Arizona Football: A Spring Preview of the Wildcats’ Cornerbacks

We’re now officially on to week two of the annual Spring Practices for Arizona Football, and we take a look at the Wildcats’ corners for 2019!

We’ve got a long ways to go until the start of the 2019 Arizona Football season, but nonetheless, the Wildcats are using their second spring under head coach Kevin Sumlin to get acclimated to his system, and get better.

One area that could certainly use significant improvement this season is the cornerback position for the Wildcats.

Arizona Wildcats

So how bad was it? Well, last season, the Wildcats ranked 120th overall in passing yards allowed per game.

Now, while that’s not great, I think a lot of that can be attributed to a few different things. Remember, the Wildcats had a few new coaches on defense, there were a few, significant injuries, and the mediocre pass rush gave opposing QB’s ample time to make throws.

So how can the Wildcats improve? Familiarity and having a second year under the defensive back coaches will help, plus being healthy and hopefully have a better pass rush will help address all those things.

For starters, let’s take a look at who’s coming back for Arizona:

• Jace Whittaker (granted another year of eligibility after missing most of 2018)
• Lorenzo Burns
• McKenzie Barnes
• Azizi Hearn

Getting Whittaker back is huge for this group, as he is one of the better corners in the conference. While him not playing last year certainly left a hole in this defense, assuming he’s healthy, the corner position gets significantly better with him out there.

Beyond Whittaker, Burns and Barnes will get a great opportunity in 2019 to contribute, plus there’s a lot to like about the incoming freshmen talent!

For a refresher, here’s who the Cats have coming in!

While all three bring increased size, they also are talented athletes who could see some early playing time, or at the very least help with depth next season!

Gaines Jr. and Roland-Wallace are already on campus getting reps this spring, which could help them significantly heading into the 2019 season. Also, one thing we’ve learned early, is that Roland-Wallace is already looking the part, coming in at 5-feet-11-inches and 198 lbs.

We expect Whittaker and Burns to be the presumptive starters throughout the Spring, as well as the 2019 season, but improved depth and talent will definitely help this group in turning out a better product on the field!

At Zona Zealots, we’re excited in being another day closer to the annual Spring Scrimmage, and will be watching the corners continuing to develop intently! Bear Down, Arizona!