Arizona will have one of its starting offensive tackles back for the 2026 season. UA right tackle Tristan Bounds was granted an additional year of eligibility by the NCAA and is returning to the Wildcats.
Bounds' return was first reported by On3.com. The veteran offensive lineman is one of two starters returning to Arizona in 2026, along with right guard Alexander Doost.
Bounds signed with Michigan in 2021 and has played 669 offensive snaps in his collegiate career — 628 of them at Arizona. Bounds, who was a part of Michigan's national championship-winning squad in 2023, transferred to the UA after having a reserve role for four seasons.
The 6-8, 291-pound Bounds was one of the Wildcats' top offensive linemen and started eight games at right tackle this past season and allowed three sacks in 372 pass-blocking snaps.
Bounds suffered a season-ending leg injury in Arizona's upset win over No. 25 Cincinnati in November and missed the final three games of the season, including the Wildcats' loss to SMU in the Holiday Bowl. Bounds was replaced by redshirt freshman Matthew Lado.
Former Michigan offensive lineman Tristan Bounds was one of five newcomers on Arizona’s offensive line.
With Bounds and Doost returning, the Wildcats need to replace left tackle Ty Buchanan, center Ka'ena Decambra and left guard Chubba Maae. Arizona likely found its successor at center in Washington center transfer Zachary Henning.
In addition to the sixth-year Bounds, who is expected to sit out spring practices for knee rehab, the Wildcats return Lado, Rhino Tapa'atoutai and redshirt freshman Louis Akpa at tackle. Arizona added former San Jose State tackle Nate Hale and BYU tackle Jake Griffin, who's the older brother of Arizona redshirt freshman offensive tackle Jaxon Griffin.
Arizona also signed two four-star offensive tackles in its 2026 recruiting class: El Paso native Justin Morales and Phoenix-area product Malachi Joyner.
Arizona is currently projected to have 20 offensive linemen on its 2026 roster.
UConn safety Molette transfers to Arizona
Arizona has around 20 players in its 2026 transfer portal class, and the majority of the Wildcats' pickups are defensive backs.
Connecticut defensive back Lee Molette III during a game against Rice on Oct. 7, 2023, in Houston.
Former UConn safety Lee Molette III became the newest member of the Arizona defensive secondary following four seasons with the Huskies.
Molette is one of six additions to the defensive secondary since last week, along with Nebraska safety Malcolm Hartzog, Wyoming cornerback Tyrese Boss, Northern Colorado safety Cam Chapa, Fresno City College transfer cornerback Brandon Holmes and Charlotte cornerback Dwight Bootle II.
Molette is one of Arizona's most experienced newcomers and comes to Tucson with 1,354 defensive snaps under his belt in four seasons with the Huskies, according to Pro Football Focus. Between Molette (1,354 defensive snaps), Chapa (1,495), Hartzog (1,700), Boss (643) and Bootle (461), the Wildcats are adding a combined 5,653 defensive snaps to their secondary.
The 6-1, 190-pound Molette, who's from Brentwood, Tennessee, recorded 124 tackles, eight pass deflections, an interception and a fumble recovery for the Huskies from 2022-25. Molette played all four years under former head coach Jim Mora, who's now the head coach at Colorado State.
Arizona is bolstering the secondary following the departures of veterans and All-Big 12 defensive backs Treydan Stukes, Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith — who combined for 6,700 defensive snaps at the UA — along with cornerbacks Michael Dansby and Ayden Garnes. The Wildcats also had safety Jack Luttrell and cornerbacks Gianni Edwards and Marquis Groves-Killebrew — who started six games for the UA in 2024 — enter the transfer portal.
Arizona returns starter cornerback Jay'Vion Cole, who's entering his senior season. Cole was second in the Big 12 with four interceptions and had a pick-six in Arizona's 48-3 win over Weber State.
Other returners at cornerback include freshmen Swayde Griffin and Dajon Hinton, who started in place of Stukes in the Holiday Bowl and suffered a leg injury. Redshirt junior Johno Price, who played 81 defensive snaps in 2025, is expected to return.
