Arizona Wildcats Star Cornerback Suffers ACL Injury, Out For Season
The Arizona Wildcats secondary just got dealt a huge blow as they will be without a team captain and star defensive back for the rest of the season.
Justin Spears of Tuscon Daily Star shared the news that Treydan Stukes suffered an ACL injury and will miss the remainder of the year. Though this was his fifth collegiate season, he's only played in four games so far and could medically redshirt to return for one more year if he so wishes.
The redshirt senior plays a key part of the defense, mostly starting at slot corner but has also played a bit in the box as a linebacker. He's rushed off the edge a bit as well.
Stukes left the game against the Utah Utes after playing just 23 snaps, which wil now be the last of his season.
He had an up-and-down year in coverage, something that has previously been a strength of his when he was a shutdown guy in 2023.
This season, he gave up 11 catches on 16 targets for 93 yards and a touchdown per Pro Football Focus, however, he did break up two passes and came up with an interception.
The Arizona native has had a dream career for a local kid.
He joined the program as a walk-on back in 2020 after being overlooked by recruiting services and other schools.
Since then, he's added around 40 pounds and grown into the versatile defensive back before becoming a well-earned team captain.
He's played meaningful snaps for the past four seasons and that will likely continue next year if he does decide to come back. While he is draft eligible, he wasn't a name that was brought up a lot before his injury, so another season could do a lot for him in proving he deserves a shot at the next level.
Last year, he did not allow a single touchdown in 472 coverage snaps. The ability is there and adds a lot to the defense.
In his absence, senior defensive back Owen Goss played most of the snaps.
Goss split time between the slot and in the box. He played the most snaps as a nickel corner on the team, but also played more in the box than Stukes normally would.
The safety was a liability in coverage against the Utes, giving up four catches on four targets for 81 yards and a touchdown, but had a much better day against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
