches  tell  me I need more conditioning.  I'm working on it, because I want  to  get to the point where I can go full out every play. I can't do that yet, but I will."

That determination was what Coach Dick Tomey first saw in Bruschi.

"Even  on  high  school film, he played harder than most guys in the country," Tomey  said.  "He's  got  a  motor  that just goes and goes. So I'm really not surprised at how quickly he's developed."

This week Bruschi is learning how to defend against the option, the offense of choice  for  Oregon  State.  The  teams  play  Saturday  at Corvallis, marking Arizona's first road game.

"That's  what  is  so  great  about  football.  Week  to week you get all this different stuff," he said.

WILDCAT BRUSCHI STANDS TALL
San Francisco Examiner - Sunday, October 18, 1992
By: ART SPANDER

STANFORD - The  ball  was  sitting  there,  a  brass ring for a carousel rider, a bulging wallet  for  a  pickpocket,  sitting  on  the outstretched fingers of Stanford backup quarterback Mark Butterfield. But not for long.

   Tedy  Bruschi came flying out of some place east of Hayward, or considering the  effect  he  would have on this game, perhaps east of Eden. People used to tell  Bruschi he was too short to play major college football. But as he would laugh later, "You don't fill holes vertically, you fill them side to side."

   When   Bruschi   (pronounced   the  old  Italian  way,  BROOS-key)  got  to Butterfield's  side on this warm Saturday at Stanford Stadium, the quarterback had his arm cocked, ready to throw.

   "I  was going to sack him," said Bruschi, "but he was holding it out there. So  I  just slapped at it." And the ball bounced free, and Bruschi, the little big  man  from  Arizona,  bounced on the ball, on the Cardinal 1. And one play later, Arizona scored to go ahead, 7-6.

   NO. 8 in the country and No. 1 in Tedy Bruschi's sights.

   Already  he  had  helped  knock  out  the  Cardinal  first-team  QB,  Steve Stenstrom. Then in the second quarter he knocked the Cardinal out of the game.

   Final  score: Arizona 21, Stanford 6. The only roses Stanford will see next January will be in a florist's shop.

   Arizona  calls  its defense "Desert Swarm." The Wildcats get high marks for creativeness,  low marks for accuracy. Tedy Bruschi has as much to do with the desert  as sourdough bread and cracked crab. His heart is in San Francisco. So is much of his background.

   The  man with the gray mustache and wire-rim spectacles playfully massaging Tedy's back in an Arizona locker room of joyful noise was Tony Bruschi, Tedy's dad.  He  was  the  last  football coach at Poly High in San Francisco, George Seifert's old school, before Poly shut down in 1970.

   TONY  WOULD move over to become junior varsity coach at Balboa High, and in 1973  his  second son was born. And the name chosen for the baby was Tedy. "It was  my  grandfather's  nickname," Tedy Bruschi explained. "His given name was Teodorico, but it was too long to write, so he would sign Tedy."

   Tony  and  Juanita Bruschi drifted apart and divorced. "I lived in downtown San  Francisco  with my mother," said Tedy, "Market Street and Laguna. I would have gone to Galileo. But my mother was afraid of earthquakes."

   So,  having  gotten  remarried, to tennis pro Ron Sandys, Juanita moved 110 miles  northeast to Roseville in the Sacramento Valley, where the only tremors are  from  the big rigs rolling on Interstate 80. And Tedy played his football for Roseville High.

   "He's  a player," said Tony Bruschi, coach and father. "I knew he was going to  be  a  player. When he was a little kid, all he wanted to do was hit, hit, hit. By the time he was 10, all he wanted to do was play football.

   "This is a guy on a mission."

   THIS IS a guy Cal and Stanford and Washington wouldn't or couldn't recruit. He  won  various honors but the big boys were unimpressed. "They told me I was too short," said Tedy Bruschi.

   He is 6-foot-1, having grown half an inch since graduating from high school in  the summer of '91, and 250 pounds. And like everyone on the Arizona squad, including  a  361-pound  offensive  lineman named Vincent Smith, is remarkably fast.

   "I  wanted  to  play  Pac-10  football,  but  the  only Pac-10 schools that recruited me were Washington State and Arizona."

   Wildcats coach Dick Tomey is a man who knows how to search. He was coach at Hawaii,  and  great athletes didn't just drop over on their way to, say, Guam. Tomey had to dog paddle to the mainland to get them.

   "That's what recruiting is," reminded Tomey. "At Hawaii, we had to evaluate for  our survival. We liked Tedy Bruschi because he played harder than anybody else we saw on film that year.

   "OUR  FIELD  position  had been horrendous in the first quarter and a half. We're  trailing,  6-0. Then Tedy makes the play. That was such a huge play. It got us going in the right direction."
  

    Bruschi  arrived  at Arizona a year ago. He pinched a nerve in his neck. He finally  got into a game, against Long Beach State, then another game, against Washington, a 54-0 loss, and broke his thumb. The Pac-10, as benevolent as can be, allowed him to replay his freshman season.

   "Me and Rob Waldrop are always fighting about who's the shortest guy on the defensive  line,"  said  Bruschi.  The  media guide lists Waldrop at 6-2. That should end the argument. Or does it?

   "He's still growing," said Tony Bruschi of his son.

   So is Arizona's defense. A month ago the 'Cats could only tie Oregon State, king  of  the bottom feeders. Since then Arizona lost by only a point to Miami and did your basic finger in the eye job on UCLA and Stanford.

   "I  WISHED I could have picked up that ball I knocked loose and got it into the  end  zone,"  said Bruschi. "I've never scored a touchdown, high school or college.  The closest I came before this was when I picked up a fumble in high school and ran it to the 10 against Lindhurst."

   This  time  he  ended  up a yard away. As always, Tedy Bruschi was a little short.

Arizona Clamps Down on Stanford

Los Angeles Times
October 18, 1992
Pacific 10: Wildcats get eight sacks, limit Cardinal to minus 33 yards rushing in 21-6 win.
From Associated Press

Arizona's defense grounded Stanford's offense by keeping its quarterbacks on the ground.

   The Wildcats racked up eight sacks and forced a key fumble on the one-yard line to upset No. 8 Stanford, 21-6, Saturday.

  "That's what we wanted to do, put pressure on them. We couldn't just let them sit back there or they would pick us apart," said Arizona defensive end Tedy Bruschi, who helped swing the game in Arizona's favor by forcing the crucial fumble from backup quarterback Mark Butterfield.

"We are for real. We were on a high two weeks ago against UCLA and now this win here, we just want to take it higher and higher, get better every week."

   Arizona, 3-2-1 overall and 2-1-1 in the Pac-10, has hit its stride since being tied, 14-14, by Oregon State, the week before a near-miss against then top-ranked Miami.

   The Wildcats, who pushed Miami to the brink before losing, 8-7, on Sept. 26 and then beat UCLA two weeks ago, never gave Stanford's offense a chance to get going. That allowed Arizona's running game to wear down Stanford's defense, top-ranked in the Pacific 10.

   "We were beaten rather soundly today," said Stanford Coach Bill Walsh, who saw his starting quarterback, Steve Stenstrom, forced from the game three times by Arizona's punishing defense.

   "Arizona demonstrated a lot more speed and we didn't cope with it. The offensive line had problems with their quickness."

   Arizona piled up 256 yards rushing, with Ontiwaun Carter gaining 97 yards in 20 carries. Billy Johnson had 80 yards in 12 carries and Chuck Levy had 72 in 15.

   "Our start wasn't what we wanted so we've been striving to gain some recognition," Arizona Coach Dick Tomey said. "I think we'll get it now."

   Bruschi helped swing the game in Arizona's favor when he stripped the ball from Butterfield as he cocked his arm to throw. Bruschi recovered the fumble at the Stanford one, and quarterback George Malauulu went into the end zone on a keeper on the next play to give Arizona a 7-6 lead at 10:09 of the second quarter.

   Levy took a pitch and went 45 yards for a score that put Arizona in front, 14-6, at halftime. Johnson had a 33-yard run with 10 minutes remaining in the third.

   The Wildcats' defense, ranked second in the Pac-10, sacked starter Stenstrom and Butterfield eight times. Running back Glyn Milburn, averaging just under 100 yards rushing per game, was limited to six yards in six carries.

