Defensive Backs Genesis Smith, Dalton Johnson Returning to Arizona

After putting their names into the transfer portal, Genesis Smith and Dalton Johnson have withdrawn and will return to Arizona next season.

Nov 15, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats defensive back Genesis Smith (12) celebrates a blocked catch during the third quarter against the Houston Cougars at Arizona Stadium / Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

At the conclusion of this past season, a litany of players off Arizona's roster entered their names into the transfer portal with the intention of finding a new home.

That wasn't necessarily surprising.

The Wildcats had a disastrous showing in the first year under head coach Brent Brennan, and since he didn't recruit any of these players to Arizona, the fact they were interested in searching for other opportunities was pretty standard for this new era of college football.

Still, the sheer number of Wildcats in the portal was alarming and signaled this program would have a hard time fielding a competitive team in 2025.

But, it also should have been pointed out that, just because a player allows other teams to contact them as potential transfers, that doesn't mean they have to leave.

Arizona got some fantastic news when one of their star players from last year's team, Genesis Smith, withdrew his name from the portal and will be coming back to Tucson next season.

NEWS: Arizona star Safety Genesis Smith will stay at Arizona, he tells @on3sports

The 6’2 205 S totaled 64 Tackles, 3 INT, 6 PBU, 2 FF, & 1 FR this season

Was ranked as the No. 12 Player in the Portal (No. 2 Safety) per On3https://t.co/RlUbB6Fk7q pic.twitter.com/sUt8Wb6oem

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 19, 2024

That is huge for Arizona.

While they have done a good job bolstering their secondary in the portal by picking up commitments from defensive backs Jay'Vion Cole and Michael Dansby, while also adding a safety in Jshawn Frausto-Ramos, getting Smith back is massive.

The Chandler, Arizona native came to the program as a three-star in the 2023 class, and he immediately played a role when he stepped onto campus by recording 24 total tackles, an interception and pass breakup during 13 games his freshman year.

But it was this past season where he became a breakout star.

Smith had 63 total tackles, 39 of them solo, while also recording 3.5 for a loss to go along with nine pass breakups, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

That earned him the high transfer portal rating from On3 where he was considered a top 15 player and No. 2 at his position.

With him back in the mix, that is a great sign for how this defense can operate going into 2025.

Smith isn't the only one who entered his name into the portal and has now decided to come back to Arizona for the upcoming season.

Arizona defensive back Dalton Johnson, who entered the transfer portal last week, has withdrawn his name from the portal, @chris_hummer and I have learned for @cbssports/@247Sports.

Has posted 180 tackles and six interceptions the last two years.https://t.co/10Sz3YwNKg pic.twitter.com/epRj2FUoOG

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 20, 2024

Dalton Johnson will also return to Tucson.

This is another huge win for the Wildcats.

After committing to Arizona as a three-star recruit in the 2021 class and redshirting his first season, Johnson has become a staple of this defense the past two years with 180 total tackles, 11 coming for a loss, with a staggering six forced fumbles, four pass breakups, two sacks and an interception.

He also was the leading tackler this past campaign, so having him return is a huge boost to the defense.

Arizona will continue to look for other players in the portal who can overhaul this roster, but with both Smith and Johnson back in the fold, the 2025 outlook has become a whole lot brighter.