Arizona safeties ‘a revolving door’ in training camp

Among the four defensive backs that were drafted by NFL teams earlier this season, three of them are longtime starters in nickel back Treydan Stukes, strong safety Dalton Johnson and free safety Genesis Smith.

The three combined for 6,700 snaps at Arizona together, and Johnson and Stukes were first-team All-Big 12 selections last year — the latter receiving All-American honors, too. Johnson was a five-year player for the Wildcats and led the team in tackles in back-to-back seasons.

Nebraska transfer Malcolm Hartzog appears to be in line to start at slot cornerback. As for the other middle-of-the-field spots in Arizona’s defensive secondary, it’s to be determined.

“It’s been a revolving door, trying to mix and match guys,” said safeties coach Brett Arce. “When you’re out there, you’ll see different guys at different positions. … Just trying to figure out the camaraderie, that fit and who’s comfortable together — and who makes plays when they’re in there.”

Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales didn’t rule out the possibility of rotating safeties, even during the early stages of the season, “so that we can get different matchups until we get a group that sticks out and works together like the three-headed monster did last year,” he said.

“If we can have multiple pieces doing that, even better,” Gonzales said. "If we can get a rotation at safety, that will be a plus. I haven’t done that a whole lot in my career, but we’ve got plenty of talent. They just have to force me to want to play all of them.”

Arce said Arizona could conceivably rotate safeties in the season.

“On a daily basis, they’re building trust with their peers in there, and they’re building trust with me. Can I trust them to not have mental errors and do all the little things that Coach G and the defense ask. We have an opportunity to rotate some guys. Guys just gotta continue proving that all of fall camp.”

It’s challenging to replicate similar chemistry as a trio that spent three seasons on the field together.

“They were so comfortable with one another, sometimes they would just look at each other and they knew what was happening,” Arce said of Stukes, Johnson and Smith. “Trying to build that with this group, who can gel like that? Who’s most comfortable with one another? That’s the challenge.”

Here are the players, in alphabetical order, who could play at one of the two safety spots in Arizona’s defense this season:

Daylen Austin

Austin, who was a highly touted recruit in 2023, is one of eight defensive backs Arizona added in the transfer portal.

In 2023, Austin signed with Oregon as a four-star prospect out of Long Beach Polytechnic High School (California), where he was teammates with current UA defensive end Dominic Lolesio. Former Arizona cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin recruited Austin to Oregon. Austin was also recruited by Arizona, Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Texas, USC, Michigan State and Louisville, among others. 

Austin played over 250 defensive snaps in three seasons at Oregon, including 167 snaps at slot cornerback, 29 snaps at cornerback, 23 snaps at free safety and 21 snaps at strong safety.

The “Malcolm Hartzog-esque” Austin is “going to bring short-area quickness (and) great cover ability,” Arce said.

Austin, who underwent shoulder surgery in the spring, is limited this training camp, but is expected to have a significant role in Arizona’s defense, whether it’s at safety or slot cornerback.

“He’s a smart football player,” Arce said of Austin. “We’re getting him in there as much as we can in walk-through situations, and he’s picking it up, doing a great job. If you go back and watch his film from last year, he’s matching up guys in man coverage. … I have high expectations. It’s hard for someone who’s sitting out. He wants to get back.

“We’re getting him as much reps in walk-through and film study, so when the time does come (for his return), he can hit the ground running. The competition in the room is fun, because it’s just so fluid and there’s so many really good athletes and players, it elevates everybody.”

Cam Chapa

Chapa is the latest player Arizona signed from the FCS market — and he's been one of the most productive defensive players at the FCS level the previous two seasons.

Other FCS players to sign with the Wildcats in recent years include defensive tackle Deshawn McKnight, wide receiver Javin Whatley, tight end Cameron Barmore, linebacker Riley Wilson, running back Quincy Craig and defensive lineman Malachi Bailey.

Chapa recorded 171 tackles, eight interceptions, 12 pass deflections, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Chapa, who was a first-team All-Big Sky selection in 2025, led the conference with 63 solo tackles.

Northern Colorado and the FCS “helped me grow a lot,” Chapa said.

“The process, trusting in it. The coaches there helped me a lot,” Chapa added.

After two seasons at the FCS level, “I thought I had a great opportunity to chase something big, so I took it,” Chapa said.

Chapa is taking reps at both free safety and strong safety.

Gavin Hunter

Hunter has primarily played special teams at Arizona, but he ascended to a starter in the early stages of the 2025 season, when Stukes was rehabbing from a season-ending knee injury he suffered in 2024. 

With Stukes limited, Hunter started the first two games of the 2025 season against Hawaii and Weber State. His first interception as a Wildcat was against his hometown Rainbow Warriors to begin the season. Hunter did a serviceable job in the two games he started, but he was replaced with a longtime starter in Stukes at the start of Big 12 play.

"Gavin Hunter, he played outstanding for three weeks — as good as any safety in the Big 12, and then Treydan Stukes comes in, and Gavin hardly sees the field until the (Holiday Bowl) and then plays fantastic,” Gonzales said. “We couldn't do what we did in the second half if Gavin Hunter wasn't able to sit in the middle of the field and play safety and boundary safety.”

The Honolulu-area native will likely start at one of the safety spots on Sept. 5 against Northern Arizona.

“I love Gavin Hunter for his development and maturity,” Gonzales said. “I'm excited to see what 2026 brings to him."

Lee Molette III

Molette is one of Arizona's most experienced newcomers with 1,354 defensive snaps under his belt in four seasons with the Huskies, according to Pro Football Focus.

Molette, who's from Brentwood, Tennessee, recorded 124 tackles, eight pass deflections, an interception and a fumble recovery for the Huskies from 2022-25. Molette played all four years under former head coach Jim Mora, who's now the head coach at Colorado State. 

