Arizona Wildcats Star Tacario Davis One of Best Players in Transfer Portal
The Arizona Wildcats' first season under head coach Brent Brennan did not go according to plan.
It was their debut in the Big 12, and if 2024 proved anything, it is that they have some work to do to catch up to the rest of the competition.
All eight of their losses this year came against conference opponents, and they lost all but two of them by at least three touchdowns.
That has led to a mass exodus of the roster, as the transfer portal is flooded with Arizona players.
The best one, according to Max Olson of ESPN, is cornerback Tacario Davis.
The college football writer has ranked the Wildcats star as the No. 10 player in the transfer portal this offseason. There are only two other defenders ranked higher than him; defensive tackle Jehiem Otis at No. 5, who left the Alabama Crimson Tide for the Colorado Buffaloes, and cornerback Mansoor Delaney at No. 9, who departed from the Virginia Tech Hokies to join the LSU Tigers.
Last year, Davis also tested the transfer waters after a strong sophomore season that saw him record 15 pass breakups.
Ultimately, he remained in Tucson to play for the new coaching staff and had another strong campaign where he earned second-team All-Big 12 honors and did not allow a passing touchdown all year, an impressive feat when considering how poorly the defense played overall.
This time around, his entrance into the transfer portal likely ends his time with Arizona.
In addition, prospective schools around the country are not only competing against each other for his services, but against the NFL.
Many analysts and draft pundits believe Davis will be an early-round pick whenever he declares, potentially even being selected in the first round. He is currently keeping his options open, as major programs around the country will certainly do their best to woo him and push his professional career off by one more year.
His elite size at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, combined with excellent speed, is what makes him such an intriguing pro prospect. He isn’t afraid to mix it up near the line of scrimmage and has the length to blanket defenders in pass coverage.
The tools are there for him to develop into a very good player at the next level.
A strong tackler, he will set the tone as a run defender as an edge setter with physicality.
Zone schemes are likely best suited for Davis, but he can find success in any system with his strong skill set. College teams are going to have to bring strong recruiting pitches to keep him from declaring for the NFL draft.
