Inside The Huskies

Tacario Davis Chooses UW, Turns Secondary into Elite Group

The cornerback will be paired with former teammate Ephesians Prysock.

Dan Raley

Arizona cornerback Tacario Davis line up against 2024 Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter of Colorado.
Arizona cornerback Tacario Davis line up against 2024 Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter of Colorado. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Probably a year later than he preferred, Jedd Fisch finally was able to convince his top Arizona football player to join him at the University of Washington. On Tuesday, the coach received a commitment from elite cornerback Tacario Davis in the transfer portal.

The addition of Davis -- a second-team All-Big 12 selection this past season and an honorable-mention All Pac-12 pick in 2023 -- gives the Huskies a bookend set of corners, pairing him with Ephesians Prysock, who each bring incredible size to the position.

It's one reason ex-UW cornerback starter Thaddeus Dixon is in the portal, looking for an alternative school, though he has impressive options.

Long and wiry, Davis and Prysock each stretch out 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds. That's size that should lend to NFL careers for each when they're ready.

Davis is the 14th transfer portal pick-up for the Huskies and it wouldn't be a stretch to say he was their top player acquisition so far.

A year ago, Fisch arrived in Seattle with six Arizona players who pulled game time for him in Tucson and another 11 players who had signed with the school and asked for their releases -- but Davis was not one of them.

The corner momentarily entered transfer portal, but withdrew his name, choosing to give new Arizona coach Bob Brennan a chance to show what he could do with that program.

However, the Wildcats went 4-8 so Davis re-entered the transfer portal last month, this after reportedly giving his NFL Draft prospects plenty of consideration.

Originally from Long Beach, California, Davis brings an extremely high-end coverage guy to the Husky secondary. In 2023, he ranked third in the country with 16 passes defended. He had six this past season.

With one season of eligibility remaining, Davis is not shy on experience. He appeared in 30 games for Arizona and started 22 of them. He finished with 76 tackles, 23 pass defenses, an interception and a fumble recovery.

He played against the Huskies just once, in a 31-24 loss in Tucson, and matched his season high with 4 tackles.

Now it's on to Montlake to see if anyone dares throw on two towering corners, with Davis a cut above just about anyone nationally.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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