   Stanford netted minus 33 yards rushing, its lowest total since the school started keeping records during the 1955 season. Its previous low was minus 16 against USC on Oct. 7, 1972.

 "When they took apart our running game early, we were doomed," Walsh said.

   Though forced out of the game three times, Stenstrom returned each time and was on the field at the finish.

   He missed all of the second quarter and the final three minutes of the first after suffering a concussion when spun to the ground and sacked by nose guard Rob Waldrop. The back of Stenstrom's head hit the knee of Bruschi, who had come in to assist Waldrop.

   Stenstrom spent nearly 10 minutes on the ground and a stretcher was wheeled out but he managed to stagger to the sidelines, leaning on two members of the Stanford staff for assistance.

   Butterfield, who had attempted only three passes all season, came on for Stenstrom. At the time, Stanford was holding a 6-0 lead on field goals of 38 and 39 yards by Eric Abrams.

  Stenstrom started the second half but was forced to leave again briefly after taking hits during the third and fourth quarters.

MOTHER HELPS BRUSCHI MAKE BIG PLAYS
Arizona Republic - MONDAY, August 16, 1993
By: MARCIA HAMMOND, The Arizona Republic

TUCSON - Selling houses and football seem to have nothing in common.

 But  the  self-motivational  techniques  Arizona  defensive  end Tedy Bruschi learned  from  his  real-estate  agent  mother  helped him have an outstanding freshman season.

 Bruschi  expects  those  methods,  combined with a spring and summer of extra conditioning, to push him to a better year.

 "Coach  (Dick Tomey) is telling us this preseason about seeing yourself being successful  on  the field and in the classroom, get that mind-set and you will be," Bruschi said Sunday, the third day of the Wildcats' preseason.

 "The  funny  thing  is,  my  mom  has  always told me that. She's always used visualization. All the stuff you hear about visualization -- if you can see it in  your  mind,  you can be it -- my mom has been telling me that ever since I can remember."

 Although  she's  not  a  threat to the big-money, self-help industry, Juanita Sandys' powers were on display via her son last year.

 Bruschi,  who  played  end  and outside linebacker last year, had 20 tackles, including seven for losses, and 4 1/2 sacks coming off the bench.

 The  game  in  which  he  alerted  the  country  to his ability and quickness occurred at Stanford.

 In  the  second quarter, Bruschi chased down quarterback Mark Butterfield and knocked loose the ball. Bruschi  recovered  the fumble on the Cardinal's 1 and the Wildcats scored on their  first  play  from  scrimmage  en  route to a 21-6 win over Bill Walsh's eighth-rated team.

 He  will  be  better  this year, Bruschi said. Already Bruschi, 6-foot-1, 258 pounds, feels better than last year.

  The neck pains that caused him to take a redshirt freshman year are gone. He spent most of the summer here working out.

 "I  had  a  very productive summer and accomplished the summer goals I set. I got in better shape running-wise, I got stronger. I don't need any injuries to slow me down."

 He played through persistent neck pain last year.

 "I was getting a lot of stingers.  Now I've got my neck in shape," he said.

 The  training staff put him on a program that included manual neck resistance and  a  neck-resistance  machine,  designed  to  limber  and  strengthen those muscles.

 And this time he won't waver in his commitment to the exercises. "I  did them during preseason last year but then when the season started and we were playing I stopped. I won't do that again."

 Bruschi can't afford it. Not when he's a starter.

 "Now  that  I'm  starting  and  getting double the playing time, it should be twice as much in results," he said. "I like to push myself."

 Something  he learned while watching his mother sell houses in the Sacramento area.

 "It's  tough  selling houses. Working on commission, getting up every morning and  having to sell," he said. "And she does it. My mom has provided me with a lot of confidence."

 Sunday no day of rest

The  Wildcats  finished  the  campus phase of preseason. They make the trip to Camp Cochise in Douglas after this morning's session.

 After  three days of two-a-days in the heat, fatigue is paying a visit to the players and the staff. But it's no reason to take it easy.

 "We  can't let that stop us, we've got to keep pushing," Tomey said. "They'll get a break (today) with only one practice."
 

LEVY, BRUSCHI SHINE  UA STARS LEAVE ILLINOIS GASPING
Arizona Republic - SUNDAY, September 19, 1993
By: Marcia Hammond, The Arizona Republic

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Arizona running back Chuck Levy knows how many yards he gained Saturday. There is proof, in black and white.

 His  teammate,  defensive  end Tedy Bruschi, probably ran just as far, but he never will know for sure.

 Levy,  in  his first game back since a preseason knee injury, accumulated 182 all-purpose  yards,  most  of  them in kickoff returns, as the No. 15 Wildcats beat Illinois, 16-14.

  Bruschi  caused  40  yards worth of losses for the Illini on four of his six tackles,  three  of  them  sacks.  He  also  did  a  lot  of chasing of Illini quarterback Scott Weaver without catching him.

 Healthy knees and speed worked to the advantage of Levy and Bruschi.

 Levy  definitely  showed  that  his  left  knee  was  fine when he returned a fourth-quarter kickoff 46 yards.

  Just  as  important as the length of that return, was that he played most of the game without incident.

  "I  feel great," Levy said. "I went out and played as hard as I could, and I didn't worry about my knee. I didn't feel pain or anything."

  He  has  tried not to worry about his knees for a year. After reconstructive surgery  to  his  right knee (it gave him trouble last year) in February, Levy healed and was looking forward to a good start this season.
  Then he suffered a strained ligament in his left knee in camp.

  Rehabilitation  went  well.  He  wanted  to play in last week's victory over Pacific.

  Not yet, he was told.

  "I  thought  I would be a little rusty. But I got warmed up and jumped right in there, and it didn't feel like I had missed anything."

  Bruschi didn't miss much, either. Five of his six tackles were solo efforts.

  "Tedy has amazing ball awareness," Wildcats Coach Dick Tomey said.

  That  ball awareness often led him into the Illini backfield where he chased tailback Clinton Lynch and Weaver.

  "I'm  not  psychic,  so  I  don't  know if I'm going to do that all season," Bruschi said. "But I hope we can play like this all year."

  The Illini are sorry he can play like that.

  Taking care of a 16-14 lead, Bruschi sacked Weaver for a 13-yard loss on the Illini's final possession with about a minute to go in the fourth quarter.   Bruschi  shoved  them  from second and 5 at their own 21 and put a damper on thoughts of rallying.

 "I don't know if I have all that much speed. Maybe it does make a difference. I don't know. I just run," he said.

   About the only thing he didn't do was score, but others on the defense did, and they were the only points UA claimed.

  "That  was  our  goal.  We  wanted  to score," Bruschi said. "The first week against  Texas-El  Paso, we had a terrible effort, so our goal against Pacific was take away (the ball).

  "This week the goal was take away and score."

  The  defense  scored  on  two  fumble  recoveries  and a safety. The offense ventured into Illinois territory four times.

  The  effort from Levy and Bruschi helped keep the Wildcats unbeaten in three games, heading into the start of Pac-10 action at Oregon State next weekend.

DEFENDER BRUSCHI IS UA'S MVP
Arizona Republic - TUESDAY, December 7, 1993
By: The Arizona Republic

Sophomore  defensive  end  Tedy  Bruschi from Roseville, Calif., was named the team's  most  valuable  player  at  the annual Arizona football banquet Sunday night in Tucson.

   Sophomore  defensive  back  Brandon  Sanders  of San Diego was selected the team's Wildcat of the year as the player with the most winning performances.

   The  Martin  Gentry Award, which honors the team's outstanding lineman, was won  by  junior  tackle  Joe Smigiel of Newberry Park, Calif., for offense and senior end Jimmie Hopkins of Brawley, Calif., for defense.

   The  team  captains  selected  were running back Billy Johnson of San Jose, Calif.,  cornerback  Jey  Phillips  of  El  Paso and linebacker Brant Boyer of Hooper, Utah.

   Junior  Chuck  Levy  of  Compton, Calif., won the Bronko Nagurski Award for playing more than one position.

   Junior  linebacker Pat Curtis of Tucson and junior offensive lineman Marcus Romero of Tuscon won the Champions Award as the top scout team players.

