During the darkest days of UA football history, a 1-23 implosion that began in 2019 and effectively stained the Wildcats through 2023, Arizona unimaginably recruited five young men who expected to be chosen in this weekend's NFL Draft.
Inconceivably, all are defensive backs. Is it time to start referring to the Wildcat football program as DB U?
Treydan Stukes was a walk-on from Goodyear Millennium High School in Phoenix. He was offered scholarships by NAU, Grand Canyon and Montana for track.
Dalton Johnson was a three-star prospect from Texas who chose Arizona over UNLV, SMU and Virginia Tech.
Genesis Smith was an under-the-radar DB from Hamilton High in Chandler whose other suitors were Air Force, Cal and Iowa State.
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Tacario Davis, from SoCal, had also been recruited by Kansas and ASU.
Ephesians Prysock, also from SoCal, the top prospect of the five DBs, unpredictably turned down offers from Texas and Oklahoma to play for what was then a Bottom Ten football program in Tucson.
Cornerback Tacario Davis (1) seemed just as engaged as his UA teammates, including fellow DBs Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine (24) and Treydan Stukes (2), during Arizona’s 2024 spring game at Arizona Stadium.
Somehow, out of the ashes of that 1-23 streak that included 20 consecutive losses, Arizona recruited five attention-getting NFL prospects, all strongly considered in this weekend's NFL draft, who greatly helped the Wildcats climb back to the Top 25.
What is this, Ohio State?
Prysock and Davis ultimately transferred to Washington to play for the man who recruited them, Jedd Fisch, but, combined, spent four seasons in the Arizona secondary.
Not to suggest this was totally unexpected, but Stukes, who graduated from high school way back in 2020, was only offered a spot on the UA's walk-on roster when it was learned his father, Ray Stukes, had played at the University of Pacific in 1993 for Arizona's then-defensive coordinator, Paul Rhoads.
Across the last 50 seasons, Arizona had a mere 16 defensive backs selected in the NFL draft, or about one per three seasons. The majority of those 16 DBs either didn't play a down in the NFL (Allan Durden, Mark Streeter, Wilrey Fontenot, Shaquille Richardson), or barely played at all, late-round picks who were in and out of the NFL in fewer than five seasons (Trevin Wade, Michael Johnson, Keshon Johnson, Marcellus Greene, Darryl Morrison).
Those Arizona DBs who did stay in the NFL for more than a cup of coffee were mostly special teams players: Dane Cruikshank has started four games in seven years; Mike Scurlock started one game in five years, Will Parks started 23 games in seven years.
There was no precedent that NFL scouts this spring would discover and draft five DBs who began their college journeys at Arizona. There was little to lead them to schedule a trip to Tucson for the annual spring NFL timing day evaluations, or even to Seattle to get a closer look at ex-Wildcats Prysock and Davis.
But this spring was different. Arizona hosted its most NFL-ready DBs since scouts showed up in great numbers in 1973, 1984, 1988, 1999 and 2009 to watch can't-miss DB prospects Jackie Wallace, Randy Robbins, Chuck Cecil, Chris McAlister and Antoine Cason.
Wallace was taken No. 34 overall in the 1973 draft and played seven seasons.
Robbins was picked No. 89 overall in 1984 and played nine seasons.
Cecil was selected No. 89 overall in the 1988 draft and played 92 NFL games.
McAlister was the No. 10 overall choice in the 1999 draft and played 137 NFL games.
Cason was drafted No. 27 overall in 2008 and played 100 NFL games.
That's it. Until this spring, scouts did not fly to Tucson in search of game-ready defensive backs. But it all began to change in that dreary 20-game losing streak when Point Guard U became something of Defensive Backs U. Never say never, right?
