Treydan Stukes — aka 'Unc' —'the gold standard' for Arizona's defense

The year 2006 was an interesting moment in time.

During that time, MySpace was the most popular social media outlet on the internet — back when social media could only be accessed on a computer and not a smart phone — with Facebook rapidly growing.

Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in a game for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 gaming consoles were released, and YouTube was only just a year old as a video-sharing platform.

Southern rap and “crunk” music were mainstream and George Clooney was named sexiest man alive in 2006. In Tucson, the Arizona men’s basketball program was led by legendary head coach Lute Olson, and the Wildcats had players like Hassan Adams and Chase Budinger playing for the program.

It was also the year some of Treydan Stukes’ freshman teammates were born. Stukes, one of the oldest players on Arizona’s roster as a sixth-year senior, has received the nickname “Unc” (short for uncle) by his teammates and coaches.

“Just being an old man,” Stukes said of the nickname. “I got the most years tenured here. There are some guys who are born in 2006 on the team, so I was like, ‘Whew, maybe I am getting up there.’ But, yeah, it just became I’m an old man in college years.”

Arizona junior safety Genesis Smith said Stukes’ “mannerisms and the way he acts” is old man-esque.

“It’s not even his age, it’s how he acts,” Smith joked.

Stukes fired back at Smith and responded, “Is it because I read books?”

Even though Stukes has dedicated the last 10-plus months to rehabilitating a knee injury he suffered against Utah last season, “Unc has taken everyone under his wing,” said Arizona safeties coach Brett Arce, and has been one of the most respected voices in Arizona’s defense.

“The greatest thing about Stukes is he does everything right,” Arce said.

Even though Stukes “doesn’t make many mistakes,” the three-year starter at nickel back isn’t perfect.

“When he does (make a mistake), it’s great because then it’s a teachable moment and those guys can see, shoot, we all make mistakes, because he’s the gold standard in that room, especially for that position,” Arce said.

Since Arce has been a defensive backs assistant coach since 2021, a year after Stukes started his journey at the UA as a walk-on following his football and track career at Goodyear Millennium, having a player under his direction for five years “is like having another coach out there,” said Arce.

“He really likes that role and the guys listen to him because they see him do it at a high level,” Arce said. “Sometimes it’s like parenting. Those kids get tired of hearing you; those guys get tired of hearing me sometimes. ... Not always coming from me, but having the same message is a good change-up. I’m happy to have him.”

As Stukes continues to practice and ramp up his productivity, redshirt sophomore Gavin Hunter has worked in Arizona’s starting secondary, along with Smith, safety Dalton Johnson and cornerbacks Michael Dansby and Ayden Garnes.

The 6-2, 204-pound Hunter signed with Arizona out of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, in 2023 and has primarily played special teams since joining the Wildcats. In place of Stukes, “he’s having his best camp, he’s doing a phenomenal job making plays on the ball, he’s been physical and you can see that he’s finally comfortable out there,” said Arce, who helped recruit Hunter to Arizona.

Said Arce: “I think it’s just a culmination of what he’s done on the field and off the field. ... You were just waiting for it to click ... and that happened.”

Hunter’s “mental game just took off” in the last year, Smith said.

Added Stukes: “This camp, he’s shown his ability to grow as a player. We’ve always known he has been physical, but he has the concept of the defense down and he’s getting more comfortable in the position, and it has helped him be in the right spots to make some plays this camp and I think he’s had a good couple of practices.”

Stukes said his knee is “feeling really good.”

“I couldn’t give a percentage, but I’m feeling pretty good,” he said on Tuesday. “I’ll be excited to go August 30th (against Hawaii).”

Stukes began his UA career as a walk-on, then he earned a scholarship a year later. Stukes wasn’t a starter, then played his way into becoming a mainstay in Arizona’s defense — and eventually a team captain. His next challenge is returning to the field to help the Wildcats win games this season — and leave his stamp on the program. Adversity on the football field isn’t foreign to Stukes.

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“My football career has been like this,” he said. “Football has thrown me adversity left and right since I was young. I just keep grinding my way through and bounce back. I’ve been able to keep coming back better than before the adversity hit.