   Freshman free safety David Fipp of La Jolla, Calif., captured the Ball Hawk Award.

   Johnson  and  Troy  Dickey  each  won  Smith  Project  for  Substance Abuse Education  Speaker's  Bureau Special recognition awards for the senior student athletes who have exhibited outstanding dedication to the youth of Tucson.

   Johnson and Dickey spoke to more than 2,000 children in the community.

BRUSCHI'S VOLCANIC PASS RUSH TIED TO MOTHER:  HER FEAR OF QUAKES LED TO MOVE, PLAYING GAME
Arizona Republic  - TUESDAY, December 28, 1993
By: Marcia Hammond

Earthquakes.

 In  a  roundabout  way, those ground-churning forces of nature helped Arizona defensive  end  Tedy  Bruschi  become  one of the best pass rushers in college football this season.

 Bruschi,  a  redshirt  sophomore,  will  step on to the field of the IBM OS/2 Fiesta  Bowl  on Saturday against No. 10 Miami in possession of 27 1/2 tackles for loss and 19 sacks.

 His  tenacity  and  speed  made  him  one  of  four  Wildcats selected to the All-Pac-10 first team and a second-team Associated Press All-America choice.

 In 1992 he played part time.

 And while Bruschi, 20, finds "what if" scenarios to be a useless exercise, he thinks  his  life would be different if his mother, Juanita, had not moved her family  from  San  Francisco  east to Roseville, Calif., because she had grown weary of living in fear of earthquakes.

 "If   we  hadn't  moved,  I  wouldn't  have  played  football  and  gotten  a scholarship,  and  I  wouldn't have my girlfriend," said Bruschi, who dates UA volleyball player Heidi Bomberger.

 "I'd  probably be working on roofs putting in air conditioning ducts. And I'm not saying that's bad."

 The  football  that  Bruschi had played until moving to the Sacramento suburb his freshman year of high school was the let's-get-a-bunch-of-neighborhood-guys kind and that was good enough.

 "I  enjoyed  playing  in  the streets. It was San Francisco. I didn't want to move. And then to Roseville? I was expecting to see cowboys in the streets."

 There  were  no  cowboys  but  it  was  the  suburbs:  strip  malls  and  car dealerships;  a  place  on  the way to somewhere along Interstate 80. Reno and Lake Tahoe to the east and the Bay area to the west.

 Before  school  began, though, something happened that changed Bruschi's mind about the move.

 At  freshman  orientation,  he  saw  a  couple  of  guys  walking around with something  he  hadn't  seen up close -- cleats. He stopped and talked to them. They encouraged him to try out for the team.

 "The  next  day  I  was out there in tennis shoes running 40-yard dashes," he said.

 Bruschi  was  small.  Well,  short, to be specific, getting manhandled by his older  brother  regularly.  He still is short, his solid 250 pounds covering a 6-foot-1 frame.

 "I  feel sorry for tall guys. I like being short. I want my kids to be short. And I got my brother good over the holidays."

 His height didn't bother Arizona recruiters.

 "Out  of  high  school, we saw one of two top guys in terms of all-out effort when  he  was  playing,"  defensive coordinator Larry Mac Duff said. "He was a wild man and he has the same kind of intensity now."

 When  UCLA  and  Brigham  Young  told  him  they  wanted  him  to play inside linebacker since he was vertically challenged, Bruschi bid them adieu.

 "I  felt  insulted when some of the schools wanted me inside, like I wouldn't be good enough to play outside."

 His  being  on the outside every game this season makes All-America defensive tackle Rob Waldrop relax.

 "I  always  feel  better  with  Tedy  in the game," said Waldrop, the Outland Trophy and Football Writers' defensive player of the year.

 "I  really  thought  he  should  have played more last year. He's just a wild man."

 There  is  no doubt in Bruschi's mind that the double-teaming Waldrop endured left  a clear path for him. And he realizes it's possible he could be the next man opponents double-team.

 "If  they  do  it  to me next year, it'll leave (Jim) Hoffman open. Let them, bring it on. I'll find a way around it. They can't double-team me every down."

 Besides   earning   national  and  conference  attention,  Bruschi  earned  a postseason  award of greater value than any of the others. He was voted by his teammates as the defense's most valuable player.

 "That means more to me than anything I've ever accomplished. It means respect from  my  teammates.  My (teammates) voted for me and they know me as a player and a person better than any reporter."

 The  only  thing that has gone wrong was a late-season arrest for trespassing and  possession  of alcohol (beer) as a minor. The trespass occurred after he, Hoffman  and  their  dates climbed the fence surrounding Arizona Stadium after losing to UCLA.

 "My life is going so well right now. I don't want anything to stop it.

". . .My mom made the right decision."

Source:  Sports Illustrated, Jan 10, 1994

Title: Tedy Bruschi
Author:  Bruce Newman
                                                                             
    When late-blooming Tedy Bruschi began his football career in high school, he was so innocent of the game's conventions that he put on his shoulder pads over his jersey. Bruschi's family had just relocated from San Francisco to Roseville, Calif., north of Sacramento. "We moved because Mom was scared of the earthquakes," Bruschi explains. His mother's fear of natural disasters did not, however, include Hurricanes, a fearlessness evidently shared by her son, who, now all grown up and a sophomore defensive end at Arizona, put the extra D in the Wildcats' 29-0 humbling of Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.

    Arizona's defense reduced the Hurricanes, who had not been shut out since 1979, to a mere tropical depression, holding them to a measly 35 yards on the ground and 147 in the air. Much of the damage was done by Bruschi, whose name is pronounced BREW-ski and who, fittingly, once spent a summer setting up advertising displays for Budweiser. "Some people thought that was pretty funny because of my name," he allows.

    The Hurricanes demonstrated an almost total lack of feel -- and feeling -- for the Fiesta from the moment they won the coin toss and smugly chose to kick off. Arizona drove the ball 75 yards in eight plays. "I think they were expecting another 8-7 game, and our offense shocked them," said Bruschi, referring to the single-figure loss in Miami during the 1992 regular season that so traumatized the Wildcats. "I was kind of in awe myself actually. I'm like, `Whoa, we scored.' "

    Bruschi's own first order of business in the game was to help dispose of the Hurricanes' starting quarterback, Ryan Collins. On Miami's third play from scrimmage, Bruschi chased Collins into the arms of defensive tackle Jim Hoffman for a five-yard sack. And on the next play Bruschi cut off Collins's escape avenue and dumped him on his south beach for a 16-yard loss. That was the way it went all day for the Hurricanes, who snapped the ball 12 times in the first quarter and either stood still or went backward on 10 of those plays. Before the quarter was over, all of Miami's swagger was gone. "I think they just came out and intimidated our offense," said Miami defensive end Darren Krein.

    By the start of the second quarter, Collins was gone, too, replaced by the more experienced but less mobile Frank Costa. Soon Bruschi and the Wildcats' Outland Trophy winner, noseguard Rob Waldrop, were swarming into the pocket and leveling the hapless Costa. "I was happy to have Costa in," Bruschi later said. "We knew he was a drop-back kind of guy, and we just lick our chops when we see a guy like that."

    Nothing personal, of course. Bruschi had 55 tackles during the regular season, and half of them were behind the opponent's line of scrimmage. He led the Pac-10 with 19 sacks and had twice as many traps in the backfield as Waldrop. "I'm always coming off the ball with my ears pinned back," Bruschi says, although you'll have to take his word for it, because his flowing dark hair obscures his ears. He is only 6 ft. 1 in., but he more than compensates by launching himself like a missile directly at quarterbacks. "He's possessed," says Arizona coach Dick Tomey.

    When Illinois had a chance to get close enough for a game-winning field goal against Arizona on Sept. 18, Bruschi stopped the Illini cold with a pair of sacks. And when Arizona was struggling to hold off Washington State on Oct. 23, Bruschi sacked Cougar quarterback Chad DeGrenier twice in the final two minutes. "You rarely see a defensive lineman with that kind of speed," DeGrenier said.

    When you do, just about the only thing that can be done is to raise your glass and say, "This Bruschi's for you."

