Saturday, January 1, 2011

Texas-born Arizona Wildcats players excited for Alamo Bowl homecoming

The UA's Dec. 29 showdown with Oklahoma State will be both a homecoming for 16 players and a chance to heap some hospitality on those Wildcats who have never been to San Antonio.

Foles, Wade and a handful of other players said Monday they're looking forward to playing host.
"To me, it's home," Foles said.

The Alamo Bowl chose Arizona (7-5) over Washington (6-6), even though many projected the Wildcats to play in San Diego's Holiday Bowl. It's only fair, the native Texans say, that the Wildcats take on the Lone Star State a year after playing in California.

"Now, the guys who haven't been to Texas can see what Texas is all about. We get to show them around Texas like they showed us around 'Cali,'" Foles said.

"There'll be the River Walk, the food, the Tex-Mex, the experience of being around the Texas people, friendly people ... I think they'll really enjoy it."

Foles grew up in Austin, 60 miles northeast of San Antonio, and is probably the most familiar with the city. He played in the Alamodome four times in high school, going 2-2. The Cats quarterback swears by Rudy's, a barbecue chain famous throughout Texas for its beef brisket and sausage.

"You can eat anything there, and it'll be good," he said.

Wade, who hails from nearby Round Rock, played Pop Warner championship games at the Alamodome.

He'll bring "maybe 20 or 30" family members to the game.

"I have grandparents, aunts and uncles, nephews, brothers and sisters who'll go," he said. "It'll be fun."
And though wideout David Douglas comes from McKinney, outside Dallas, he has family in the hill country outside San Antonio.

Douglas said he "couldn't have asked for anything more" than the Alamo Bowl. Douglas and Foles, his roommate and best friend, were in the same car when the selection was announced. Their California-born teammates spent Monday peppering them with questions about the city, food and vibe.

The Texans were happy to answer.

"All those Cali guys haven't been out to Texas," Douglas said.

Wildcats land O-line help for 2011

The Arizona Wildcats have found a possible successor to Colin Baxter.

Addison Bachman, a center from Glendora (Calif.) Citrus Community College, verbally committed to the UA after taking an official visit over the weekend.

"I had a lot of time in Tucson to meet the coaches, put a name to a face," he said. "I had already known I was going to come to Arizona but was waiting around to see what kinds of offers I was going to get."
Bachman, 20, chose the UA in part to stay close to family. His father lives in New Mexico and his mother in Glendora, a Los Angeles suburb.

The 6-foot-5-inch, 295-pound Bachman will enroll in January as a "Super Two" player, meaning he will have two years of eligibility left with no room to redshirt. Bachman, 20, was forced to take a medical redshirt as a freshman after tearing the labrum in his shoulder.

Bachman is the second recruit in as many days to verbally commit to the UA. The Wildcats landed San Diego Hoover High School's Dame Ndiaye on Sunday. Ndiaye, a converted basketball player, projects as either a wide receiver, tight end or defensive end.

Read more: Sport

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