Days after visiting Arizona, West Virginia transfer cornerback Ayden Garnes committed to the Wildcats, he announced on Monday.
Garnes committed to Arizona over the Houston Cougars and has one year of eligibility remaining.
The 6-foot, 175-pound Philadelphia native played in six games for the Mountaineers before suffering a season-ending injury. Garnes did not play in WVU’s 31-26 win over the Wildcats in Tucson in October.
After starting his collegiate career in Pittsburgh at Duquesne of the FCS and playing three seasons with the Dukes, Garnes transferred to West Virginia. In his lone season with the Mountaineers, Garnes had 25 tackles and a pass deflection. In his final season at Duquesne, Garnes received an 87.4 defensive grade by PFF; he also had a 90.1 coverage grade.
Garnes committed to Arizona on Monday.
The addition of Garnes bolsters Arizona’s defensive secondary, which returns nickel back Treydan Stukes, strong safety Dalton Johnson, safety and nickel back Genesis Smith and safety Jack Luttrell, among others. Stukes, Johnson and Smith have combined for 431 tackles, eight interceptions, eight forced fumbles and 29 pass deflections. According to PFF, the veteran trio combined for 4,550 defensive snaps at Arizona.
Arizona lost multi-year starters in safety Gunner Maldonado, who transferred to Kansas State, and star cornerback Tacario Davis, who opted to enter the transfer portal instead of declaring for the NFL Draft or returning to the UA.
Marquis Groves-Killebrew and Emmanuel Karnley, who both split starts at cornerback in 2024, also entered the transfer portal, along with Demetrius Freeney and Jai-ayviauynn Celestine. Karnley (Miami), Freeney (Boise State) and Celestine (Florida International) landed at other schools.
CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz gave a “crystal ball” prediction for Davis to land at Washington, where he’ll reunite with former head coach Jedd Fisch and defensive backs coach John Richardson.
Garnes is the fourth defensive back addition in the UA’s 2025 transfer portal class. The Wildcats also signed former San Jose State cornerback Michael Dansby, Texas cornerback Jay’Vion Cole and Stanford safety Jshawn Frausto-Ramos.
Pittsburgh wide receiver Raphael Williams Jr. (5) carries as he’s tackled by West Virginia Ayden Garnes (0) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Pittsburgh.
Dansby ended his three-year career at SJSU with 68 career tackles, 14 pass deflections, five interceptions and a touchdown. Cole has 54 tackles, 14 pass deflections and eight interceptions in three seasons at Cal Poly, San Jose State and Texas. Frausto-Ramos was a former four-star recruit at St. John Bosco High School in Southern California and signed with Stanford in 2023, when current UA defensive backs coach Duane Akina, who was moved from his defensive coordinator post after this season, was an assistant for the Cardinal.
Arizona currently has 19 additions for its 2025 transfer portal class. The Wildcats’ ‘25 transfer portal class is ranked 22nd nationally on 247Sports.com — fourth in the Big 12. Rivals ranks Arizona’s class as the 12th-best in college football and third in the conference behind Texas Tech and UCF.