CATS' BRUSCHI WON'T REST ON HIS LAURELS
Arizona Republic  - SUNDAY, August 14, 1994
By: BOB JACOBSEN, Republic Columnist

TUCSON - For Tedy Bruschi, the 1993 football season was one to remember.

   His  Arizona Wildcats went 10-2, tied for the Pac-10 title and capped their season  with  a 29-0 slamming of Miami in the IBM OS/2 Fiesta Bowl. He led the Pac-10  in  sacks  with  18. He was voted the team most valuable player by his teammates. And he was a second-team All-America pick by The Associated Press.

   So  is  this  6-foot-1,  255-pound  junior  defensive end satisfied? Can he improve  on  his  outstanding  statistics? Can he possibly be a better player? Oops, wrong question.

   "No  doubt,"  he  said, looking as if he's wondering how could one ask that question.  "Twice  as  good. I'm not out here to be just good. That would be a cop-out  goal.  My  goal  is to surpass what I did last year. I always want to improve."

   Sounds like a young man trying to forget, not remember.

 Team's goal

 "Our  goal  as  a team is to improve every week," Bruschi said. "What kind of men would we be if our goal was to do just as good?"

   Good  question.  One  for which defensive coordinator Larry Mac Duff has an answer.

   "Our  challenge  as coaches to all our guys coming back, and especially our starters  and best players, is to have a better year this year. And Tedy is at the very top of that list.  "We  just expect more out of those guys. They're a year older, more mature, more  experienced  and  have  had a year more to develop. We're going to coach them like we want them to do it, and the neat thing about it is so far they've all prepared like they want to do it."

   Mac  Duff  knows  statistically  Bruschi had a tremendous season last year. Since  the  first  day  this  Roseville,  Calif., native walked on the Arizona campus, he has been an impact player who made plays.

   "He  did it as a redshirt freshman two years ago," Mac Duff said, "and last year he made a tremendous amount of plays.

   "I  would anticipate and expect he is going to have an outstanding year for us.  He's  the  feature  guy  on  our  defense.  We  try  and  give  him  some opportunities  because  he's a guy who can take advantage of situations on the field. Some guys are playmakers, and he's surely one of them."

   One  would think with Outland Trophy winner Rob Waldrop gone, Bruschi would inherit  the defensive leadership role. Not so, Coach Dick Tomey said. Bruschi already had it.

   "He  and  (junior  safety)  Brandon Sanders," Tomey said. "Tedy was a great leader  for  us last year.  He has the personality that just rubs off. Our team plays with a certain intensity that comes from both Tedy and Sanders."

   After  talking  to  Bruschi,  who  chatted  with the media no fewer than 90 minutes on media day, one can understand why.

   "His motor runs all the time," Tomey said. "It runs in practice, and it ran in  high  school.  When you looked at film of him, you wanted to keep watching because it was so great. He's just a wonderful kid."

   There  is the theory that this defense could be better, yet not achieve the outstanding  statistics  its  predecessors  possessed.  Some  might  think so, anyway.

   "We  don't  care  what people think," Bruschi said. "Writers can write what they want, TV reporters can say what they want, but everything depends only on what we do ourselves."

   The  Wildcats  will  get an early chance. They open Sept. 1 on ESPN against Georgia Tech at Atlanta.

   "I  am  only looking forward to that game right now," Bruschi said. "I want everybody to see what this team is all about. ESPN is going to help us because we're going to be ready."

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA'S BRUSCHI CARRIES ON DEFENSIVE TRADITION
Phoenix Gazette  - WEDNESDAY, August 31, 1994
By: Bob Crawford, THE PHOENIX GAZETTE

Paper or plastic?

   For Tedy Bruschi, any old sack will do.

   Just so long as it's filled with a quarterback.

   "I   thrive   on  rushing  the  passer,"  he  said,  in  a  masterpiece  of understatement.

   Nobody  in  the  Pac-10  does  it  better,  and  nobody in the world better typifies the University of Arizona's Desert Swarm defense.

   He   is  the  Wildcats'  emotional  leader,  a  demonstrative  tackler  who celebrates every sack with uninhibited joy.

   And he spends a lot of time in other guys' backfields.

   Last  year, as a sophomore, he led the conference in sacks with 19, earning a  second-team  spot  on  the AP All-America list and a first-team spot on the all-conference team.

   This  year,  as the Wildcats prepare to open their season Thursday night at Georgia Tech, he has an appetite for more.

   "Our goal for the defense is to improve on last year," he said. "We allowed 30 yards rushing a game or whatever (actually 30.1). Our goal is to beat that.

   "Our  goal is to improve in every single aspect, because if it wasn't, what kind of men would we be?

   "What would we be if our goal was to come close?"

   He started seeing double-team blocking in the season's seventh game, and he is looking for more of the same this year.

   With pleasure.

   "I  welcome  it,"  he  said. "If you want to bring the double team, give it your best shot, because I'm coming in.

   "Sometimes, you're going to get me. But sometimes, I'm going to get you."

   His  spectacular  sophomore  year  was a prime reason the Wildcats finished with a 10-2 record and a 29-0 Fiesta Bowl win over Miami.

   But  you  will  forgive  Bruschi  if he chooses not to think about the good times.

   When  he  needs  motivation,  he looks instead to his first year on campus, when an inexperienced band of Wildcats stumbled to a 4-7 record in 1991.

   He  remembers  being stepped on by Washington running back Napoleon Kaufman during  a  54-0  loss.  It  ended  his  season,  but gave him an extra year of eligibility as a medical redshirt.

   The week after, it was UCLA, 54-14, then Miami, 39-6.

   "So  now  everybody  asks how we're going to handle being favorites all the time," he said. "But they don't remember that all the juniors and seniors were here during that 4-7 season.

   "We  remember the butt-kickings we got. We know what it's like to lose, and we don't want to feel that way again."

DEFENSIVE END BRUSCHI A MAN ON MOVE FOR UA
Arizona Republic - SUNDAY, September 18, 1994
By: Marcia Hammond, The Arizona Republic

TUCSON - The  car sits for now, but by wintertime everything Arizona defensive end Tedy Bruschi went through to get it here will have been worth it.

   And  he's  been through a lot, literally, for the 1967 midnight blue Buick. Through   mountains,  deserts  and  mechanics,  Bruschi  has  shown  the  same determination  getting his first car to run properly as he does getting around blockers on the football field.

   He   doesn't   give  up,  which  is  why  the  junior  pass  rusher  had  a conference-record 18 sacks last season and 27 1/2 tackles for losses.

   And  that  is  why despite all the things that have gone wrong with the car his older brother, Tony, gave him, Bruschi will be driving it soon.

   "It  gets cold on a scooter," Bruschi said of his primary and favorite mode of transportation. "Now I've got a winter vehicle.

   "It's  always  tough carrying stuff on the scooter. I put stuff at my feet, on my shoulder, over my back, strapped to the little tandem on the back."

   Scooters and cars aside, Bruschi is a young man on the move.

   Last  season,  the  6-foot-1,  255-pounder  was  a  second-team All-America selection and Fiesta Bowl defensive most valuable player.

   His  rushing  ability is surpassed, perhaps, only by the zeal with which he plays and practices.

   "I've  never  seen  people  who  are bad practice players go out and have a great  game,"  Arizona  Coach  Dick  Tomey  said.  "There's no better practice players in the country than Tedy and (safety) Brandon Sanders. Our personality on  defense  is  pretty  much  defined by them. I heard the guys say that when those  two  were  freshmen. They rub off on everybody else they're so positive and upbeat."

   Upbeat  probably  is  not  the  word  the  Stanford Cardinal thinks of when Bruschi  comes  to  mind.  No,  Stanford,  where the No. 9 Wildcats (2-0) play Saturday  afternoon in their Pac-10 opener, probably thinks "beat up," because that's what he has done.

   In the two years Bruschi has faced the Cardinal, he has nine tackles (seven in  last  season's  victory)  and  two  sacks.  He has given quarterback Steve Stenstrom a couple of concussions and broken his face mask.

   In 1992 as a part-time player, Bruschi knocked the ball away from a reserve quarterback  and recovered it at Stanford's 1. It led to UA's first touchdown, en route to a 21-6 upset.

   He's  no  secret  anymore.  Bruschi  is  double-teamed  sometimes  or, when officials aren't watching, he's held. Still, he has five tackles and two sacks through the first two games.

