Gunner Maldonado

Gunner Maldonado is an American football safety for the Arizona Wildcats. He previously played for the Northwestern Wildcats.

Early life and high school
Maldonado 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.

Northwestern
In Maldonado's first career season in 2020, he played in three games where he made one tackle. After just one season with Northwestern, Maldonado decided to enter his name into the NCAA transfer portal.

Arizona
Maldonado decided to transfer to play for the Arizona Wildcats. In Maldonado's first season with the Wildcats, he tallied 36 tackles, two pass deflections, an interception, and a forced fumble. During the 2022 season, Maldonado totaled 48 tackles, a pass deflection, and three forced fumbles. 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. 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. In the 2023 season, Maldonado notched 81 tackles, a pass deflection, two interceptions, three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, and a touchdown.