Former Brave suiting up for Arizona today
Saturday, October 1, 2005
By MARTY JAMES
Executive Sports Editor
Today is a homecoming of sorts for Garon McHone, a sophomore long snapper for the University of Arizona's football team. McHone, who played at Justin-Siena High School, will be in Berkeley to face No. 12 California in a Pacific-10 Conference game, which starts at 4 p.m. at Memorial Stadium and will be nationally televised by TBS. It's McHone's first trip to the Bay Area. It's also Arizona's Pac-10 opener. "I'm excited because I haven't been back to California in a long time," said McHone, 20. "There's a lot of people coming, family that I haven't seen in a while. It will be good to see them after the game, definitely. "It's a great feeling to know that I'll have people there supporting my team and me. I have been waiting for this for a long time to come back to California." It hasn't been an easy road for McHone. After earning First-Team All-Marin County Athletic League and All-Napa County honors, McHone walked on at Arizona. He redshirted his first year and was a back-up center in 2004. This year he's started each of the first three games for the Wildcats (1-2) as the team's long snapper on punts, field goals and PATs. "I was pretty excited to leave to go to a new place, to tell you the truth," McHone, a business management major, said in a telephone interview from Tucson, Ariz., Thursday night. "Some people might be scared but I was ready to go. "When I first got there, everybody on the team was a superstar from their high school, so you're playing with people that are just great football players. It was quite an adjustment to make. I had to put on the weight and the strength so that I could to match up with these people. "It was pretty hard. My first year I was kind of looked over. I've had some rough times, but I've hung in there. You just know you have to keep fighting -- it will all work out." McHone, listed at 6-foot-4, 269 pounds, won a starting job for Arizona in training camp. He's been happy with his snapping and the technique, timing, execution and blocking that goes into the special teams position, and is hoping that he can land a scholarship. McHone, who is from Suisun, said "there's a lot more pressure than people think" on the long snapper, particularly on punts, as he is also involved in coverage and trying to make the tackle. "You get down there, people are screaming sometimes, people are trying to get into your head and taunting you a little bit," he said. "It's pretty difficult. It's just a matter of being able to block everything out. "When I get out there I let my mind go completely blank and only focus on what I'm doing. That's something I've been working on for the past few years, and I've been able to do it finally." He was so happy and excited that he called Rich Cotruvo, Justin-Siena's head coach, when he first learned he would be starting. "He was excited to hear from me," said McHone. "I've been keeping up with (the Braves)." McHone, a junior academically and a sophomore athletically, works with the Wildcats' kickers and punters in practice. He said he's pleased with his overall play, especially since he hasn't had any mistakes. "It's going well right now. Hopefully it will stay that way. I'm pretty happy with it. I've got to stay healthy. Keeping the weight up is always a difficult issue, especially going through a season." McHone and the Wildcats face an undefeated and nationally-ranked Cal team today. The Bears (4-0) are seeking their first 5-0 start since 1996. "It is a challenge. It is a good challenge," said McHone. "They're ranked and they're a good, solid team. But I think we have a really good chance to beat them. I definitely think that if we are going to beat Cal it would be a very close game. "You've got to hold respect for your opponent every time you play them. I think that if we can play our game, mistake-free, which is a big part, then we definitely have a good chance."
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