   On the field, Bruschi can anticipate what is going to happen. As opposed to the  minefield  owning  a  car  can be. Even Richard Petty can't foresee every hazard behind a wheel. There  have been problems with the alternator, charging system, a leak, and the electrical system seems to be run by a poltergeist.

   The car didn't pass its first roll through emissions a couple of weeks ago. He took care of that and it passed the second time.

   "The  guy  at  the  shop said, 'Man, your car kicked my butt.' But now it's fixed," Bruschi said.

   None of it has dampened his enthusiasm for the auto.

   "Oh,  it's  sweet. Black top, black interior. It gets really hot inside but not on touch because it's cloth, not vinyl. You can't escape the heat anywhere in Arizona, anyway," he said.

   Heat   hasn't   been   the  trouble,  even  though  the  car  doesn't  have air-conditioning and has a tendency to overheat.

   "Now I need insurance. You know, that's expensive," he said.

   Getting the car was cheap and easy. Home in Roseville, Calif., just outside of  Sacramento, for a summer break, Bruschi and his brother were talking about the scooter. And how Bruschi gets cold in the winter riding it.
   "He  said, 'Well, do you want my car?' I said, 'Yeah, sure.' He said, 'It's yours.' "

   It  needed  a  little  work, but Tony had done some work to it already. "He, said, 'Hey, it'll get you there, no worries."

   That  part was true. All the repairs occurred after he got the car here and had  nothing to do with the one worrisome episode of the trip. That was caused by Bruschi.

   "We almost ran out of gas in the Grapevine," he said.

   The  Grapevine  is a desolate, rugged mountain area of the Tehachapi Range, which  marks  the  end  of  California's  Central  Valley and the beginning of southern  California.  California  99  runs through these mountains, where the incline would frighten mountain goats.

   Drivers  pass  from  sea level to about 4,200 feet within a 20-mile stretch and  getting  to  the other side takes roughly half an hour. Eighteen-wheelers and  other  trucks  lose their brakes going down, so there are sand pits where runaway trucks can hurl themselves.

   Many  cars  overheat in the summer during that drive and there are no stops along the way.

   Whatever  the  gas  gauge  said  as the Grapevine loomed in his windshield, Bruschi ignored it -- much the way he ignores bigger offensive linemen who are trying to protect their quarterback.

   "I  figured  I  got  it  covered,  no problem." So while his girlfriend, UA volleyball player Heidi Bomberger slept, Bruschi kept driving.

   Even though they had a cellular phone in the car, he began to wonder.

   "I didn't want to say anything because she was asleep," he said. Or because of  the  likelihood  that  Bamberger,  who had done her road stint without any problems, would not be pleased with the situation.

   He bought gas and maybe Rolaids, as soon as possible.

   In  the  1  1/2  years Bruschi has owned his beloved scooter, he hasn't had many problems. Just one, really -- start-up in winter.

   He  missed  a  7  a.m.  final  examination one December because the scooter wouldn't  start.  His  roommates,  offensive guard Warner Smith and linebacker Charlie Camp were already on their way to campus. He was stranded.

   "But I talked to my teacher and he let me make it up." That  has  been  the  scooter's  only  failing.  Chief  among  its all-star qualifications are it is easy to park and it has carried Bruschi and defensive tackle Jim Hoffman (6-4, 275) simultaneously.

   "And we pushed it to 45 mph," Bruschi said.

   He pushes himself, too, and so does defensive line coach Rich Ellerson.

   "I  still  say  I have a ways to go. Coach Ellerson sees parts of my game I can  do  better in, techniques I can perfect. I understand that because I just want to be the best I can."

   Wheels optional, hard-driving nature included.

Bruschi Swarms to the Occasion
College football: Defensive end comes up big as leader of vaunted Arizona defense.
Los Angeles Times
October 20, 1994
JIM HODGES; 

You can have your technology. Bob Jellison will take common sense and give you a few Tedy Bruschi stories.

   "In his senior season, in the first round of the playoffs, we were playing Cordova and were down, 18-14, in the last few minutes," said Jellison, who coached Bruschi at Roseville High, just outside Sacramento. "We go down and score, and we put Tedy at the point of attack on every play."

   Bruschi, who has picked up a few stories of his own as the leader of Arizona's Desert Swarm defense, remembers.

"If the quarterback called '47 power' or whatever, and it called for the left tackle to pull, I'd tell him, 'let's switch,' and I would play tackle," Bruschi said. "Then I would play guard, or wherever the play was run."

   For 10 plays and 80 yards, he played up and down the line.

   "After that, the other coach said, 'I knew what you were doing, but what the hell could I do about it?' " Jellison said.

   But the story is not complete.

   "Well, when we scored, there were about 30 seconds left, so they had time to come back," Jellison said. "One of our cornerbacks fell asleep on a play, and they completed a long pass and lined up for a field goal.

   "Tedy blocked it."

   The stories linger. They were often told in 1990 to recruiters who dismissed them as high school lore when they looked at a 6-foot-1 lineman who didn't fit their programs.

   Arizona didn't.

   "(Wildcat assistant) Mark Lunsford said, 'I can't believe that everybody's not here. You just don't see a guy that plays like this,' " Jellison said. "There were a lot of people to look and they were interested, but they said, 'Well, he's only 6-1, and he's only 240 and. . . .' "

   Sarcasm is mixed with disgust when Jellison remembers Bruschi's senior season. Jellison thought America's colleges would beat a path to his door.

   They didn't.

   "It's the old computer game," Jellison said.

   "He was 6 feet 1. Computers tell most of those colleges to look for 6-4, 6-5, 6-6 defensive linemen. That way, if they can get a 6-6, 275-pound guy who runs 4.7 or 4.6 (in the 40-yard dash) and the guy doesn't pan out, they can tell the alumni, 'Well, look, he had all the tools.' If you take a chance on a 6-1 guy and he doesn't pan out, it's harder to explain."

   Nobody has to explain Bruschi, Arizona's defensive end and spiritual leader.

   He is happy to explain himself. Bruschi likes to talk almost as much as he likes to hit quarterbacks--and he likes to hit quarterbacks.

   Bruschi led the Pac-10 in sacks last season with 19 1/2. He played alongside Outland Trophy winner Rob Waldrop, who faced blockers from every direction in his senior season, freeing up Bruschi to roam. Now Bruschi has the reputation and gets the attention, and Chuck Osborne, who replaced Waldrop, leads Arizona with seven sacks. Bruschi has six.

   "The first thing you do when you come up to the line is to find out where he is," said UCLA center Mike Flanagan, who has been looking at Bruschi since their high school days. They will meet again Saturday in Tucson.

   Though he moves from side to side on the defensive line, Bruschi isn't hard to find.

   "He has that look in his eyes that says, 'I'm crazy,' " Flanagan said.

   It also says that he's a player on a mission.

   "Mark Lunsford, the guy who recruited me here, and Larry Lewis, the guy from Washington State who recruited me, those guys looked beyond the height and weight and saw what I was doing on the field," Bruschi said. "You've got to have people like that in your program. If you just recruit for numbers, a defense like ours is going to come along and we're going to put your numbers in the dirt."

   That, Arizona has done.

   The Wildcats are eighth in the nation in total defense, fourth in rushing and scoring defense and regard all of those numbers as a sign of a down season.

   "We are offended when people score against us," Bruschi said.

   They are second in the Pac-10 in all three categories, behind Washington State, which they defeated, 10-7, last Saturday.

   Bruschi made six tackles, one of them a sack of Chad Davis, while facing double-team blocking all day long.

   It's nothing new.

   "I can understand (Waldrop's) situation," Bruschi said. "Guys were focusing on Rob last year, and he took the pressure on like a champ. He realized what he had to do and played his role and let the other guys have their time in the sun. I'm not saying I'm getting less numbers because they're putting more guys on me. I'm not making excuses. I'm saying I want to win, and if it takes my getting fewer numbers for us to win, so be it."

   The numbers are not that far down. Bruschi has eight tackles for losses totaling 55 yards, has recovered two fumbles and blocked a Georgia Tech field-goal attempt in the Wildcats' opener. He has 29 1/2 sacks in 31 college games and has tackled opposing players for losses totaling 296 yards.

