Three-time Super Bowl champion and former Arizona Wildcat Tedy Bruschi will be inducted into the 2013 College Football Hall of Fame class, and was honored over the weekend.

Bruschi, a two-time All-American while playing for Arizona in the early 1990s, is part of a Hall of Fame class that includes 11 other players and two coaches.

This past Friday, the Southern Arizona Chapter of the National Football Foundation honored Bruschi with a gathering and lunch. A couple hundred guests attended the event, including current Wildcats head coach Rich Rodriguez and former Wildcat players like 1998 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Ricky Hunley, both of whom gave speeches.

Following the lunch, Bruschi spoke with the Daily Wildcat and members of the media about his time in Tucson and his future.

Media: If you hadn’t played college football, what would you have done?

Bruschi: A big percentage of football players come from the background that if you don’t have it, your life will take a big turn, and I think the same thing with me. It got me to college, got a college education and was able to play in the NFL.

Media: When you arrived to Tucson, what did you think would have been the outcome of your career?

I had zero expectations. I didn’t have any. That’s even the way I was in high school. It was, ‘What do I got to do today?’

DW: Is having that kind of mentality something that helped you get to where you are today?

That kind of mentality helps all athletes. It can get a little twisted nowadays with people thinking about long-term goals. This was never one of my goals, to be in the College Football Hall of Fame. My goal when I first got here was to pass the conditioning test. And that short-term focus is what really helped me. Even in high school, I got my first college recruiting letter from UCLA and I asked my coach, “What is this?” I didn’t know what it was because a scholarship wasn’t on my mind. Once I got that letter I thought to myself, “OK, now I got to do more.”

DW: Would you ever consider coaching?

When my kids got older, yes.When they get into high school and start playing football. I can communicate football well, I know what I can do well, and I know I can be a good football coach. Right now with 12, 11 and 8 [year old boys], I have the luxury to say no.

Media: What do you like about Rodriguez?

We’ve spent time together. It seems like he’s levelheaded and that’s a good thing about him, but I would have to be around him more, and to tell you the truth, I’d have to study this team a little more to give a little more information. I have a good relationship with him and he seems like a levelheaded thinker, and that’s a good thing.

DW: Is there a moment or memory at UA that stands out?

If there was one moment I could tell you, it wouldn’t have been a good career. From my freshman year all the way to my senior year, there’s a lot of memories. From the Fiesta Bowl to other victories, there’s a lot. I think that’s the definition of a successful career.

—Follow Luke Della @LukeDella