Molette “has done a great job” as a contributor at strong safety and slot cornerback, Arce said.

“He’s a guy that has played in a similar defense, so he’s a Swiss Army knife,” Arce said. “He knows all the positions, so that’s a comforting thing for me. It gives him more of an opportunity to get on the field. The more you can do, the more opportunities you’re going to have. He has taken steps forward this fall camp. He’s making plays, being at the right spot and showing up in the run game. There’s no such thing as over communicating, but you see him barking out and directing traffic, those things build confidence with me and it builds confidence with his teammates, as well.”

Johno Price

Price, a former junior college product who’s been with the UA program for three years, converted to safety this offseason.

Price “is a super smart football player” and “he’s a guy that can play all five (positions in the secondary),” Arce said.

“He was a physical corner, so we thought, ‘Well what does he look like in the box? Can he pick it up? Can he be physical enough?’” Arce said. “Just added more depth and more competition, and we know he can always go back outside to corner, because he’s been in this system for a couple of years.”

If Arizona finds itself in dire need of defensive backs, like the Holiday Bowl, when the Wildcats used four cornerbacks in a lineup during the second, “we’re building a guy that’s a Swiss Army knife that can get us out of bad situations,” Arce said.

“If we have injuries at certain spots, he’s a plug-and-play guy,” Arce said of Price. “He’s a luxury for coaches, because of how smart he is.”

Quinn Olson

The biggest surprise of training camp is the emergence of walk-on safety Quinn Olson, who enrolled at the UA a few years ago because his sister is on the Wildcats’ pom line.

The Sioux City, Iowa, native hails from a quarterback background and scored 35 touchdowns in his senior season at Bishop Heelan Catholic, leading the Crusaders to a second-place finish at the Class 3A level. He was Iowa’s player of the year in 2023.

With multiple players recovering from injuries in the spring, Olson was the primary starter at free safety. That development has carried over into fall training camp. The 6-3, 205-pound Olson has consistently played with Arizona’s starters in training camp.

Olson “could be the next Treydan Stukes story at Arizona in terms of a walk-on turning into a really good player,” Arce said.

Stukes went from walk-on in 2020 to a scholarship and mainstay in Arizona’s defense, to an all-conference player and a second-round pick in the most recent NFL Draft.

“He has really put in the work,” Arce said. “He’s one of the strongest guys on the team, one of the fastest guys on the team.”

Olson had one of the top defensive plays of training camp, when he jumped a slant route and went up to grab an interception thrown by quarterback Noah Fifita, which Arce called “one of the most impressive interceptions I’ve seen in my career.”

Even Fifita was shocked and “came up to me and Quinn and was like, ‘That was crazy.’ And it was. It was a heck of a play.”

Added Chapa: “It was a great play. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Olson has “done a great job of developing and progressing and he’s in that mix, too.”

“It doesn’t matter where you’re from, who you are, how many stars, walk-on or not, the best players are going to play,” Arce said. “It’s one thing to know the scheme and to be in the right spots, but you also gotta make plays, too. If you’re in the right spot and guys are catching the ball over you, that’s not a good enough deal. But if you’re making plays like Quinn, who has shown it in the spring and (training) camp, he’s got an opportunity.”

Matai Tagoa’i

Tagoa’i transferred from USC to Arizona as a linebacker following a season with the Trojans, but the second-year Tagoa’i converted to safety before the spring.

Moving from linebacker to free safety isn’t too much of a dramatic change for the 6-4, 203-pound Southern California native. Tagoa’i played defensive back at San Clemente High School (California), “so he has some familiarity with how it looks,” Arce said.

“The safety piece is more intricate in coverages, what to do with matchups,” added Arce. “He has a natural box feel running the alley. He’s physical from his linebacker days, and that shows up in practice all the time. Now it’s just about being comfortable reading the quarterback in the post or motion adjustments, stuff like that. It’s a little bit different in the box than in the back end, and he’s done a good job picking it up.”

Playing safety “felt natural” for Tagoa’i, who said, “the hardest thing for me, so far, is getting back mentally.”

“It’s a lot to process, putting people where they need to be, along with my assignment, as well,” he said.

Extra points

– Arizona slot cornerback and safety Dajon Hinton, who suffered a leg injury while starting in place of Stukes, is “ahead of schedule in terms of his recovery,” Arce said. Added Arce: “I really hope (for the best) for that kid. He’s a humble young man, hard-working young man, he’s a great guy. He will be an unbelievable story when he comes back from all these injuries, because I truly believe he can be a really good player here. We just gotta keep him healthy. … I have no doubt when he is fully cleared, he’ll be giving guys a run for their money that have been practicing all of camp, because of how hard he works in the classroom.”

– Arce, on freshman safety and Georgia native Hannibal Navies: “He’s a big, physical athlete. … I’m happy with his growth process. I have high expectations for him, too, because he’s one of the strongest guys in the weight room as a true freshman. He came in here power-cleaning and squatting a house. He’s got a high ceiling.”

– Several ex-Wildcats made their unofficial NFL debuts this week. Johnson had four tackles and Stukes had three tackles in the Raiders’ 27-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Las Vegas. Smith had a near interception at the goal line in the Los Angeles Chargers’ 27-7 win over the Houston Texans. Undrafted cornerback and Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie Ayden Garnes had a pick-six in the Bucs’ 24-16 win over the New York Jets. Said Arce: “It was just so cool. It was heartwarming for me. I was so proud of those guys. To see the reactions of their teammates. Everyone is cheering when they’re making plays.”

– Arizona hosted “Meet the Cats” Saturday afternoon at the Davis Sports Center. Hundreds of Arizona fans lined up to receive a season poster and autographs from every player. Fifita was the most popular request for photos amongst fans.