Bear Down Wildcats

Tharpe is a 6-5, 275, redshirt Junior defensive lineman from Carrollton, TX. Last year was Tharpe's first with the Wildcats and he played in 8 games with 16 total tackles (8 solo and 2.5 for a loss). Not a super impressive season, but pretty good when you remember that he did not join the team until the end of August and then had to work his way off the scout team to the field.

I would expect a big jump for Tharpe this year if for no other reason that he finally gets off season fundamental and S&C work and a spring and summer camp to prepare. When the team brought him in from Tyler Junior College (TX) they knew he was raw and need to hit the weight room. He also has pretty good genes. Tharpe's dad played 8 seasons in the NFL on the offensive line.

Expect Tharpe, who is still a walk-on, to see plenty of playing time on the defensive line and compete for a starting spot.

In 1998, Arizona football won 12 games, beat Nebraska 23-20 in the Holiday Bowl and finished ranked 4th in the country for the highest final ranking in school history. Here are some highlight from the assU game that year.


ANGCatfan personal rant - This is by far the most pathetic the official football site has been since I have been doing the countdown! Football bios have not been updated with last year's info, last year's stats no longer show how many games each player started, Tharpe is not even listed as having played on the participation list although he shows up in the stats, and they stopped posting pregame and post game materials after the ucla game last year. It is like our football sports information staff quit half way thru last season and no one but me even noticed. I know we had a lousy year, but there is no excuse for not even attempting to keep the site current. I never trusted the weights on the site, but now I know Tharpe's weight hasn't been updated since he arrived on campus last August because that is the last time his official bio was touched. If a kid is going to bust his ass all year to play Wildcat football some guy in an air conditioned office can at least take the time to keep his bio up to date. Pro tip -- If you want people to care about Wildcat football make it look like you care both on the field and in the offices to include the website.

But besides that everything is fine, we're going to be better this year, and I am back to drinking my Wildcat kool aid.

ANGCatFan wrote:

Tharpe is a 6-5, 275, redshirt Junior defensive lineman from Carrollton, TX. Last year was Tharpe's first with the Wildcats and he played in 8 games with 16 total tackles (8 solo and 2.5 for a loss). Not a super impressive season, but pretty good when you remember that he did not join the team until the end of August and then had to work his way off the scout team to the field.

I would expect a big jump for Tharpe this year if for no other reason that he finally gets off season fundamental and S&C work and a spring and summer camp to prepare. When the team brought him in from Tyler Junior College (TX) they knew he was raw and need to hit the weight room. He also has pretty good genes. Tharpe's dad played 8 seasons in the NFL on the offensive line.

Expect Tharpe, who is still a walk-on, to see plenty of playing time on the defensive line and compete for a starting spot.

In 1998, Arizona football won 12 games, beat Nebraska 23-20 in the Holiday Bowl and finished ranked 4th in the country for the highest final ranking in school history. Here are some highlight from the assU game that year.


ANGCatfan personal rant - This is by far the most pathetic the official football site has been since I have been doing the countdown! Football bios have not been updated with last year's info, last year's stats no longer show how many games each player started, Tharpe is not even listed as having played on the participation list although he shows up in the stats, and they stopped posting pregame and post game materials after the ucla game last year. It is like our football sports information staff quit half way thru last season and no one but me even noticed. I know we had a lousy year, but there is no excuse for not even attempting to keep the site current. I never trusted the weights on the site, but now I know Tharpe's weight hasn't been updated since he arrived on campus last August because that is the last time his official bio was touched. If a kid is going to bust his ass all year to play Wildcat football some guy in an air conditioned office can at least take the time to keep his bio up to date. Pro tip -- If you want people to care about Wildcat football make it look like you care both on the field and in the offices to include the website.

But besides that everything is fine, we're going to be better this year, and I am back to drinking my Wildcat kool aid.

I will text my buudy in the athletic department to see if he can get someone to update the site.

I expect a good year for this guy. He has shown some flashes of brilliance.

ASU couldn't contain him. There offensive line was atrocious, but he consistently got better throughout the year. Should be our best DL player.

TV hit and interview from ch 13 on Tharpe.

*Insert WTF gif*.............................

This has got to be a joke. Tharpe wasn't even a starter, was he?

Woodcat wrote:This has got to be a joke. Tharpe wasn't even a starter, was he?

13 tackles in 11 games.... What draft is he declaring for? Vince McMahon's XFL 2?

Maybe he wanted Yates as The new Coach and was told no... so now he's leaving.

If he’s graduating, he should at least explore a transfer. But maybe he’s not graduating?

MountainCat wrote:Maybe he wanted Yates as The new Coach and was told no... so now he's leaving.

You'd want to keep the guy who barely let you play?

All kinds of strange things happening. It would be nice if the current (and former) players would take a deep breath and wait to see how things unfold. Youngsters can be so impetuous.

btfd16 wrote:

Woodcat wrote:This has got to be a joke. Tharpe wasn't even a starter, was he?

13 tackles in 11 games.... What draft is he declaring for? Vince McMahon's XFL 2?

The European League?

tgrumpy2 wrote:

btfd16 wrote:

Woodcat wrote:This has got to be a joke. Tharpe wasn't even a starter, was he?

13 tackles in 11 games.... What draft is he declaring for? Vince McMahon's XFL 2?

The European League?

Denker can hook him up with that Swiss semi-pro team.

The University was benefitting from his playing without paying him a scholarship. He may have just weighed another year of paying his own way against trying to get paid something. I don't think players who see the field and become part of the product should be denied a scholarship, so I don't judge his decision.

Best of luck Larry! And thank you.

MountainCat wrote:Maybe he wanted Yates as The new Coach and was told no... so now he's leaving.

Funny he didn't even mention Yates in his thank yous.

FlyonWall wrote:The University was benefitting from his playing without paying him a scholarship. He may have just weighed another year of paying his own way against trying to get paid something. I don't think players who see the field and become part of the product should be denied a scholarship, so I don't judge his decision.

Best of luck Larry! And thank you.

Wait what, this guy didn't have a scholly?

His dad played in the NFL so he may have had the money to pay his own way.

Plus RhettRod desperately needed a full scholarship for his reduced tuition.

FlyonWall wrote:The University was benefitting from his playing without paying him a scholarship. He may have just weighed another year of paying his own way against trying to get paid something. I don't think players who see the field and become part of the product should be denied a scholarship, so I don't judge his decision.

Best of luck Larry! And thank you.

I wouldn't say I judge his decision to move on, I would say I am judging his self awareness in regards to the NFL draft. Best of luck in all his future endeavors.