The Wildcats signed four-star cornerback Xaier Hiler, a 6-4, 180-pound Dallas-area product, and Chandler Hamilton cornerback Kingston Spivey, the younger brother of Tre Spivey and son of former Tucson Sidewinders star Junior Spivey. The youngest Spivey is joining Arizona as a preferred walk-on.
Arizona's safety group includes redshirt junior Gavin Hunter, redshirt freshman Kason Brown and sophomore Coleman Patmon, who started Arizona's 24-19 loss to SMU in the Holiday Bowl. Arizona signed three-star Georgia safety Hannibal Navies for its 2026 high school recruiting class.
MGK transfers to Cal
Groves-Killebrew is transferring to the Wildcats' former Pac-12 foe, the Cal Golden Bears, he announced on Tuesday.
The Golden Bears are led by first-year head coach Tosh Lupoi, who was previously a defensive coordinator on Dan Lanning's staff at Oregon for four years.
Cal has three players in its 2026 transfer portal class with Arizona ties: Groves-Killebrew, former UA tight end Dorian Thomas and running back Adam Mohammed, who was signed to play for the Wildcats in 2024 but followed former head coach Jedd Fisch to Washington and left after two seasons as the backup to ex-Wildcat Jonah Coleman. Thomas transferred to New Mexico in 2025 and had 56 catches for 560 yards and four touchdowns for the 9-4 Lobos.
Cal is Groves-Killebrew's fourth school in five seasons.
In 2022, the 6-0, 185-pound Groves-Killebrew signed with Texas A&M as a four-star recruit after starring at Atlanta-area North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia. Groves-Killebrew played in the 2022 All-American Bowl, which also featured former UA star wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and former running back Rayshon “Speedy” Luke, who was the game’s MVP after scoring two touchdowns.
Groves-Killebrew appeared in three games at Texas A&M before transferring to Louisville, where he spent the first roughly dozen years of his life before moving to Atlanta. After a season at Louisville, he transferred to Arizona for his redshirt sophomore season in 2024.
Groves-Killebrew started six games in his first year at Arizona and had 26 tackles, four pass deflections and one stop for loss. He briefly entered the transfer portal and committed to Nebraska, but withdrew his name and returned to Arizona for a second season.
Weber State wide receiver Jayleen Record (4) gets hauled down by Arizona linebacker Taye Brown (6) and defensive back Marquis Groves-Killebrew (5) after his catch in the first quarter, Sept. 6, 2025, in Tucson.
Groves-Killebrew appeared in seven games this year for the Wildcats and had seven tackles. After suffering an undisclosed injury in October, Groves-Killebrew missed the final five games of the season. The cornerback played nine snaps in Arizona's Holiday Bowl loss.
Burnett headed to UNLV
Former Arizona tight end Keyan Burnett transferred to UNLV to play for second-year head coach Dan Mullen.
Burnett, who will have one year of eligibility, played in four games at Arizona before stepping away from the team and medically redshirting to preserve a season.
Burnett signed with Arizona as a four-star prospect in 2022 out of Servite High School in Anaheim, California. The 6-6, 248-pound Burnett was one of four Servite players to sign with Arizona in ’22, along with wide receiver McMillan, quarterback Noah Fifita and linebacker Jacob Manu. Burnett was the highest-rated tight end to sign with Arizona since Rob Gronkowski in 2007.
Burnett played his first two seasons behind tight end Tanner McLachlan, who was Arizona’s most productive tight end since Gronkowski. After McLachlan was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals last year, Burnett had a productive spring and fall training camp and appeared due for a breakout junior season, but injuries hindered Burnett throughout the season.
Burnett's career at Arizona was highlighted by a game-sealing touchdown catch in Arizona's upset win over 10th-ranked Utah in Salt Lake City last season. Burnett has 26 catches for 272 yards and a touchdown. He played for three tight end coaches at Arizona: Jordan Paopao, Matt Adkins and Josh Miller.
Following the 2024 season, Burnett transferred to Kansas in December, but after a few months in Lawrence, he re-entered the transfer portal and returned to Arizona in the spring.
Find out the latest updates on Arizona football's activity in the transfer portal with the Star's tracker on Tucson.com and The Wildcaster mobile app.