   Bruschi had a sack in 15 consecutive games, the streak being blown by wishbone-running Oregon State.

 Two of those sacks came against UCLA last season, and one caused a Wayne Cook fumble that Arizona recovered. The Wildcats scored on the next play.

   Another came in the Fiesta Bowl, when Arizona built the momentum that it took into this season by beating Miami, 29-0.

   Bruschi, a communications major, naturally, was the defensive MVP in the Fiesta and waxed loquacious at game's end. His comments have lingered.

   "I guess I've been known to throw some one-liners at the press that they really caught on to," he said, laughing. "After the Fiesta Bowl, they were telling me good job, and I said the Desert Swarm will be back for more in '94."

   Arizona's sports publicists recognized a good thing. "Desert Swarm will be back for more in '94" is on a poster, near the telephone in a Tucson apartment Bruschi shares with two teammates.

   The phone rings a lot. Bruschi is a reporter's dream.

   "Hey, I just have fun," he said.

   That, and the crazy look he affects in games, have given him a reputation as something of a wild child. Long hair and a 255-pound body dwarfing his motorcycle add to the effect, particularly when his girlfriend, Arizona volleyball player Heidi Bomberger, is riding, too.

  He dismisses it all as perception. The motorcycle is a way to beat the university's parking system. "I get the best spots in town," he said. "Drive it right up to the classroom door." Besides, he has a car now. "My brother got it for me," he said. "It's a '67 Buick, a sporty one."

   And the talk? It's mainly inspiration, aimed at teammates, Bruschi said. "I don't taunt the opposition. Well, there is talking, but that's just part of the game. I don't talk to the point where people say that guy needs to shut up. If something needs to be said, I'll say it. I'd rather lead by example."

   He has done that at Arizona, where he's getting the last word about the things that kept him from being a hot commodity in the recruiting class of 1990.

BRUSCHI IS AP ALL-AMERICAN
Arizona Republic  - THURSDAY, December 8, 1994
By: Marcia Hammon

Between  studying  for finals and accepting football awards, Arizona defensive end  Tedy  Bruschi  has  been  as  busy off the field recently as he is on the field.

   Bruschi,  a  junior,  on  Wednesday  was  selected  to The Associated Press All-America  team.  The  selection  elevated  Bruschi to consensus All-America status.

   "They  picked  one member off one of the best teams in the country, and I'm fortunate to be the one," Bruschi said. "It was a (defensive-line effort) that helped me get this recognition."

   Before  the regular-season finale against Arizona State on Nov. 25, Bruschi had  been  picked  to  the  American  Football  Coaches  and  Football Writers All-America  squads.  Consensus requires selection to three of five designated postseason teams.

   Bruschi,  6-foot-1,  255 pounds, was one of only two Pac-10 players to make the  AP  first  team.  He  was  joined  by Southern Cal offensive lineman Tony Boselli. Both were all-conference first-team selections.

   The  team  was  dominated  by  seniors.  Bruschi,  also  a finalist for the Football News defensive player of the year, was one of seven juniors.

   Among them are likely Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam of Colorado, who rushed  for  2,055  yards and scored 24 touchdowns, and Miami defensive tackle Warren Sapp, who beat out Bruschi for the Lombardi Award as the top lineman.

   It  is  the  third straight year that the No. 15 Wildcats have had a player attain  consensus  status. Defensive tackle Rob Waldrop, who played at Horizon High, was consensus his junior and senior seasons. Wildcats  place-kicker  Steve  McLaughlin,  who last week won the Lou Groza Award as outstanding kicker, was selected to the third team.

   The  senior  out  of Tucson Sahuaro High finished behind the two kickers he beat  for  the  Groza,  Brian  Leaver  of  Bowling  Green and Remy Hamilton of Michigan.

   An  integral  part  of  the  "Desert  Swarm" defense that was second in the country  against  the  run and 10th-best overall, Bruschi finished the regular season with 39 tackles.

   He  had  a  team-high  15  tackles  for losses totaling 86 yards and had 10 sacks,  giving  him  at  least  one  sack  in 21 of his past 23 games. He also recovered four fumbles.

   Last  season  as  a  second-team AP selection, Bruschi had 55 tackles and a conference-record 18 sacks.

   He was named the 1994 Fiesta Bowl's most valuable player on defense.

   The  All-America  team  will  make its annual TV appearance on the Bob Hope  Christmas Show on Wednesday on Channel 12. The show was taped last Sunday.

WILDCATS' BRUSCHI MAY JUMP TO NFL
Phoenix Gazette  - SATURDAY, December 10, 1994
By: Bob Crawford

    Ask  Tedy  Bruschi  if  he  will  be  coming back to the University of Arizona football team, and the answer is straightforward.

   "I have to," he said Friday. "We have one more game to play."

   That would be the Freedom Bowl in Anaheim, Calif., against Utah on Dec. 27.

   Beyond that, the All-American defensive end is noncommittal.

   "I'll tell you in the locker room after the Freedom Bowl," he said.

   Bruschi  and  his teammates began practice for their third consecutive bowl game today, with the distinct possibility that the junior pass-rush specialist might  decide  to  renounce  his  senior  year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft.

   If he does, it will be the second consecutive year the Wildcats have lost a key  junior  to  the  pros.  Last season, it was tailback Chuck Levy, who bade farewell after Arizona's 29-0 win over Miami in the Fiesta Bowl. He became the Cardinals' second-round pick.

   If   anything,  Bruschi's  credentials  are  better.  He  was  a  consensus All-America selection this year and was one of five finalists for the Lombardi Trophy,  awarded  to  college  football's  most outstanding lineman. He had 10 sacks among his 39 tackles and recovered four fumbles.

   If Bruschi refuses to talk about specifics before the Freedom Bowl, he does not mind talking in generalities.

   In  that case, what would it take to lure a hypothetical junior away from a hypothetical   school  in  the  desert?  "If  they  flashed  the  hypothetical million-dollar  bill  in  my  face, I might have to follow it," he said with a grin.

   Bruschi  doesn't  deny  the  idea  of  leaving has crossed his mind. "Ever single  player  in  Division One - or Division Two, Three, Four, Five or Six - dreams about playing on Sundays," he said.

'94 HYPE IS HISTORY AS WILDCATS GRIP UNDERDOG ROLE
Arizona Republic - FRIDAY, August 11, 1995
By: Marcia Hammond,
 

TUCSON - The  Sports  Illustrated  issue that proclaimed Arizona and its cover boys the No. 1 college football team in the country last summer is in a dresser drawer, underneath a pile of Tedy Bruschi's clothes.

   "We're  not  top  dog  this  year  and  that's  fine  with  me," the senior All-American defensive end said Thursday.

   Being  top  dog  at  the  start  of  last  season brought hollow barking -- underachieving  for  a second-place tie in the Pac-10, a No. 20 ranking, and a season-ending loss to Utah in the Freedom Bowl.

   When  preseason  camp opens here today, hype will not make an appearance, a predicted fifth-place finish by conference watchers aside.

   Like  a dieter who walks away from second servings, the Wildcats plan to do what is healthiest for them -- just play and forget the rest.

   "We're  not on the cover, who cares? This is a totally different year. What happened  last  year  is irrelevant," Bruschi continued, his voice rising with irritation, sentence by sentence.

   Finally,  the  tiny  hallway echoes with this statement: "I'm not answering any  more  questions about last year! Ask me about this team -- this offensive line,  about  (quarterback)  Danny  White  and how he's good, the next game. I don't want to talk about an 8-4 season that I don't think about anymore."

   Bruschi  will  have  at  least  11  games this season to use as replacement memories.

   Getting  to  a 12th game -- postseason -- will take the concerted effort of Coach Dick Tomey's 10 returning starters plus a slew of newcomers.

   The  school's  all-time leading rusher, Ontiwaun Carter, is gone. So is the entire starting offensive line and integral parts of the defense -- linebacker Sean Harris, free safety Tony Bouie and end Akil Jackson.

   "We've  got  a  lot  of  guys  who  have  worked  awfully hard and a lot of outstanding  senior  leadership," Tomey said. "We have to hope that's going to parlay itself on the field."

