Arizona head coach Brent Brennan called safety Genesis Smith a consistent high-energy player that remained loyal to Arizona when other programs pursued him as a transfer. Smith is part of what is expected to be an elite Arizona secondary in 2025.
Safety Dalton Johnson and nickelback Treydan Stukes return for Arizona in 2025 to anchor their defense and secondary. Johnson has missed only one game in his Arizona career. Smith has played in every game. Stukes started 12 of 13 games as a true freshman in 2023 and four in 2024 before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
Smith had 87 career tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 10 passes defended, four interceptions, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Smith had a breakout 2024 season with 63 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, nine passes defended, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Johnson led Arizona with 94 tackles in 2024 and had 5.0 TFLs, two passes defended and two forced fumbles. In his only full season, Stukes had 55 tackles, 4.0 TFLs, nine passes defended and one interception. Johnson, Smith and Stukes and should provide Arizona one of the best secondaries in the Big XII.
"Genesis Smith has just been a consistent high energy, high effort player, lot of fun to coach and made a lot of plays last fall for us and you know he was a guy that the people came hard after in the portal but he stayed true to Arizona."Arizona head coach Brent Brennan
Smith was named second-team preseason All-Big XII and Johnson and Stukes were third-team by Athlon Sports. Johnson, Smith and Stukes will be the foundation of the major task new defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales has of improving the Arizona defense in 2025.
Arizona was 109th nationally in 2024, allowing 31.8 points per game, 106th with opponents gaining 413.0 total yards per game and 103rd, permitting 239.0 passing YPG. With injuries accumulating, Arizona had its worst two performances in pass defense, allowing over 300 yards versus TCU and Arizona State.
With Johnson, Smith and Stukes returning an infusion of transfers and Gonzales providing a new perspective, Arizona hopes to be improved defensively in 2025. The secondary will be experienced and hopefully the most stable part of the Arizona defense in 2025.