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Arizona Football: Gary Brightwell gets invited to NFL Combine

By Eric Townsend

TUCSON, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 05: Running back Gary Brightwell #0 of the Arizona Wildcats carries the ball on a touchdown run against the Colorado Buffaloes during the first half of the PAC-12 football game at Arizona Stadium on December 05, 2020 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images)
TUCSON, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 05: Running back Gary Brightwell #0 of the Arizona Wildcats carries the ball on a touchdown run against the Colorado Buffaloes during the first half of the PAC-12 football game at Arizona Stadium on December 05, 2020 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images) /
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With the Arizona Football season officially over, Wildcat running back Gary Brightwell will have a busy off-season as he prepares for the NFL Combine. 

With the 2020 Arizona Football season far behind us, it is something that fans will not look fondly upon. However, if there were a few positives to take away from that atrocious season, it was running back Gary Brightwell.

Originally an under-recruited and underrated running back in the class of 2017, Brightwell came all the way from St. Georges Tech High School in Middleton, Delaware.

Arizona Wildcats
Arizona Wildcats /

Arizona Wildcats

Not long after arriving on campus, we learned very quickly that Arizona Football running back Gary Brightwell had a bright future ahead of him.

A kid that had battled adversity for much of his young life, Gary switched positions to get on the field his freshman year before ultimately redshirting. Brightwell then seldom played behind current New England Patriots running back,  J.J. Taylor.

Finally, in 2020 Gary was going to be THE guy. Unfortunately for him, the Covid pandemic hit, the season was abbreviated, and the Wildcats finished a miserable 0-5.

However, one of the few bright spots on the tumultuous and turbulent season was Brightwell. The redshirt junior appeared in all five games, running for 390 yards on 88 carries (4.4 average), and a touchdown. He also added another 53 yards on 13 receptions.

After 27 games and four years in Tucson, Brightwell finishes his career with 1,305 yards rushing on 245 attempts, nine touchdowns, and another 121 yards receiving with a touchdown.

Now off to bigger and better things, Gary has hopes of making the NFL, and his chances will improve greatly as he will head to the NFL Combine.

It was announced just days ago that Brightwell received his invitation to the Combine, and you would think that having a current Arizona Football staff with deep NFL connections helps.

At this point, the NFL Draft is set April 29 – May 1, and already Brightwell is receiving third-day draft grades.

Here are some highlights from Gary’s 2020 season:

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