It's not surprising the Arizona Wildcats only placed one man on the All-Pac-12 teams.
But between the talent of Juron Criner and Nick Foles, that one man was cornerback Trevin Wade. It's just a little reminder that making the All-Conference teams has a lot to do with how deep in talent some positions are compared to others, and it also shows that we can sometimes forget to appreciate guys who fly under the radar.
Wade was exactly that forgotten man.
Meanwhile, Foles and Criner -- along with center Kyle Quinn, kicker John Bonano, defensive back Tra'Mayne Bondurant -- were listed as Pac-12 honorable mentions.
Here's a review on all of the above players' seasons.
Trevin Wade
Yesterday, I said Wade should be taken in the NFL Draft somewhere around the sixth round, and I guess the league agreed. Wade finished with 52 total tackles on the year and a team-high 13 pass breakups. He only had two interceptions this season, but that's thanks to quarterbacks refusing to test his side of the field.
He promised before the season to come out focused and he did just that. Now if he had gotten his teammates to do the same...
Nick Foles
You're probably wondering how in the world the league Foles could be left out. Well, Andrew Luck and Matt Barkley are good too -- but their teams won, and Foles' Wildcats didn't.
Here are the quick facts. Foles threw for 4,334 yards, had a 2:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio and completed 69 percent of his passes. And of course, there's the leadership thrown in there that makes it harsh to keep him off even the second team.
Pretty much, he played a game of musical chairs with Luck and Barkley and lost. That sucks.
Juron Criner
So Juron Criner is good, but he was inconsistent. Robert Woods was dominant for the USC Trojans, and Criner hurt his reputation with injuries, dropped balls in the middle of the season after returning from an appendectomy and silence to the media.
That didn't help his name reach Pac-12 voters' ears.
Criner ended the season with 956 yards with and 87-yard per game average and 11 touchdowns. No too shabby, and it's likely inaccurate to say Criner isn't one of the best four receivers in the conference (both the First and Second Teams have two WRs on them).
Kyle Quinn
Quietly, Quinn led a young offensive line for the Wildcats and he must have impressed. I'm not one to judge the O-line very accurately, but while they often struggled, it was Quinn who was clearly the leader and the rock of the bunch.
I mean, Foles couldn't have put up 4,334 yards without a little help up front, right?
John Bonano
Was this just a stick-it-to-Stoops pick? After Stoops' firing, Tim Kish took the risk with the kick-off specialist and it paid dividends. Bonano went on a perfect-streak to begin at at the very least, made his extra points.
Maybe the voters just thought it'd be funny, but props to John either way.
He went 8-for-12 on field goal tries and had 22 touchbacks on 67 total kickoffs.
Tra'Mayne Bondurant
Weirdest honorable mention, and I don't even have to look at the other players from all the other rosters. Bondurant didn't start until halfway through the year, only showing up on special teams duties. So it's a bit questionable for the Pac-12 to get him enough votes to be mentioned here.
Then again, Bondurant was dominating when he got his chance. He was second on the team with six pass breakups in only six full games and accumulated 45 tackles, most of which were in that span. He also had an interception and 3.5 tackles for loss.