McAlister leads defensive assault

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Senior corner-back Chris McAlister (11) shuts down Cougar wide receiver Jerry Roquemore (89) during Sat-urday's game at Arizona Sta-dium. McAlister became the first UA player to ever return a punt, kickoff and interception for a touch-down in a ca-reer with a 60-yard interception return for a touchdown in the game.

"It hurts to give up those seven points," senior cornerback Chris McAlister said. "Everyone on defense sort of took a drive off and gave up seven points. It's a shame that it took the other team scoring to get (our) defense's intensity up."

So McAlister and the rest of the Arizona defense proceeded to launch an assault which kept the Cougars out of the endzone and off the scoreboard for the rest of the game.

It was junior free safety Rafell Jones who notched the first of Arizona's three interceptions, picking off WSU quarterback Steve Birnbaum to kill a Cougar drive after UA had retaken the lead 10-7.

The next one fell into the hands of McAlister, who snatched a Birnbaum pass at the Arizona 40-yard line and then ran it back 60 yards for his first interception return for a touchdown on the season.

"He threw it right to me," McAlister said. "From the beginning I could tell exactly where he was going to go with it (the pass). I kind of knew that, once I got it, I would get it to the endzone."

That made McAlister the first player in UA history to score a touchdown on an interception, a kickoff return and a punt return in the same season and in a career.

Still, he wasn't all that affected by the news.

"It means something, I guess," he said. "But not really. I'm just doing my job."

Jones had high praise for his teammate.

"That's the bright light of our defense," Jones said. "He's just a playmaker. Somebody just needs to get him the ball and he'll make things happen."

UA head coach Dick Tomey agreed with Jones' assessment.

"He is a playmaker," Tomey said. "If somebody can do something that's only been done five times in the history of the game, that's significant."

Joining the McAlister fan bandwagon was WSU head coach Mike Price.

"It went right out of our guy's hands and to their All-American's. Of all the people on the field, it went to the best athlete," Price said. "He is just a great cornerback and an exceptional athlete."

Arizona strong safety LaChaux Rich completed UA's trifecta of interceptions when he picked off Birnbaum in the fourth quarter. Rich ran the ball back 97 yards for a touchdown, but it was called back by what Tomey called "an unfortunate block" which really had no impact on the play.

Chris Jackson can be reached via e-mail at Chris.Jackson@wildcat.arizona.edu.