“I’m looking forward to having the opportunity to do that again. This has been one of the longest grinds of my life. ... I can’t wait to start playing football again.”

Genesis Smith’s ‘energy is infectious’

Earlier in training camp, Arizona defensive coordinator was asked if Smith maxed out on his potential as a football player, what would that look like?

“If everything clicks for Genesis Smith, he’ll have a chance to be Big 12 Player of the Year, he’ll be first-team All-Big 12 and he probably won’t be here next year, unfortunately,” Gonzales said. “That’s how talented he is and that’s the opportunity that the position creates for him. It’ll be a good and bad problem because trying to replace that guy will be really hard. He’s a special human being.”

As a sophomore, Smith started at three positions — free safety, strong safety and nickel back — after entering the season as a reserve for Stukes, Gunner Maldonado and Johnson. Smith tied safety Jack Luttrell, who has earned snaps at strong safety this training camp, for a team-high three interceptions last season.

Playing those positions got Smith “out of my comfort zone, being able to learn multiple positions, which is going to help me in the long run,” he said.

Understanding multiple positions in the secondary and playing two seasons has allowed Smith to — what Arce called — “draw 11” and understand every position in the defense and their responsibilities.

“It’s hard to do and super impressive,” Arce said. “To learn the whole defense and play at a high level like he does, that’s a luxury. We don’t want to get into those (injury) situations, but we’re always trying to prepare and put guys in different positions.”

Smith added, “Honing in on the mental game and knowing what everyone does, it’s going to make my job so much easier as far as stunts, what they’re doing and what the open gap will be.”

Smith is “naturally a great middle-of-the-field (free) safety,” Arce said.

“That’s his strong point, in my opinion, and his greatest gift,” said Arizona’s safeties coach.

Smith isn’t 2006 young, but he’s also young in comparison to his defensive back counterparts. Smith has the sixth-most defensive snaps (986) played in Arizona’s secondary behind Stukes (2,066), Garnes (1,584), Johnson (1,498), Dansby (1,468) and Cole (1,156), according to Pro Football Focus.

Nephew — err, Smith — “has really emerged as a vocal leader, an emotional leader of not only the defensive back group, but this team and he’s really taking that challenge on,” alongside “Unc.”

“We need his energy,” Arce said of Smith. “His energy is infectious. When you talk to the guy, you can’t help but love the guy. That radiates throughout the team. ... I’m really impressed with his leadership skills and where that’s gone.”

Extra points

– Arce, on freshman safety Coleman Patmon, who's been in Arizona's second unit with Luttrell: "He's not scared. He'll go out there and cover Kris Hutson and he doesn't bat an eye. You need that kind of mindset to be a guy out there. You're going to get beat sometimes and that's just the way it goes at defense back; you gotta bounce back. I'm super proud of him." 

– Smith, on Patmon: "He has a great motor and feel for the game, kind of like how I was my freshman year. He definitely has a lot of potential and I think he's going to be a great player." 

– Smith, on freshman safety Kason Brown, a 6-4, 191-pounder from Big Lake, Texas: "He's very raw and has a lot of instincts. He reminds me of myself when I was a freshman, just see ball, get ball right now. He's still trying to hone in on his job and learning the playbook, and I think he'll be good down the road."

– Stukes said freshman defensive back Swayde Griffin "is one the most athletic freshman I've seen in a long time." Added Stukes: "He can run, he can jump. We just gotta keep developing his mental and keep giving him some rep in the plays and in the scheme and I think he has a chance to be a really good player here."  

– TNT announced its broadcasting crew for the upcoming college football season on Wednesday. The broadcasters will feature J.B. Long (play-by-play), Mike Golic Jr. (color analyst), Corey Wire (reporter) and Allie LaForce (reporter). TNT's in-studio broadcasters will have host Adam Lefkoe, along with former NFL players Takeo Spikes, Victor Cruz and Champ Bailey. Arizona kicks off the season against Hawaii on Saturday, Aug. 30, at 7:30 p.m. on TNT and HBO Max.

Photos: University of Arizona football training camp rolls into Week 3