   Off  the  field,  there has been some trouble. Police are investigating (no charges  have  been  filed) a fight at a party last spring attended by several players, including all-conference strong safety Brandon Sanders.

   On  the field there is White, who passed for 2,181 yards last season, which put him fifth on the all-time single-season chart.

   He  will operate behind an inexperienced line after bidding farewell to his regular protectors, but he should have strong receivers, led by Richard Dice.

   The  offensive  front,  which  was  supposed  to  be  among the best in the conference last season, didn't come through in big games.

   "The  offensive  line obviously is a question mark, and it will be until we face  a  good  defense,"  Tomey said. "We just need to be able to run the ball against  a  good  team, which we were unable to do last year and that makes it tough (on a quarterback)."

   White  doesn't  complain  about  pressure  or  burdens  but will confess he doesn't miss the commotion that surrounded last season's efforts.

   "When  you have people patting you on the back, telling you you're awesome, you  tend  to  slack  off," he said. "It's human nature. There wasn't a time a player  here  slacked  off,  but  not being rated so high is positive. Arizona plays better as an underdog."

Source:  Sports Illustrated, August 28, 1995
Title:  Arizona.
Author:  Tim Layden
     On a visit in June to central New York State, where his son, Rich, was pitching for an independent minor league baseball team, Arizona coach Dick Tomey took a side trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. "I was like a kid in a candy store," says the 57-year-old Tomey, which is no surprise because he still plays baseball in the Tucson City League with players half his age. At the Hall of Fame, at a booth that measures the velocity of pitches, Tomey threw baseballs for 20 minutes, until he clocked the fastest pitch ever--64 mph--for a person his age.

    All this makes Tomey sound like a stubborn man with something to prove, and it's an apt description. Apt for Tomey's team, too. A year ago SI picked Arizona to win the national championship, and most other prognosticators thought the Wildcats would finish in the Top 10 and play in their first Rose Bowl. Instead, they lost to Colorado State early, to Utah in the Freedom Bowl late and to Oregon and USC in between. Arizona wound up 8-4.

    The Wildcats never adjusted to the role of being the hunted. "A lot of us are unrecruited guys who never got credit for anything," says senior All-America defensive end Tedy Bruschi. "All of a sudden we wake up one day last year and everybody says, 'You're top dog. How are you going to handle it?' Looking back, not very well." The season wasn't entirely a disaster. The Wildcats' 6-2 Pac-10 record matched their conference best, and had they reversed the 10-9 loss at Oregon, they would have gone to Pasadena. Nonetheless, the sudden vulnerability of the Desert Swarm defense, which baffled and intimidated Pac-10 teams the three previous years, was a major source of concern around Tucson. Arizona remained tough against the run (second in the nation), but gave up an average of 220 yards a game in the air.

    The falloff was partly due to league opponents' having learned the oddball tendencies of the Wildcats' double eagle-flex defense. "Sure, they understand it better now," says Tomey. "But we understand it better, too." Expect only minor changes in how the unit operates. "Good defense still beats good offense," says Tomey.

    Heading the defense once again will be Bruschi, the 6'1", 245-pound Tasmanian devil who has 51-1/2 tackles for losses, including 37-1/2 sacks, in three years. Constant talk that he is too small to play in the NFL has obscured his brilliant college career. "I've never heard another player get asked so much about his weight," says Bruschi.

    He bulked up to 255 pounds in the off-season only to find that he was slowed by the extra weight. This year he's back to his old playing weight, a sure headache for offensive coordinators. Most often he'll be up front with junior tackle Joe Sala ve'a and senior nose tackle Chuck Osborne. No team has a better front core.

 Senior strong safety Brandon Sanders, the 5'10", 177-pound big-hit specialist, anchors a secondary that was burned for 13 touchdowns last year. He's duly embarrassed. "The wheels came off, I don't know why," Sanders says. "But I do know we'll be much better." Senior quarterback Dan White, who completed 57% of
his passes in '94, will be expected to do what Tomey's quarterbacks are always expected to do: Play it safe and not lose games. He will work with a rebuilt offensive line.

    The Wildcats' most useful weapon may be the perception that they blew their chance last season. "People either slap you in the face or pat you on the back," says Bruschi. "I don't like being slapped, but I really don't like being patted on the back."

    That won't be a problem this year--at least until the Wildcats start winning games.

Last call for Bruschi

By Craig Sanders

Arizona Daily Wildcat   Nov.10, 1995

Skateboarding down Golden Gate Street in San Francisco, a kid could travel around the city all day, a quarter for a trolley ticket taking him from Fisherman's Wharf with its biting cold ocean winds and lapping gray sea to Chinatown or Lombard Street.

Tedy Bruschi could go out with his friends every day and find a new challenge to satisfy his self-proclaimed reckless abandon. He could come home and fight with his sister Natalia or brother Tony or see if he could skateboard down a long set of stairs, the sound of the wheels knocking against the concrete.

When Bruschi moved to Roseville, Calif.  a small city north of San Francisco  and entered high school, it could easily have become a culture shock for the 14-year-old. The small town of Roseville lacked the San Francisco's flavor, but Bruschi soon found other distractions.

One day he walked into the cafeteria and saw his friends lined up, their cleats sitting on the floor next to them. He asked them what they were for.

"Football," one of them said. "There are tryouts today. You should come out."

"Heck, why not," Bruschi answered.

He showed up for practice that afternoon, wearing an old pair of sneakers. The coach came out, whistle blowing, watching the boys line up in their chosen positions. Bruschi stood in the middle of the field and looked around as everyone else trotted off. He had played football before, on the long green lawns in a park in San Francisco, but it was like most children's games: throw the ball and tackle whoever catches it.

The coach looked over and saw Bruschi standing there.

"You, get over there with the defensive lineman," he said.

Fate made the first spin of its wheel. Bruschi never left the line.

Bruschi, 22, will play his last game at Arizona Stadium on Saturday against Oregon. It has been a long voyage for him with Arizona, five years in the making. He helped guide his teams to three straight winning seasons and the best record among Pacific 10 Conference teams in his four playing years with the Wildcats. He has 49.5 sacks in his career at Arizona, leaving him only 2.5 behind career sack leader Derrick Thomas (Alabama 1985-88). But for Bruschi, his final home game will bring far different feelings than any of those accomplishments.

"I've never been nervous about a home game before like I am about this one," Bruschi said. "I know it's my last home game. I know it's the last time I'll hear the fans go 'Bruuuschi.' Mostly I'm excited because it is an opportunity to win and get the team back in bowl contention"

Sitting in McKale Center, Bruschi, fifth-year communications senior, recounts how he has changed from that lost youth standing alone in the middle of the field to the all-time sack leader in Pac-10 Conference history.

A white cap was pulled backward over his shaggy black hair, his wide shoulders stretching his T-shirt. He told his story with a laugh, a smile, an occasional grim expression on his darkly tanned face that spoke of his half-Italian, half-Filipino heritage.

He had come into the Arizona program wearing that trademark black hair.

"He looked like Jesus when he got here," senior linebacker Charlie Camp said.

Bruschi has earned his share of awards. An All-America player, a two-time finalist for the Lombardi Trophy, given to college football's best defensive lineman, the top-rated defensive player in a number of college magazines Ÿ they are all individual accomplishments he shares with his team.

"Everything I earn, everything I get, is just a reflection of what the team has accomplished," Bruschi said.

When he recorded three sacks Sept. 16 against Illinois, he broke the Pac-10 sack record. For the 6-foot-1, 243-pound defensive lineman, it was a moment when he entered the record books. Unfortunately, no matter what he accomplishes, the football world will always judge him on his size. At his weight, he is simply not a giant among defensive linemen.

"The thing that bothers me the most is that people would pay so much attention to a guy's physical attributes," Bruschi said. "It's not about that. They don't measure the desire to play the game."

It is Bruschi's reckless abandon on the football field that has characterized his play.

"He has a motor that never quits," Arizona head coach Dick Tomey said. "He has such an incredible intensity. Bruschi will do whatever it takes to win. He is also one of the best leaders that I have ever coached."

Bruschi has garnered respect from coaches and players around the league as one of the nation's premier pass rushers. His name and face have shown up everywhere from the front of Sports Illustrated to the inside of Playboy magazine in its college football issue to Bob Hope's Christmas special.

