Arizona Senior Captures Big 12 Player of the Week Honors
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Saturday in Tucson was far from just another game for the Wildcats.
It was senior day, sure. But this senior class has been put through the wringer at Arizona. From low-lows to a surprising success, to coaching changes, roster turnover, and now a rise back to relevancy, these senior Wildcats have seen it all.
Arizona took down Baylor 41-17 on Saturday, and the seniors were a big reason why. Kris Hutson caught nine passes for a career-high 133 yards and a touchdown. Treydan Stukes had an interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter. The defense as a whole shut out the Bears in the second half of the rout.
The defensive turnaround as a team could be seen as a microcosm of the seniors on the team and their time in Tucson. Fluctuating in personnel, experiencing the bottom of the barrel, but now rising to one of the best units in the sport behind a core group of players.
One of the players in that core happened to turn in a career day as well on Saturday, and walked away with some conference accolades as well.
Dalton Johnson Wins Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week
Dalton Johnson recorded a career-high 18 tackles in the victory over the Bears. The high total earned him Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors, which he shared with Houston defensive back Will James.
Johnson's 18 takedowns were the most by any Wildcat in a single game since 2014, when former Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright tallied 19 tackles and three sacks in a loss to UCLA. Johnson's performance was also the most tackles by a player in the Big 12 this season.
He played a key role in holding Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson to just 162 passing yards. Johnson played a lot over the slot receiver while maintaining his position as a deep safety.
Johnson leads Arizona with 94 tackles this season, while adding one sack, three interceptions and five pass deflections. Brent Brennan has credited Johnson's leadership and willingness to stick with the program, when he could have transferred, as a big reason for the defense's turnaround.
“Dalton is one of those guys that chose to stay, and he had lots of people trying to talk him into leaving,” Brennan said after the game. “He’s an awesome Wildcat. He was signed and recruited by (former Arizona coach Kevin) Sumlin’s staff, so he went through that transition and then went through the transition with me. Obviously, last year wasn’t fun. I promise you it sure as hell wasn’t fun for me, but not for him either. Here we are on senior day at Casino Del Sol Stadium, and he has 18 tackles? Get out of here. That’s how it should end. That’s storybook.”
Arizona's defense has done a complete turnaround under defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales and is now the best pass defense in the Big 12, allowing just 159.7 passing yards per game and a conference-low nine passing touchdowns this season. The Wildcats have also snagged a Big 12-best 16 interceptions this season.
Johnson is the first defensive player for Arizona to take home a weekly Big 12 award this season. Quarterback Noah Fifita has won twice this season, while running backs Ismail Mahdi and Quincy Craig have both won once.
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Logan Brown is an alumnus of the prestigious Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He currently works as a General College Sports Reporter On SI. Logan has an extensive background in writing and has contributed to Cronkite Sports, PHNX Sports, and Motion Graphics.
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