Arizona Football Hall of Fame LB Ricky Hunley could’ve been a Pittsburgh Pirate

Before Arizona Football legend Ricky Hunley accepted an offer from Coach Larry Smith to play for Arizona, he was given an offer he almost couldn’t refuse: to play in Major League Baseball

Did you know that Arizona Football Hall of Fame defensive linebacker Ricky Hunley could have been a Pittsburgh Pirate coming out of Petersburg High School? Wildcats fans everywhere could have been robbed of all the great moments and memories of one of their college football heroes.

Hunley was a pitcher in Junior High and all throughout high school. He wasn’t just any pitcher; he was a superstar pitcher! He threw a no-hitter every year in little league baseball when he first started pitching, seriously.

By the time Ricky was sixteen, he could crush a baseball with his bat, throw a ninety-mile-per-hour fastball and hit anything that moved on the football field. He felt lucky, “My high-school coach was Ollie Jarvis, who not only believed in me but taught me how to believe in myself. He taught me the difference between having a dream and showing conviction.”

Pirates GM Branch Ricky Jr. drafted him in his senior year of high school and subsequently offered him a contract to play for the Pirates AAA Team.  Hunley felt butterflies in his stomach from the prospect of playing in the MLB!

Out of his comfort zone, Ricky traveled to meet his future Pirate teammates, only to find none of them spoke English. This will be his first experience of being out of his comfort zone. Major League Baseball wanted him, and what’s more, they wanted to pay him a boatload of money to skip college.

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Faced with making the first major decision of his life, he had mixed emotions. Should he leave home and play pro baseball? Or accept an offer to go to Arizona on a football scholarship and walk on and play baseball in college. He took into consideration that he enjoyed his time playing in the summer adult semi-pro leagues. Furthermore, the Pirates were offering him more money than he could imagine!

Hunley had earned football scholarships to Maryland, Virginia, UNC, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, and Arizona, just to name a few. The fact that Arizona Wildcats head coach Larry Smith was the only NCAA football coach who was going to allow Ricky to play both Football and Baseball was especially relevant.

The palm trees, the sunshine, and desert air, not to mention the pool parties and all that came with them, although foreign to him, beckoned him.

This decision was going to change the course of his life forever. Thank goodness for Wildcats fans, he chose to turn down the lucrative MLB contract. He turned down the offer mostly because it didn’t feel comfortable during the visit, it didn’t feel like home. 

When Ricky got to Arizona, he was disappointed to start out his college career as a sixth string defensive linebacker, but he worked his way up the ranks rather quickly. He expressed regret about the decision to decline the Pirates offer, “Because I didn’t have to choose and I could have played both baseball in the summer and football in the fall. I could have been like my friend Bo Jackson!”

Even though he regrets not signing with the Pirates, his relationship with his Coach Larry Smith was very special. So special, he gave the Eulogy at coach Smith’s funeral. Reading an excerpt from the Eulogy he gave, it’s clear that the decision Hunley made to be an Arizona Wildcat was a pretty good one:

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• Former Wildcat Scooby Wright wins Second USFL Title
• The Edmonton Elks have re-signed former Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate

“The impact that Coach Smith has had on his family, his friends, and only God knows how many players, is still being passed on for generations to come. He always wore his emotions on his sleeve. Larry Smith was the kind of man that so many of us can only wish to become, not so much for what he did in football, but for the tremendous impact he had on our lives.”

It just goes to show you, sometimes you regret a decision you make, but the decision you do make can also be an excellent choice.

The University of Arizona feels Smith is special too. According to Arizona Athletic Director Greg Byrne, Hunley’s favorite coach Larry Smith will be inducted into the 2016 Arizona Hall of Fame. Smiths star Defensive Linebacker plans on RSVP’ing to attend the dinner at the Westin La Paloma. The on-field presentation is scheduled for halftime during Arizona home opener against Grambling State on Saturday, Sept. 10.

Ricky was voted onto Pac-12 All- Century Football team late last year. Here’s the commemorative video for nostalgia sake and to look back at some film from Hunley’s glory days as a Wildcat (Starts at 1:39):

must read: Arizona Football: Top 5 Gut-wrenching losses, with silver linings

Stay tuned for the next part of Ricky Hunley’s story and the lessons he learned along the way. BearDown Ricky! Thanks for sharing your life with us!