In the process, Bruschi has been transformed from a person to a name and face. Fans know him for the passion he shows on the field as he runs down quarterbacks, big number 68 turning around the edge of the offensive line and violently introducing himself. He is identified with his bushy hair, his interesting quotes, the way he seems to encompass the very heart of Arizona's Desert Swarm defense.

Yet there is more to Tedy Bruschi than that, just as there is more to any athlete. There is the Tedy Bruschi who walks from practice and signs autographs, or gives countless interviews or still can't beat his brother Tony in arm wrestling. There is the Tedy Bruschi who wouldn't talk about himself to reporters as a freshman because he thought he hadn't done anything to deserve the recognition. There is the Tedy Bruschi who huddled around team members to offer them support after the death of teammate Damon Terrell.

"The biggest change I've undergone since coming here is that I've grown to be a man," Bruschi said. "I would tell anybody who wanted to come here, 'You're 18 years old when you get here. You'll be about 21, and you'll be a man when you leave.'"

His mother, Juanita, and stepfather, Ronald Sandys, supported Bruschi, though he says his mother didn't exactly understand the game at first. They helped him through high school, and when it came time to make a decision about college, it wasn't whether he could play collegiate ball, but whether he wanted to.

"Actually, the decision at the time was between playing football and playing the saxophone," Bruschi said. "I think I made the right decision."

Bruschi's change began when he first arrived on campus in 1991 as a recruit of UA running back coach Mark Lunsford. At the time, the defensive lineman had three options: He could have gone to Washington State, Brigham Young or Arizona. BYU wanted him to convert to linebacker, which he was unwilling to do at the time, and Washington State never got a chance. He fell in love with Tucson.

"The whole city just has a kind of atmosphere," Bruschi said. "When I visited colleges I asked myself if I could spend the next five years of my life there. When I came to Tucson, I knew I could."

Injuries among the Wildcat players that first season pushed Bruschi from practice squad member to second string to starter in short order. He played in three games that season, breaking his thumb and receiving a medical redshirt. At the time, Bruschi was disappointed, but he would unknowingly find himself thankful.

"It was just like the time the coach said, 'You, go over to the defensive line,'" Bruschi said. "I wouldn't be here right now if it hadn't been for that broken thumb."

Bruschi will leave Arizona Stadium forever after tomorrow's Homecoming game, shaking his black hair and walking from the field. He will most likely head to the NFL, to a big city with trolleys or a lapping gray sea.

Tedy Bruschi will be prepared for whatever challenges await. The five years at Arizona may have transformed him into a man, but Bruschi still attacks life with the same reckless abandon of his youth.

BRUSCHI'S NEXT CHALLENGE ASU, THEN NFL
Phoenix Gazette - THURSDAY, November 23, 1995
By: Mark Armijo

Ready  or  not  Arizona  State, here comes Tedy Bruschi. And, boy, is this guy ever on a mission.

   Listen.

   "I  learned after my first game against them (the Sun Devils) the animosity between  the  universities  and the two towns," said Bruschi, Arizona's senior All-America  defensive  end. "There's not a lot that we like about each other. The  thing is, I just want to finish the season with a good taste in my mouth. And I'm telling you, we're ready.

   "I  know  they  are, too. They've won four in a row, but (the wins) haven't been  against  us.  We  don't  care  how many they've won, who they've played, anything like that.

   "It's just ASU vs. UA, and the UA is going to come out (on top)."

   There. Case closed. End of subject.

   Next topic, please.

   "It's  just  that there's a lot of pride and respect that goes on with this game,"  Bruschi  said.  "This  game means everything to a lot of us. I haven't lost to them a lot (once in three tries), and I don't believe that will happen again this Friday."

   On  Friday  at  Sun  Devil  Stadium, the teams will meet for the 69th time. Arizona leads the 96-year-old series, 39-28-1, and has won the past two.

   If it becomes three straight, you can bet Bruschi (pronounced BREW-ski, not BRUISE-key) will have much to do with it.

   Not  only  is  Bruschi one of four finalists for the Lombardi Award for the second  straight season, the 6-foot-1, 243-pound lineman needs only three more sacks to pass Derrick Thomas and become the all-time NCAA leader.

   With 12 sacks this season, Bruschi has 49.5, which already is enough to put him atop the all-time, Pac-10 ladder.

   "The  guy  has a zest for playing and he probably has a zest for life," ASU Coach  Bruce Snyder said. "When you're looking at a recruit, you ask, 'Does he really love football, wouldn't quit if it was the last thing on earth?'

   "Well,  Tedy  Bruschi would rank very high on that list. He loves football. He loves playing. He doesn't become fatigued."

   Yes,  that's exactly what UA coaches scribbled in their note pads when they became  one  of  the  few  schools  to  court  Bruschi  out  of high school in Roseville, Calif.

   "Tedy  has  set  the  standard for practice and playing in games," UA Coach Dick Tomey said. "There's a youthful exuberance and excitement about him.

   "But  he  was  that  way the first day he got here, which wasn't a surprise because  anybody  who looked at him on the high-school tape had to know that's what he was going to be. That's why it's so amazing that some people looked at him and decided not to go with him."

   Bruschi  recalls  only  Arizona and Washington State making a hard push for his  signature on the dotted line. Now, he wonders whether he will receive the same treatment next April in the NFL draft.

   "I  know  (NFL) people are going to have their doubts just like some people did  coming  out  of  high  school," Bruschi said. "Not a lot of colleges were after me, but I only needed one college and Arizona was my one college.

   "Now, I only need one pro team to be interested in me, too. I not only feel like I can play there, but I feel I can succeed at the next level. If it takes a position change, fine.

   "I've  heard  talk  about maybe I might be moved to outside linebacker, but that's  OK.  I  can cover man-to-man and make zone drops. I can run backwards, sideways, up and down, anywhere.

   "I'm  not  super  fast,  but I've got confidence in my ability. I always do everything to try and meet the challenge in front of me."

   Bruschi's  next challenge after trying to take care of business against ASU will be to impress NFL scouts.

   "Can he play in the NFL?" Tomey asked. "You bet he can. People may disagree and say Tedy's too small or too slow, but if he can't play up there, then they need to change the game."

   Draft  analyst Mel Kiper Jr. projects Bruschi will go somewhere between the fifth and seventh rounds.

   "The  question  mark  is  how will he adapt to the pro scheme," Kiper said. "Will he be used as a down lineman in third-and-long, pass-rush situations. Or will teams try to play him up and move him around like (linebacker) Bryce Paup in Buffalo.

   "Tedy's got good numbers (in college) and he's got great closing speed. But he's not tall. That works against him. And he just doesn't have that great raw physical  ability.  I think he would be a dynamic special-teams player. He's a real headhunter."

   Perhaps. But Bruschi likes to believe he will create more of an impact.

   "That's just me," Bruschi said. "I believe in myself.

   "I  came to (Arizona) as an 18-year-old, young and sort of scared. I didn't know  what  to  expect  from college football, much less life. But Coach Tomey taught a lot. He taught me to be a good player and a good person.

   "Then,  this year, I felt like I needed to step it up even more. And I feel like  I  did.  Now,  I lead the Pac-10 in quarterback sacks and all that blah, blah,  blah.  Sure,  it's  a  personal goal to become the all-time (NCAA) sack leader, and I plan to get some more (against ASU), but it's more important for my team to win.

   "If  we  get  the win and I don't get the sack record, fine. Beating ASU is what we all want the most."

ASU TRIO NAMED ALL-PAC-10 UA'S BRUSCHI PICKED LEAGUE'S TOP DEFENDER
Phoenix Gazette  - TUESDAY, November 28, 1995
By: Bob Eger

Arizona State placed three players on the All-Pac-10 football team Monday, but once  again,  the  Sun  Devils  were  upstaged  by  Arizona defensive end Tedy Bruschi.

   Bruschi,  who  played  a  major  role  in  Arizona's 31-28 come-from-behind victory over ASU on Friday in Tempe, was named Defensive Player of the Year in balloting  by  the  conference's  coaches.  Southern  California wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson was chosen Offensive Player of the Year.

   ASU's  first-team  selections  were quarterback Jake Plummer, wide receiv