Ex-Cats Treydan Stukes, Dalton Johnson, Genesis Smith discuss opting out of Holiday Bowl

It was a hot topic. A sector of Arizona fans understood their decisions to sit out of the non-College Football Playoff bowl game to prevent injury and risk their stock for the NFL Draft.

Other UA fans felt bamboozled, especially the ones who spent hundreds — if not thousands — of dollars for a trip to spend New Year's weekend in San Diego and get alerts on their phones and it's news about Arizona's three's best defensive players opting out of the bowl game — as they're walking into Snapdragon Stadium.

Then there's a portion of the UA fanbase that will just never understand making a personal and business decision, even if it means not finishing the season with the program that helped the players be in a position to achieve their NFL dreams. You can call it stubborn. You can call it honorable and an old-school mindset.

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.

"When there was any inkling of doubt, it was like, 'Guys, start preparing for your future.' ... Those guys, for the loyalty they have for the 520, I'm so heartfelt and grateful for those kids. ... The love and admiration I have for all three of those families, they'll be Wildcats forever. I don't have any hard feelings for them not playing. I wish we would've won the football game and nobody would've said a damn thing about it.

"They are such an integral part to Team 122 making Team 123 play in the CFP and win a conference championship. Those guys will be Wildcat legends forever for the things they were able to do."

Regardless of where you fall in the debate, Stukes, Johnson and Smith — even after playing a combined 6,700 defensive snaps at Arizona (and nowhere else), enduring multiple coaching changes and being a part of two rebuilds in their time at UA — took flak for their decisions.

Following Arizona's Pro Day this week, the Arizona stars and leaders of the defense shared their side of the story.

"I know it's a hard thing in college football," Stukes said. "It's become more popular, but I think everyone's story is a little different. Everyone has their specific reasons. 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."

For Johnson, an invitation to the East-West Shrine Bowl in Frisco, Texas, a pre-draft showcase and a week for players to perform in front of NFL scouts, along with pre-draft training factored into his decision to sit out of the Holiday Bowl. Stukes and Smith were invited to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. The trio also performed at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis in late January. 

"After talking with everyone, we just felt like it was in our best interest to not play and risk injury," Johnson said. "I played a lot of football here. ... 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. Bear Down for life."

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."

Added Smith: "I get it, they 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."

Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales said, "if they had any inkling in their minds about not playing, they shouldn't, because football is a game where if you have any second thoughts, you're going to set yourself up for bad things to happen, whether it's getting injured or getting beat, all of those things."

Smith's foot is why he didn't run the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine and waited for Arizona's Pro Day. Smith unofficially clocked 4.48 seconds in his 40-yard dash.

"I felt like I had a good time," Smith said. "I was shooting for the 4.4 (seconds) range and I did that. I was satisfied with that."

Both Smith and Stukes — who could creep into Day 2 (Rounds 2-3) of the NFL Draft — are rated as Top-10 safeties for the NFL Draft, according to ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. Stukes is rated as the seventh-best safety on Kiper's "Big Board." Stukes, who played slot cornerback and cornerback, has interviewed with teams "to play all over" in the defensive secondary in the NFL. Smith is rated as the 10th-best safety, per Kiper.

As the trio of Stukes, Johnson and Smith prepare for their NFL journey and leave their UA chapter behind, they have no regrets about their decisions in the last few months. 

"For us, we got a chance to see the program rise," Stukes said. "We had a season (in 2024) where we didn't like the outcome, then we brought it back up. That's college football in a nutshell. We got to flip the program around and win nine games this past season. I'm so thankful to everyone involved.

"All the staffs I've had, all the coordinators and positions coaches I've had, I've been super blessed to have some great minds to help me grow as a person and a player at the University of Arizona."