Arizona All-Quarter-Century Team: Safeties

Arizona (4-3, 1-3 Big 12) was able to get things going early by striking quickly as quarterback Noah Fifita hit receiver Tre Spivey for a 70-yard touchdown pass, which seemed to set the tone early for the offense.

Despite the fast start, Arizona found itself trailing 21-14 to Houston (6-1-,3-1) at the half thanks to defensive struggles in the second quarter. And once again, the Wildcats lost the middle eight of the game, which resulted in a Cougars 31-28 win over the Wildcats.

Although Arizona fell on Saturday against Houston and has lost two-straight games, the program is clearly moving in the right direction and has improved drastically from a season ago.

Now with the Wildcats in the bye-week, we at Arizona Wildcats On SI have decided to roll out our All-Quarter-Century Team breaking down the top players at every position over the last 25 years of Arizona football.

Today we are taking a look at what the top four safeties would be over the last 25 years that have stood out from the rest.

Top Safeties

4. Jared Tevis (2012-14)

• Similar to running back Ka’Deem Carey, safety Jared Tevis was a local product that walked on to the football team when Rich Rodriguez became the head coach of the program. Tevis worked his way to earning a scholarship and became a key piece in the Wildcats’ secondary.

• During his three seasons with the program, Tevis played in 36 games where he racked up 285 tackles, 189 solo tackles, 14 tackles for loss, five sacks, five interceptions and nine forced fumbles.

3. Robert Golden (2008-11)

• One of the top defensive players on the Wildcats’ roster in the secondary was safety Robert Golden, who played cornerback before switching positions. In his four seasons with Arizona, Golden played in 51 games.

• During that time, Golden managed to rack up 183 tackles, 131 solo tackles, 5 ½ tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, four interceptions and scored two touchdowns. He received Pac-12 honors twice in his career with Arizona.

2. Tra'Mayne Bondurant (2011-14)

• One of the top defensive players under Rodriguez was safety Tra'Mayne Bondurant, who switched from linebacker into the secondary. Bondurant had the ability to come up with big-time turnovers and plays that flipped the momentum of the game for Arizona.

• During his four seasons with the program, Bondurant played in 49 games where he racked up 271 total tackles, 185 solo tackles, 28 ½ tackles for loss, seven sacks, nine interceptions, nine forced fumbles and five touchdowns.

1. Genesis Smith (2023-Present)

• Yes, I know, it is weird to have a player that is currently on the roster and still playing in college listed as the top player at his position over the last 25 years. However, safety Genesis Smith is the complete package when it comes to the secondary and what you want in a player.

• Smith has the ability to drop back into zone coverage, play man-to-man and even come up to slow down the running attack.

• So far in his career, Smith has played in 32 games where he has totaled 129 tackles, 71 solo tackles, five tackles for loss, five interceptions and three forced fumbles.