Christmas came a day early for the Arizona Wildcats football program.
Veteran defensive back Treydan Stukes withdrew from the transfer portal Tuesday and will return to the UA for his final season.
Arizona cornerback Treydan Stukes, right, makes a sprawling interception on a pass intended for Utah wide receiver Mikey Matthews in the fourth quarter of the Wildcats’ dominant Pac-12 win at Arizona Stadium on Nov. 18, 2023.
Stukes is the third player — all members of the secondary — who entered the portal and later took his name out. The others are safeties Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith.
Stukes, who began his UA career as a walk-on, has played cornerback and nickel back for the Wildcats. He started all four games in which he appeared in 2024 before suffering a season-ending leg injury.
He has appeared in 42 games across five seasons, totaling 154 tackles, 25 passes defensed and three interceptions.
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Stukes’ debut season, 2020, doesn’t count toward his eligibility, and he’s entitled to a sixth season after appearing in only four games in ‘24.
Stukes provides DB guru Duane Akina with a versatile chess piece and should have a significant role in a revamped secondary if healthy. Arizona has added cornerbacks Jay’Vion Cole (Texas) and Michael Dansby (San Jose State) to the mix via the portal, along with safety Jshawn Frausto-Ramos (Stanford).
Arizona has lost safety Gunner Maldonado to Kansas State and cornerback Demetrius Freeney to Boise State. Cornerbacks Tacario Davis, Emmanuel Karnley and Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine remain in the portal without a public commitment.
Contact sports reporter/columnist Michael Lev at mlev@tucson.com. On X (Twitter): @michaeljlev. On Bluesky: @michaeljlev.bsky.social
Michael Lev
Sports Reporter/Columnist
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