Treydan Stukes, Dalton Johnson, Genesis Smith named honorary captains for Arizona’s season opener vs. NAU

Former Arizona star defensive backs Treydan Stukes, Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith will be the honorary captains for the Wildcats’ season-opening matchup with Northern Arizona on Saturday.

Last season, former Arizona offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea and kicker Tyler Loop were honorary captains for the Wildcats’ season-opening win over Hawaii, a week before the NFL regular season started.

Stukes, Johnson and Smith — known as “the big three” in the halls of the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility — will return to Casino Del Sol Stadium as guests of honor after being longtime teammates in Tucson.

In his final season as a Wildcat, Stukes was named a third-team Associated Press All-American, becoming the second Wildcat in as many seasons to earn AP All-American honors — a year after suffering a season-ending knee injury. Former Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan was an AP All-American in 2024.

Stukes became the first Arizona defensive player to earn AP All-American honors since linebacker Scooby Wright III in 2014. Stukes was also named an All-Big 12 first-team selection, an AP All-Big 12 second-teamer and a Sporting News All-American.

Stukes, who played under three different coaching staffs over six years at Arizona, recorded 52 tackles and four interceptions last season; he was limited in the first two games of the 2025 season due to his knee rehab.

Stukes' four interceptions last season were tied for the second-most in the Big 12. His acrobatic interception in the Territorial Cup win was featured on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays on ESPN.  

Stukes played in 52 games and recorded 206 tackles, seven interceptions, 35 pass deflections and 12 tackles for loss. He was Arizona's highest-graded defender (90.1) on Pro Football Focus in ‘25. Stukes had the highest-ever grade for a UA defensive player behind Tra'Mayne Bondurant (92), Wright (91.9) and Will Parks (91.7).

Stukes, who started his career as a walk-on, is the last Wildcat to play for former head coach Kevin Sumlin; Johnson was recruited by the Sumlin regime. Johnson was recruited by Sumlin in 2021.

Over the last two seasons, Johnson became the first Arizona defensive back since Darrell Brooks in 2004 and '05 to lead the Wildcats in tackles in back-to-back seasons. He had the sixth-most tackles (97) in the Big 12 in 2025, which was the most by a defensive back in the conference.

Johnson ended the 2025 season earning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors twice. He had 18 tackles in Arizona's home finale against Baylor, the most tackles by a Wildcat since Wright in 2014. Johnson also had an interception and forced fumble the following week against ASU in the Territorial Cup. 

Johnson concluded his Arizona career with 285 tackles, seven forced fumbles and five interceptions. He was a first-team All-Big 12 selection. Last season marked the first time Arizona had multiple first-team all-conference players since Jackie Wallace and Bob White in 1972.

Smith recorded 165 tackles, five interceptions and 19 pass deflections in three seasons as a Wildcat. He had a career-high 77 tackles and was named a third-team All-Big 12 selection in 2025.

The trio of Stukes, Johnson and Smith played a combined 6,700 snaps at Arizona. Even though they entered the transfer portal after the 2024 season and considered transferring to Washington to reunite with former UA head coach Jedd Fisch, they returned to Tucson for one final season in 2025.

Their Arizona careers ended in controversial fashion when they opted out of the Holiday Bowl after leading Arizona’s defense all season — a unit that was arguably the best passing defense in college football. The decision to opt out was for the trio to prepare for the NFL Draft, which angered a large portion of Arizona’s fanbase, especially those who went to San Diego and watched the Wildcats lose a hard-fought battle to SMU.

“Everyone has their specific reasons,” Stukes said at Arizona’s Pro Day. “But for me, I played a lot of football here, a lot of career games. My loved ones and the people that I trust and have my best interest in mind, they advised that you don't take that risk. You put on tape what you already put on tape.

“For me, it was definitely a difficult decision because, of course, we wanted to be there for our brothers and end the season the right way. At the end of the day, it's somewhat a business decision. I still love Arizona. I love all of the fans. It's all good.”

Johnson said, "After talking with everyone, we just felt like it was in our best interest to not play and risk injury.”

“I played a lot of football here,” he added. “I know it meant a lot to the fans, but I have the tape. I've played a lot of ball. I wanted to play, don't get me wrong. I love playing football and I love playing football at Arizona. It was just the right thing to do in the moment. I'm sorry to anyone's feelings I hurt. It was a business decision.”

Smith said he "was dealing with the foot injury all year," which he suffered in Arizona's Big 12 home-opening win over Oklahoma State in October. 

“The coaches knew (about the injury) and they were supportive of my decision to rehab it and get back right, so I can run at the (NFL Scouting Combine),” Smith said. “I was still rehabbing during Combine training. … I get it, (fans) want us to go out there and play.

“In the back of my head, I was like, 'I wish I can go out one last time with the boys.' But I knew it would set my foot back even more. That was a big thing. I had to get it right. It's something I had to do for my future and I felt like I made the right decision.”

After the Holiday Bowl, Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said, “I understand people being frustrated, and I can't expect people in the outside world to have a clear understanding about how all of these things move in the current era of college football.

“But those guys are incredible Wildcats. Those guys were amazing leaders for this program. They chose to stay when the entire world tried to lure them away with money and all kinds of stuff, and they chose the U of A; they chose to finish their careers here.

Stukes was a second-round pick by the Las Vegas Raiders and became the highest-drafted UA defensive back since Antoine Cason in 2008. Johnson was taken by the Raiders at No. 150 overall in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. Stukes and Johnson are the first UA teammates drafted to the same team since Mike Thomas and Eben Britton in 2009. 

Smith was drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. After UA cornerback Michael Dansby was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks, Arizona set a school record for the most defensive backs drafted in one class. The four UA defensive backs drafted tied an NFL Draft record.

Just before their official NFL debuts next week, Stukes, Johnson and Smith are stopping by their old stomping grounds and the venue that helped shape their NFL journeys.