In the world of the transfer portal, Arizona is no stranger when it comes to players both entering and exiting. This offseason provided a lot of entry from Arizona.
With departures like Gunner Maldonado and Tacario Davis, the Wildcats’ secondary was left to fill holes that were once filled with years of experience.
A couple of pickups from the portal are ready to step up. Texas transfer and redshirt junior Jay’Vion Cole feels like he has finally found his place in Tucson.
“This is my fourth school now, within three years, I feel like every place I’ve been to has been a stepping stone,” said Cole, who before Texas was at San Jose State and Cal Poly.
In his four years, Cole has not seen the field for significant, but will more than likely be asked to play a lot more this season. He has leaned on the veteran leadership of redshirt senior Treydan Stukes to improve on his leadership skills.
“His leadership skills are starting to wear off,” Cole said. “I’m not a big vocal guy, but with me becoming a leader he has helped me a lot.”
That experienced leadership has pretty much turned Stukes into an honorary coach since his ACL injury against Utah last season. He has been unable to practice this spring while rehabbing.
With so much of the roster being new, cornerbacks coach Chip Viney has grown a strong appreciation for Stukes’ unselfishness to work with the new guys.
“I wish we could keep him here forever, but we can’t,” Viney said. “It’s been awesome to have him lead kind of from the sideline, especially with a lot of new faces in the secondary.”
Another of the new faces both Stukes and Viney are coaching up is redshirt senior Ayden Garnes, who transferred from West Virginia
“We’re talking about a young man that can probably play multiple spots in our secondary,” Viney said. “Just his ability to learn it quickly, go out and make plays, super competitive, which is the West Philly in him.”
Similar to Cole, Garnes is not a talkative person. It took him a bit to settle into his new ‘Bear Down Brotherhood’ and maybe even longer for Garnes to connect with Cole
“I didn’t talk to him for the first two weeks, but now this is my brother, and everybody else are starting to be my brothers,” Garnes said.
Regardless of if the new guys are vocal leaders or if they are lead by example players, Viney knows there is a lot of work to do across the board.
“Not a finished product, but I really am impressed with how the new guys have come in and picked up the system, you know, our verbiage and how they are transitioning into the Wildcat family,” Viney said.
Having players like Garnes and Cole who may be on their second or third schools, Viney is presented with the challenge of having to take the skills they learned at other schools and apply to what the Wildcats’ secondary is trying to accomplish.
“Marquis Groves-Killebrew, for example, he has been to other places,” Viney said. “I’m not trying to change who he is. I’m trying to add to it.”
There will be a lot that needs to be added from now to the fall for Arizona’s corners to be ready to improve on their performances from last season.
Especially given that there will almost certainly be new faces that play in the fall.