One of the biggest luxuries you can have as a football coach is a fast-rising backup competing at a starter level, especially if that player shares the same position as a team captain.
It’s depth. And if there was any team that lacked it last season, it was the Arizona Wildcats. However, for some players, like redshirt sophomore defensive back Gavin Hunter, the experience last season was a springboard for contributing this season.
The stars aligned for Hunter, who appeared in 11 games last season, in his first-ever start at Arizona.
Hunter started in place of the injured Treydan Stukes, who suffered a knee injury nearly a year ago in Arizona’s Big 12 opener at Utah, against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on Saturday. Hunter’s father, Alfred Hunter, played defensive back for the Rainbow Warriors in the 1990s, and the younger Hunter grew up in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, which is about a 30-minute car ride from the UH campus.
Hunter ended Saturday night with two tackles, a pass breakup and an interception in the end zone to prevent Hawaii from scoring a touchdown.
Arizona defensive back Gavin Hunter (23) can’t keep Hawaii wide receiver Tama Uiliata (8) from an over the shoulder catch into the red zone, Aug. 30, 2025, in Tucson.
“It just felt good,” Hunter said. “All the work we’ve been putting in during fall camp, just to go out there and fly around with the boys and come out with a win, it was definitely a special one.”
Hunter tied safeties Genesis Smith and Dalton Johnson for a team-high 72 defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I thought Gavin played his tail off,” said head coach Brent Brennan. “It was the most plays he’s ever played in a game.”
Realistically, Stukes “could’ve played on Saturday night,” said defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales on Tuesday. Stukes participated in multiple team periods and 7-on-7 periods during training camp and the days leading up to the season opener.
“He’s ready to go and chomping at the bit,” Gonzales said of Stukes. “We’ve got a lot of football. The experience Gavin gained Saturday night was really valuable, especially for our football team. We’re going to make sure that Treydan is 1,000% ready to go, and he looks really good in practice. ... I’m excited for Treydan Stukes to get on the football field and play ball. We’re going to make sure it’s the perfect timing.”
Arizona defensive back Treydan Stukes speaks to reporters on media day at the Davis Sports Center on July 29, 2025.
Added Gonzales: “I think Treydan Stukes has the opportunity to play in the NFL for a long time because he has so much value as a football player in special teams and what he is; he can play corner, he can play safety — dude can play linebacker because of his knowledge. We’re going to make sure the timing is perfect.”
Gonzales also said Jeronimo Boche, Arizona’s associate director of medical services and head football athletic trainer, has taken a conservative and cautious approach with injuries in his first season at the UA after stints at Tennessee and James Madison.
“There are some things that are more conservative than I’ve been around, but the guys who come back from this conservative treatment have been phenomenal, so it’s really smart,” Gonzales said.
The plan for Stukes’ return is a “unique case,” said Gonzales. But the rise of Hunter — who had “by far the best (training) camp that he’s had” at Arizona, per Gonzales — has the Arizona coaches reluctant to return Stukes until the highly anticipated game against Kansas State in less than two weeks.
Arizona defensive back Gavin Hunter (23) gets a congratulatory hug and yell from coach James Perez after his heavy hit dislodged the ball and kept Hawaii from a first down catch during the second quarter, Aug. 30, 2025, at Arizona Stadium.
The most promising sign of Hunter’s maturity and growth was in the fourth quarter against Hawaii, when he surrendered a 26-yard completion inside the red zone on fourth down and was flagged for passing interference on the following play.
“I didn’t have to grab him,” Hunter said. “I had good coverage, lost the ball and just grabbed him when I didn’t need to. That’s definitely something I can learn from and improve moving forward.”
But he didn’t wilt or hang his head. Instead, the 6-2, 204-pound defensive back answered with an interception in the end zone and returned it to the UA 28-yard line. Hunter’s was the fourth turnover of Arizona’s five-takeaway performance against Hawaii.
Gonzales — known by the players as “Coach G” — “emphasized what to do and how to do it, all 11 to the ball with bad humor and keep them out of the end zone,” Hunter said.
“All 11 of us on the field buy into that, believe that and my brothers and coaches put me in a good spot where I was able to make a play,” he said.
One start in, the Arizona coaches are “really excited for Gavin,” Brennan said.
“He’s a young man that has had a tremendous amount of growth since the end of last season,” added the Arizona coach. “He’s a super hard worker, he’s a well-liked guy on the team, he’s a tough guy, a physical guy.
“To see him respond that way, that’s been such a huge message to our team.”
Brennan not concerned with receiver penalties
Arizona was the fourth-most penalized team in the Big 12 last season and averaged just under 58 penalty yards per game. The Wildcats were in the neighborhood of last season’s average, with eight penalties for 54 yards against Hawaii on Saturday.
Two of those penalties were holding calls on wide receivers Isaiah Mizell and Javin Whatley. Brennan said, “I don’t like penalties, but I love it when receivers block, I’ll tell you that.”
“When you think historically how receivers are viewed or how people think about them, they’re always thrown into the prima donna, selfish category,” Brennan said. “To me, the best way they can show us that they’re not is to block their tails off. I think (Arizona wide receivers coach Bobby Wade) has done a great job of that. I think a couple of those times, they were locked up with somebody down the field and the defender got outside their framework and just didn’t let them go. But I was encouraged by the effort.”
Arizona coach Brent Brennan flashes the Wildcat hand sign to fans as he and the team make their way to Arizona Stadium in the “Wildcat Walk” before their game against Hawaii for the season opener, Aug. 30, 2025.
The effort — even if it results in a penalty — is a reflection of the “redline” mantra Brennan and Arizona’s coaches echo every day. Aggressively blocking is “redline for a receiver,” Brennan said.
“You know a receiver is going to redline when you’re throwing him a post for a touchdown, right? That’s the easy one,” he said. “We need those guys to redline in the run game. We need them to show up, block safeties and block corners, so those 6-yard runs can become 60-yard runs if we cover up people downfield.”
Extra points
– Gonzales said cornerback Marquis Groves-Killebrew, who started six games last season and missed the season opener due to injury, practiced on Tuesday. Montana transfer linebacker Riley Wilson and defensive lineman Jarra "Bear" Anderson are expected to make their Arizona debut against Weber State.
– Brennan, on Arizona offensive coordinator Seth Doege calling plays from the coaches’ booth in the Arizona Stadium press box: “He was great. He feels like he sees it a lot better from there, which I think most of offensive coaches do. The communication was very, very healthy with the assistant coaches on the sideline and the staff. ... I thought it was positive.”
– Brennan, on Arizona’s two punts that were nearly blocked against Hawaii: “One was protection, one was not doing what you’re supposed to do, which happens. We’re trying to eliminate those moments. It was good because (Sunday) we got to see it on film, the players got to see it and we coached them up. I’m excited, we’ll make the adjustments necessary and we’ll get it right.”
– For the second straight week, Arizona is facing a team with a Tucson native. Weber State sophomore offensive lineman Will Way, who’s listed on the WSU depth chart as the backup center, played at Pusch Ridge Christian from 2019-22.
– Former Arizona running back Jonah Coleman was named the Big 10 Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for 177 yards and two touchdowns in Washington’s 38-21 win over Colorado State. Former UA running back Rayshon “Speedy” Luke had 10 carries for 96 yards and three touchdowns in Fresno State’s 42-14 win over Georgia Southern.
– Arizona didn’t win any weekly Big 12 awards, but the UA defensive line was nominated for Big 12 Defensive Line of the Week.
