Arizona safety Dalton Johnson was named the Big XII Co-Defensive Player of the Week after he had 18 tackles and a 0.5 tackles for loss in the 41-17 win over Baylor on Saturday. Johnson is now third nationally among defensive backs with 94 tackles in 2025.
Johnson also has 2.0 TFLs, 1.0 sack, one fumble recovery, three interceptions and five pass breakups in 2025. Pro Football Focus named Arizona cornerback Jay'Vion Cole and Johnson to their Big XII Team of the Week, in addition to him earning the conference's Co-Defensive Player of the Week.
The honor is the first weekly one of Johnson's career. Johnson was named 2024 honorable mention All-Big XII. Johnson is having a career year. In 11 games, Johnson has tied his career high for tackles and set his own standards for sacks, interceptions and pass breakups.
Three of Johnson's tackles against Baylor were on third down that prevented first downs. Johnson was consistent throughout the game with five tackles each in the second, third and fourth quarters. Johnson had eight tackles on completions and 10 on runs.
Career day earned Dalton Johnson Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week 🔥 pic.twitter.com/71I381FlEy
— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) November 24, 2025
"With a career-high 18 tackles in Arizona’s win over Baylor, Johnson tallied the most total tackles by a Wildcat since 2014. He helped an Arizona defense limit FBS passing leader Sawyer Robertson to just 162 yards for the game. His 18 tackles were the most by a Big 12 player and tied for the sixth-most by an FBS player this season."Big XII press release
Johnson is making his case to earn All-Big XII. The redshirt senior is fourth in the Big XII and first among defensive backs in tackles and seventh in interceptions. Johnson moved into the top 25 in career tackles at Arizona with his performance against Baylor.
Chuck Cecil, Jeff Hammerschmidt and Darrell Brooks are the only other Arizona defensive backs in the top 25 in career tackles with the Wildcats. The other 21 players in the top 25 in career tackles with Arizona are linebackers.
The second half was one of the best defensive performances for Arizona in 2025. Baylor had 135 total yards, 40 passing and three turnovers in the second half. Johnson has led an elite Arizona secondary in 2025.