McAlister builds on last year's success

Arizona Daily Wildcat Chris McAlister

At the time it seemed like just another big play. But this was Chris McAlister thumbing his nose at the school that thumbed its nose at him.

McAlister had just signed with UCLA in 1995 and was set to become a Bruin. The school, however, challenged his SAT score. Basically, UCLA was calling him a cheater.

"I wanted to go to UCLA, but I've never felt the same about them since," he said.

Now a junior, McAlister's dislike of UCLA runs deep. He refuses to call the runback revenge because he says he is not done with the Bruins just yet.

"I still won't consider the situation over until I am finished with college football," McAlister said. "For the next two years, I'm going to be looking forward to playing them."

Two years. That is, of course, if he stays that long because many others who don't wear baby blue and gold are taking notice of the 6-foot-3, 185-pound cornerback from Pasadena, Calif. Sports Illustrated featured him in an article on cornerbacks in its college football preview issue. A full-color photo of his interception over Jerome Pathon at Washington graces page 47. At Monday night's "Meet the Team" celebration at Arizona Stadium, autograph seekers lined up 30 deep to get his signature on the magazine's photo.

"It's crazy," McAlister said. "I didn't think anyone would bring it."

Perhaps even more impressive is the attention he's received at a university with a history of defensive backs with names like Chuck Cecil, Tony Bouie and Brandon Sanders.

Defensive backs coach Duane Akina, though, is quick to clarify just where McAlister place in history stands for now.

"He's not in that mold just yet," Akina said. "He made the big plays that everybody saw. But when you make a mistake as a defensive back, everybody sees it. He's got the little things to work on."

The one thing they may already have in common is the pressure they put on themselves. McAlister is quick to admit that he sets very high standards for himself. The others were the same way, Akina said

"They were very hard on themselves," he said. "But they took such pride in what they did. They were very, very competitive."

McAlister says that he expects 1997 to be an even bigger year for himself, simply because he expects to succeed. But don't call him a legend just yet.

"I don't really like to be compared to other people, because I'm my own person," McAlister said. "It's nice that they would consider me though."

Just like it's nice to be in Sports Illustrated.

"I never knew that was coming," McAlister said as a grin spread across his face. "It kind of took me by surprise."

He, on the other hand, should take very few teams by surprise.