When Treydan Stukes first joined the Arizona football team, he was a zero-star recruit out of high school who walked on. When he departed, he left as one of their best players and as a second-team All-American.
After a quiet true freshman year in 2020, Stukes quickly broke into the Wildcats’ rotation and made an impact in their secondary. He had his best season in 2025, ending up with 4 interceptions and 52 total tackles. With his stellar performance, he now projects as one of the top defensive backs in the 2026 NFL Draft.
PFSN spoke exclusively with Stukes about his versatility to play both safety and cornerback, his recovery from a torn ACL, his preparation for the 2026 NFL Draft, and more.
JI: You had an incredible year as an All-American in 2025. What were some of the things you prioritized going into this year?
TS: It was a fun year, for sure. I would say going into the year, obviously, I was prioritizing my rehab in the early parts. I was coming back from the ACL, so you have to be really diligent about that process and how I was attacking the day to day work, and then I would say the rest of my growth was off the field, or in the mental aspect, I just had a new outlook on how what football meant to me as a person, a player.
Having taken away my senior year just made me want to get back even more. I had a good mindset going into the year to relax and let things that you can control go and focus on the things that you can, and it helped me have a successful season.
JI: You showed plenty of promise before this past year, obviously, but given your ACL injury and joining as a redshirt walk-on, what does it mean to now be a consensus early-round draft pick?
TS: It’s a dream come true, man. I can hardly even express in words what this time has meant to me, like you said, going from being a walk-on all that time ago to in the position that I am now, Â it’s nothing short of a dream come true. I have a lot of people to be thankful for, in the building and my family. They all helped me so much to grow as a person and player up to this point, so it’s been a blessing.
JI: I love the versatility you bring to your game. What goes into being able to play well in multiple alignments the way you do?
TS: I give a lot of credit to Duane Akina. He came in 2023 and was our safeties coach, kind of all defensive backs coach. He really preached a lot about becoming a complete defensive back, and what he said that entailed is not just being good at one thing, not just being a cover corner or a middle safety, but being able to understand what’s going on around you, what everybody in the back end is doing. I think it helped all of us that year.
Speaking of myself specifically, it helped me so much to understand where my help is, what alignments I can play, I can guard receivers, just knowing that what everyone else is doing, what we’re trying to accomplish on the defense. I went out of my way to try and build my game up into a complete defensive back, like you would say.
JI: Is there a consensus in the teams you talk to about whether they have you as a safety or a cornerback?
TS: I would say it’s a mixed bag so far. Obviously, everyone has their own style of defense, and they all have different players that work in different personnel groupings. It’s definitely been all over the board, but I think it’s only helped my stock to be able to learn and play multiple positions.
JI: What was your experience like at the Combine?
TS: Oh, that was another dream come true, man. I had said it up there, just going from watching me some TV my whole life and seeing what guys are running and stuff to being in that stadium with two of my best friends, it was a surreal moment for me. It was super cool. Big shout out to my trainers; they got us all right, everybody we were training with. It was such a fun group to be a part of, and everyone did their thing. It was a really, really good experience.
JI: You were one of the top performers at defensive back. How did those numbers compare to any expectations you had going into the Combine?
TS: I feel really good about the numbers I was able to put up. I PR’d in all aspects, or all the things that I [decided to] partake in. We were trying to get to those 4.3s, and that was the number I was wanting. I actually selfishly wanted to beat my dad; 40 times he ran a 4.34, and I got him by the 1,000th of a second. The jumps went well, also. They shut me down after that first 40 because my hamstring tightened, but I’m all good.
JI: What was your dad’s reaction when he found out he didn’t have the fastest time in the family anymore?
TS: I called him right away. I couldn’t wait to tell him. I called him right after I saw the unofficial [40-yard dash time], and I called him after the official [time came in]. Obviously, he was joking around. He’s like, “that’s fake. It’s garbage” (laughs). No, he’s super happy. He’s super happy for me. It was such a cool moment to be able to share that with him.
JI: Given his playing career, what was it like growing up in that kind of environment?
TS: I think I might be one of the luckiest people in the world with the draw that I got on a father. He was a pretty good athlete. He was a really good corner, and I was able to start picking knowledge from a good corner from as early as you could. He was basically my first coach all the way through high school, basically, off the field. He’s a great human being. He exemplifies all the values that a good person to have. [He’s] been a great role model for us. He’s provided and helped all me and my siblings so much growing up, and it’s been awesome to go through this process and have him right there with me.
JI: How do you like to spend your free time outside of football?
TS: I don’t do a whole bunch. I like to hang with my family. I started golfing a few years ago. I’m still no good, but it’s fun. I started reading a little bit last year. I read seven books last year, so that was that’s a new hobby that I think I’ll try to keep going.
JI: What’s the last book you read?
TS: The last book I finished is The Mastery of Self by Don Miguel Ruiz Jr., and then right now, I’m reading As a Man Thinketh by James Allen.
JI: Let’s say I’m an NFL general manager. What would I be getting if I drafted you to my team?
TS: You will be getting a versatile player, obviously. I think you getting a guy that’s going to be coachable, a guy with the high ceiling, and a guy that can come in and help the team reach its goals, win football games, and get as far as the team’s able to get. I think whoever drafts me will find out what type of person and player I am, and they’re going to get everything they got out of me.
