‘Freakish’ Arizona cornerback Tacario Davis leads one of nation’s elite secondaries

Tony Adame

‘Freakish’ Arizona cornerback Tacario Davis leads one of nation’s elite secondaries image

Sometimes, one player can lift up those around him and turn them into something special — something Arizona cornerback Tacario Davis seems capable of. 

Pro Football Focus listed Arizona’s defensive backfield at No. 10 in the nation on its list of the best college secondaries in the country in 2024. Arizona also returns starters with cornerback Treydan Stukes and safety Gunner Maldonado, who graded out at over 75 percent in pass coverage in 2023. 

Davis, 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, is a two-time All-Pac-12 pick and a potential first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. 

From PFF: “Arizona brings back four of five starters from its secondary last season, including a top-five cornerback in Tacario Davis. The first thing you notice about him is his freakish size at 6-foot-4. That length allows him to significantly bother receivers at the catch point. The sophomore posted a 27.8% forced incompletion rate in 2023, ranking fifth among Power Five cornerbacks. Davis forced more incompletions (14) in single coverage than he allowed catches (11).”

Arizona opens the season on Aug. 31 at home against New Mexico and plays its inaugural Big 12 game at Kansas State on Sept. 13 in a potential Top 25 showdown. 

Tony Adame

Tony Adame Photo

Tony Adame covers the Big 12 Conference for The Sporting News. He is a graduate of Southern Oregon University and has been a sports journalist for 20 years. He has won APSE Awards for breaking news, games stories and feature writing. He is also the writer and host of the Florida Society of News Editors Award-winning podcast The Sheriff: Murder, Lies & Revenge in Okaloosa County for USA Today/Gannett.