Arizona gives scholarship to walk-on safety Quinn Olson

With the entire team gathered on the field following a night practice this week, Arizona head coach Brent Brennan — leading up to the season opener against Northern Arizona — announced that Olson was placed on scholarship for the 2026 season.

Olson was immediately met with hugs and cheers and was lifted by a few of his teammates. The moment was shared on Arizona football’s social media accounts.

Olson emerged as Arizona’s starting free safety back in the spring, when the Wildcats had to replace five NFL defensive backs. Despite the multiple additions at safety via the transfer portal, Olson consistently took first-team reps in the spring and fall training camp.

The surprise in Arizona’s defense “could be the next Treydan Stukes story at Arizona in terms of a walk-on turning into a really good player,” said Arizona safeties coach Brett Arce.

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

Said Olson: “If I can be anywhere near as good as (Stukes), I’ll turn out OK. If I can be like him, I’ll be happy. … Treydan is a great player and someone I looked up to the last two years.”

After earning a scholarship in 2021, Stukes was a five-year starter for the Wildcats, played multiple positions in the UA defensive secondary and became an All-Big-12 selection and Associated Press All-American in 2025. Stukes was the highest-drafted Arizona defensive back since Antoine Cason in 2008.  

Olson, who is succeeding Genesis Smith at free safety, could have a similar path as Stukes, Chuck Cecil, Jared Tevis and Jeff Hammerschmidt — walk-on defensive backs who became household names at Arizona.

Olson, a Sioux City, Iowa, native, comes from a quarterback background, and the dual-threat Olson scored 35 touchdowns in his senior season at Bishop Heelan Catholic, leading the Crusaders to a second-place finish at the Class 3A level. Olson had aspirations to play quarterback in college, but he “was more of a running quarterback, so I knew skillset-wise I wasn’t good enough as a thrower to play quarterback at the next level, so I knew I’d be on defense,” he said.

Playing quarterback allowed Olson to have “a better undertstanding on what the quarterback is seeing and what the offenses are trying to do with certain formations or situations in the game,” said the Arizona defensive back.

“Just understanding from the other side of the ball and having the perspective on what they might try to be attacking and why they’re doing it,” Olson added. “That perspective really helped defensively.”

Players with quarterback and running back experience “usually translate to good players on defense,” said Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales. “Quarterbacks are hit or miss whether or not they’re going to be good football players on our side of the ball.”

Olson’s coach at Bishop Heelan, former UA defensive tackle Anthony Thomas, knew longtime Arizona defensive backs coach Duane Akina, who was the Wildcats’ defensive coordinator in 2024. Thomas sent Akina Thomas’ highlight tape and “he had a walk-on spot for me,” Olson said.

Olson, who has a 3.85 cumulative GPA, isn’t the first Wildcat in his family. His sister, Natalie, graduated from the UA in spring of 2025 and was a cheerleader for the Wildcats.

“I wanted to play football in college, but I also wanted to go to school where my sister was,” Olson said. “It just worked out.”

Olson came to Arizona in 2024 and learned from some of the program’s top defensive backs in recent years. Olson had Stukes, Dalton Johnson and Smith to learn from — three players who played a combined 6,700 snaps at the UA and received All-Big 12 honors last season. Arizona also had 2023 Alamo Bowl Defensive MVP Gunner Maldonado during Olson’s first season, but the free safety suffered a season-ending leg injury and then transferred to Kansas State for his final season last year.

“Being in the same room as them, seeing how they do things, how they approach practice, how they approach watching film, games, just picking their brains on what they see when they’re out there and why they do what they do,” Olson said. “Obviously, our coaching staff has helped me understand the game more each and every day and learning from my mistakes.”

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.”

“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.”

Olson “can cover anybody on our football team and I think we have some of the best receivers in the Big 12 — and further than that, the country,” Gonzales said. “I’m just super excited.”

For full coverage of Arizona’s season-opening battle with NAU and the latest updates with UA football, visit Tucson.com and The Wildcaster mobile app.