Analyzing Arizona Football's cornerback room ahead of the 2024 season

Arizona Football's defensive backfield was a strength last year, and it will continue to be a strong spot entering Year 1 of the Brent Brennan era.

Last year's depth on the perimeter was ridiculous, with two long, young, and promising cornerbacks emerging as top-flight options in Tacario Davis and Ephesians Prysock. One of the vocal veteran leaders of the defense, Treydan Stukes, was also a part of this group.

Most of Arizona's depth from last year is gone, whether due to running out of eligibility or transferring out. However, Brennan and the coaching staff have replaced the outgoing production, especially Prysock, with high-upside players. Most importantly, Arizona retained Davis' services for at least one more year.

2023 Roster:

• Tacario Davis - Entered transfer portal, withdrew to return to Arizona
• Treydan Stukes - Returned to Arizona
• Ephesians Prysock - Transferred to Washington
• Martell Irby - Out of eligibility, undrafted in 2024 NFL Draft
• Dylan Wyatt - Out of eligibility, undrafted in 2024 NFL Draft
• Charles Yates Jr. - Transferred to Old Dominion
• Canyon Moses - Transferred to NAU
• Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine - Returned to Arizona

2024 Projected roster:

• Tacario Davis - Entered transfer portal, withdrew to return to Arizona
• Treydan Stukes - Returned to Arizona
• Johno Price - Transferred in from College of San Mateo
• Marquis Groves-Killebrew - Transferred in from Louisville
• Demetrius Freeney Jr. - Transferred in from Miami
• Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine - Returned to Arizona

What's most important is that the vocal leader in Stukes and the top-flight talent in Davis are still sticking around. Behind them, though, is where the questions emerge: will Johno Price's on-field play match up with his physical attributes? Will either of the power-conference transfers see time? Let's dive deeper into the position group.

Tacario Davis (Junior) | 6'4" 195 lbs.

Davis is the crown jewel of Arizona's defensive backfield as a lockdown boundary corner with fantastic physical tools and room to develop even further. He flourished last year as Arizona's top cornerback, and he put the college football world on notice as one of the top lockdown corners in the country.

He logged an eye-popping 15 passes broken up, which led the Pac-12 and was tied for third in Division I. He only logged one interception, but that number should have been much higher because three passes hit him in the hands against USC alone. He also logged 25 tackles, and 13 of them were solo stops.

He was named an All-Pac-12 honorable mention by the conference and the AP named him to the All-Pac-12 Second team. Standing at a long and lean 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, he still has room to get even better and prove that he's an exceptional talent worth a first-round NFL draft pick in 2025.

Treydan Stukes (Senior) | 6'2" 195 lbs.

Stukes is the veteran of the group who can do a little bit of everything. He's returning to Arizona for a fifth season, where he'll take back the starting Star position he played last year. He's been listed as a cornerback on the roster in years past, but the role he plays on the field is akin to a hybrid linebacker-defensive back.

While he's not as ridiculously productive at the point of attack like Davis is, he does a little bit of everything. He notched 55 total tackles last year — fifth on the team — and 31 of them came solo. He also logged nine passes broken up and an interception, both good for second-most on the team.

Stukes earned an All-Pac-12 honorable mention for the first time in his collegiate career in 2023. He has a wealth of experience and he uses it wisely, finding ways to make a play regardless of what the offense is rolling out. It's likely he'll step back into another captaincy in the 2024 season, which will likely be his final year with the Wildcats.

Johno Price (Sophomore) | 6'2" 175 lbs.

Price is the most intriguing prospect in the room. He's joining Arizona as an incoming transfer from the College of San Mateo with four more years of eligibility remaining. He has phenomenal physical attributes, standing at a long 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds with room to add more weight to his frame if needed.

In his sole season at the JuCo level, he played in nine out of 13 possible games and was a ballhawk for the Bulldogs. He broke up four passes and hauled in two interceptions alongside his 13 tackles and one sack. He can do a little bit of everything, and he could be a part of the lineup for years to come if his development shakes out.

Demetrius Freeney Jr. (Junior) | 6'0" 190 lbs.

Freeney Jr. is a former JuCo player who spent his freshman season with San Mateo before landing at Miami for the 2023 season. Freeney Jr. is one of five former San Mateo players on Arizona's roster, joining Price, linebacker Cyrus Durham, wide receiver Jeremiah Patterson, and former teammate Reymello Murphy.

Though he largely only played special teams at Miami, the fact that four former Hurricanes defensive backs were drafted or signed in the 2024 NFL Draft indicates how stiff the competition was. He has power-conference-level talent, and his ball skills at San Mateo were extremely impressive: seven games, six passes broken up, two picks, a forced fumble, and a recovered fumble.

Marquis Groves-Killebrew (RS Sophomore) | 6'0" 185 lbs.

Groves-Killebrew is the other of two incoming transfer cornerbacks from power-conference schools alongside Freeney Jr. Groves Killebrew started his collegiate career at Texas A&M in 2022 and spent the 2023 season with Louisville before finally landing at Arizona, his third stop in as many years.

He's inexperienced, having not seen any time at Louisville and only recording two tackles in one game against Ole Miss from back when he was at Texas A&M. The best thing he has going for him is that he got on campus in time for spring practice and has been getting acquainted with cornerbacks coach Chip Viney and the new defensive system.

Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine (RS Sophomore) | 5'9" 180 lbs.

Celestine has been listed quite high on the depth chart despite not being an overly visible part of the defense. He has quite the undersized build for the position, standing at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, but he continues to find himself listed on the two-deep.

Most of his contributions will be on special teams, where he can return kicks and contribute on kickoff and punt coverage. Considering Celestine's athleticism, he also wouldn't be the worst matchup against a small slot receiver with a stature similar to his or Jacob Cowing's. It remains to be seen what the new coaching staff will do with him.

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