Unheralded Eafon key to Wildcat success

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Summer Wildcat Seth Doria

As freshmen and veteran football players reported to the University of Arizona this week, the media have once again fallen over themselves to give the fans the most information possible.

Will freshman running back Leo Mills be as good as he, and everybody else, thinks he is?

Who will start at quarterback, Keith Smith or Ortege Jenkins?

Will head coach Dick Tomey impress enough to get his contract renewed at the end of the season?

So many questions, and absolutely no facts to base the answers upon. All we can do is tell you what we think.

But, there is another advantage to preseason coverage - the feature stories. During the regular season, most of the media coverage surrounds the actual games and not the people playing them. So the preseason is our chance to give a little ink to those who may not be in the spotlight of the box scores, but nonetheless have a big impact on the game.

Fullback Kelvin Eafon fits that bill more than anyone else on the team.

Those who have been here long enough remember Eafon as a fan favorite for Lute Olson's basketball team, coming off the bench in the last minute of a blowout. The crowd would cheer wildly when he would touch the ball, urging him to shoot. He was more of a novelty than a competitor.

But now Eafon, a senior, is the starting fullback and an emotional leader on a Wildcat squad that should boast the best offense in team history this year.

He is a good blocker, can run hard up the middle, almost always gaining at least three yards, and is a good receiver out of the backfield.

Ironically, Eafon had his best day on what was the Wildcats' worst day last season, a humiliating 58-28 loss to Washington at Arizona Stadium that chased away most fans before the start of the second half.

But Eafon ran for 140 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries in the absence of the injured Trung Canidate, making several spectacular plays.

"If we can all play like Kelvin Eafon we'd have done better," Tomey told the Wildcat after that game. "He's such a warrior, such a competitor."

But Eafon showed class, not taking pride in personal gain in the wake of such a huge team setback. Asked to sum up his own performance, his only response was, "Not good enough."

What else can you ask for from a guy so big he can play fullback, but quick enough he was originally placed at cornerback when he started playing football full time?

When the Wildcats travel to Hawaii for the season opener Sept. 3, Eafon will be the key figure in a loaded backfield. It will be his responsibility to pick up the blitzing linebackers, to make the final block to spring the running back, to break through a pile of defenders in short yardage goal-line situations. And it will be his responsibility, though I'm betting he sees it as more of a privilege, to get in people's faces when they aren't giving a complete effort.

UA is expected to reach new heights this year, with some prognosticators, including myself, predicting a top 15 finish and a berth in a New Year's Day bowl game. If that does happen, you can bet Kelvin Eafon had a hell of a season.