Gunner Maldonado is an American football safety for the Arizona Wildcats. He previously played for the Northwestern Wildcats.
| Arizona Wildcats – No. 9 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Safety |
| Class | Senior |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 194 lb (88 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| Bowl games |
|
| High school | Chandler (Chandler, Arizona) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Early life and high school
editMaldonado attended Chandler High School located in Chandler, Arizona. Coming out of high school, Maldonado was rated as a three star recruit, where he decided to commit to play college football for the Northwestern Wildcats.[2][3]
College career
editNorthwestern
editIn Maldonado's first career season in 2020, he played in three games where he made one tackle.[4] After just one season with Northwestern, Maldonado decided to enter his name into the NCAA transfer portal.[5][6]
Arizona
editMaldonado decided to transfer to play for the Arizona Wildcats.[7][8] In Maldonado's first season with the Wildcats, he tallied 36 tackles, two pass deflections, an interception, and a forced fumble.[9] During the 2022 season, Maldonado totaled 48 tackles, a pass deflection, and three forced fumbles.[10][11] In week eight of the 2023 season, Maldonado led Arizona with a team high ten tackles as he helped the Wildcats to an upset win over Oregon State.[12] During the 2023 Alamo Bowl, Maldonado was named the game's defensive MVP after totaling nine tackles, an interception, two fumble recoveries, and a touchdown, as he helped the Wildcats to a win over Oklahoma.[13][14] In the 2023 season, Maldonado notched 81 tackles, a pass deflection, two interceptions, three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, and a touchdown.[15][16]
References
edit- ^ @realBJP (December 29, 2023). "Jacob Cowing named #AlamoBowl MVP and Gunner Maldonado wins defensive MVP" (Tweet). Retrieved December 29, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ Obert, Richard (July 13, 2019). "Chandler DB/WR Gunner Maldonado commits to Northwestern football". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ Vaccher, Louie (June 13, 2019). "Cats Land 3-star Arizona Safety Gunner Maldonado". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ "Gunner Maldonado 2020 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ Lundquist, Casey (December 31, 2020). "BYU Offers Northwestern Transfer Gunner Maldonado". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ Assimakopoulos, Lia (December 20, 2020). "Northwestern RB Isaiah Bowser, WR Malik Washington and DB Gunner Maldonado enter the transfer portal". Inside NU. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ Obert, Richard (January 4, 2021). "Arizona football to land Northwestern transfer Gunner Maldonado". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ Pedersen, Brian (January 4, 2021). "Former Northwestern safety Gunner Maldonado to transfer to Arizona". Arizona Desert Swarm. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ Lev, Michael (August 9, 2022). "Welcome to the jungle: Gunner Maldonado has emerged as Arizona's new 'slash' defender". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ Spears, Justin. "'More confident' Gunner Maldonado leads Arizona's defense after breakout season". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ Spears, Justin (April 11, 2023). "Gunner Maldonado, Treydan Stukes adjust to new roles in Arizona's secondary". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ Spears, Justin (October 31, 2023). "Gunner Maldonado is Arizona's 'quarterback' on defense". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ Lev, Michael (May 3, 2024). "Inside Arizona DB Maldonado's epic Alamo Bowl fumble return". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ Dominguez, Raul (December 29, 2023). "Alamo Bowl: Gunner Maldonado leads 38-24 Arizona comeback over Oklahoma". WOAI. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ Spears, Justin (July 2024). "Arizona's Noah Fifita, Tetairoa McMillan, Jacob Manu and Gunner Maldonado to attend Big 12 Media Days". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ Lev, Michael (January 20, 2024). "Maldonado, Stukes, Johnson to return to UA football in 2024". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved July 15, 2024.