It was expected to be a season to remember for Arizona with so many starters from last year's 10-win team returning, including Treydan Stukes, Dalton Johnson and Gunner Maldonado announcing together that they would be returning to Arizona.
The news came out earlier this week that Stukes is expected to miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury he suffered against Utah two weeks ago. It is the next man up mentality that will look to keep the vibes high for the Wildcats defense heading into a tough environment on the road against No. 14 BYU this weekend.
"That's a sad situation for the young man," defensive coordinator Duane Akina said. "I'm not going to slight the value he has for this football team because he is very important this football team as a model, as a player and his unselfishness."
Akina added that instead of feeling sorry for himself, Stukes was finding other ways to help the team.
"One of the young players missed an assignment on a big play and Stukes had notes," Akina said. "By the time I got in at halftime, I said 'Hey Arce, draw it up,' and he said coach Stukes is already going through it. I mean you just can't have that kind of model in your program. That's the culture we've worked hard to build within the DB room but also in the defensive room. I constantly look for ways to have team building experiences and that is one of the best that you can talk about. That is going to be an example that will live far beyond 2024."
Maldonado also got hurt last week against Texas Tech and is expected to be sidelined at least for this week's game against the Cougars.
Genesis Smith, Owen Goss, Emmanuel Karnley and Marquis Groves-Killebrew are expected to be among the players in the secondary who step into bigger roles in their absence.
"They're definitley key pieces in our room," Smith said. "It was tough initially and still is tough, but it just means new people got to step up. We've got a lot of young guys willing to step up and I think they're ready for the job."
Smith added that Stukes and Maldonado have still been playing a big part in the leadership role in the defensive back room for the Wildcats.
This isn't the first time the next man up mentality has been needed for Arizona with the team having dealt with injuries to both sides of the ball early on this season.
"I feel like a lot of dudes are doing good in the next man mindset, just trying to get in the film room more and trying to know what they're doing when they get out there," Smith said. "I feel like they're taking it pretty well."
Smith has displayed the ability to play just about anywhere in the secondary if needed for Arizona, something Stukes also showed for the Wildcats when he was on the field. He added that he got work during spring camp at the boundary safety position, so he believes he can play all three defensive back positions which is the type of versatility that is super crucial.
Akina talked about how Smith has worked to model his game off of Stukes.
"If you noticed, he has really been playing for us four positions," Akina said. "We haven't been able to get to our dollar stuff because of the numbers. It has been one of those seasons, but you'll see him at the STAR postion, at the free safety position and the boundary safety position... Guys like that have great value to your football team."
It is a tough break for Arizona to lose two of its captains in the secondary, Stukes for the season and Maldonado for an unknown amount of time but it is all part of the game.
"That's all part of the game," Akina said. "We've been through this before. This is the nature of this football game. As I said with Gunner, I'm not going to slight that. Those are important pieces to the success of the game of our football team, but like I said (Karnley) went out there and a had a start at the Utah game and had a hell of a football game. Genesis has come in and played nickel where his natural postion is field safety when Stukes went down so it is next man up and that is your mentality. That's why you constantly have to preach to your team that you are a play away and you've got to be prepared."
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