Heading into the 2024 season, the feeling in Tucson was that its secondary would be the strength of Arizona’s defense. Under first year coordinator Duane Akina who has made a 43-year career out of grooming defensive backs, the Wildcats opened the campaign with a bevy of experience in a unit heavy with returning upperclassmen. With injuries befalling key members of the defensive backfield in recent weeks, not only has its depth been tested but Akina is asking more of his front six in an effort to ease the burden on the back end.