ALLSPORTSTUCSON.COM CONTINUES ITS 50 POSTS FOR THE 50-DAY COUNTDOWN TO THE 2025 SEASON THAT STARTS AUG. 22 FOR SOME SCHOOLS WITH A LOOK AT THE TOP RETURNING DEFENSIVE BACKS AS DETERMINED BY COACHES. CATCH UP WITH ALL THE POSTS BY CLICKING HERE.
TOP RETURNING SOUTHERN ARIZONA DEFENSIVE BACKS
Honor selections made by region coaches following last season.Honors are listed by region - 1 indicates first-team selection, 2 is second team and H is honorable mention.
*Denotes player who was also an all-conference selection.
a-McKinstry transferred from Catalina Foothills to Desert View.
Note that CDO and Vista Grande were 4A programs last season.
| Player | School | Ht | Wt | Yr | Hnr | Tkl | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Axel Martinez | Salpointe | 5-11 | 170 | Sr. | 6AH | 47 | 1 |
| Ezra Spivey | Tucson | 5-11 | 170 | So. | 5A1* | 52 | 7 |
| Julian Santa Cruz | Empire | 5-8 | 150 | Sr. | 4A1 | 46 | 6 |
| Davian Fimbres | Douglas | 5-9 | 135 | Sr. | 4A1 | 35 | 7 |
| Soldier Blouir | Florence | 6-1 | 160 | Sr. | 3A1 | 85 | 1 |
| KJ Watts | Florence | 5-8 | 150 | Sr. | 3A1 | 63 | 3 |
| Wyatt Stenson | Florence | 6-2 | 170 | Sr. | 3A1 | 58 | 0 |
| Adrian Tellez | Sabino | 5-10 | 145 | Sr. | 3A1* | 26 | 2 |
| Josiah Jones | Pusch Ridge | 6-0 | 160 | Sr. | 3A1 | 25 | 0 |
| Rocco Haggard | Tanque Verde | 6-4 | 190 | Sr. | 2A1 | 46 | 4 |
| Cash Dickey | CDO | 6-4 | 170 | Sr. | 5A2 | 46 | 2 |
| Oliver Simmers | Tucson | 6-0 | 185 | Sr. | 5A2 | 28 | 3 |
| Jaxsen Philistine | Walden Grove | 5-10 | 160 | Sr. | 4A2 | 78 | 6 |
| Justin Hurtado | Douglas | 5-6 | 145 | Sr. | 4A2 | 30 | 2 |
| Alex Delgado | San Tan Foothills | 5-9 | 160 | Sr. | 3A2 | -- | -- |
| Jabari Thomas | Tombstone | 5-11 | 187 | Sr. | 2A2 | 34 | 3 |
| Rawley Evans | Benson | 5-9 | 145 | Sr. | 2A2 | -- | -- |
| Cedar Haynie | St. David | 5-5 | 145 | Sr. | 1A2 | 81 | 0 |
| Daniel Najera | San Manuel | 5-10 | 155 | Jr. | 1A2 | 66 | 1 |
| a-Greg McKinstry III | Desert View | 6-2 | 185 | So. | 5AH | 60 | 2 |
| Izayah Gant | Casa Grande | 5-11 | 168 | Jr. | 5AH | 55 | 2 |
| Corbin Crosby | Ironwood Ridge | 6-0 | 185 | Jr. | 5AH | 51 | 4 |
| John Perales | Flowing Wells | 5-8 | 165 | Sr. | 5AH | 51 | 0 |
| Quinn Van | Flowing Wells | 5-9 | 165 | Sr. | 5AH | 50 | 1 |
| Dillion Flannigan-Jones | Tucson | 5-10 | 180 | Jr. | 5AH | 38 | 0 |
| Carmello Davis | Cienega | 5-11 | 160 | Sr. | 5AH | 36 | 0 |
| Adalberto Mada | Nogales | 5-9 | 163 | Jr. | 5AH | 32 | 0 |
| Michael Davis | Mountain View | 6-0 | 165 | Sr. | 5AH | 28 | 3 |
| Jett Merrill | Ironwood Ridge | 6-2 | 175 | Jr. | 5AH | 26 | 0 |
| Marcos Gradillas | Mountain View | 5-9 | 165 | Jr. | 5AH | 25 | 0 |
| Jalen Horn | Cienega | 5-10 | 165 | Sr. | 5AH | 25 | 0 |
| Brenden Lawrence | CDO | 5-9 | 182 | Sr. | 5AH | 24 | 1 |
| David Luke | CDO | 5-8 | 150 | Sr. | 5AH | 22 | 2 |
| Troy Sandoval | Vista Grande | 5-10 | 152 | Sr. | 5AH | 21 | 3 |
| Jack Youmans | Flowing Wells | 5-9 | 135 | Sr. | 5AH | 17 | 4 |
| Kenzy Couch | Tucson | 5-11 | 165 | Sr. | 5AH | -- | -- |
| Nico Franco | Mountain View | 5-10 | 202 | Sr. | 5AH | -- | -- |
| Khaleb Johnson | Maricopa | 5-8 | 178 | Sr. | 5AH | -- | -- |
| Anthony Saavedra | Desert View | 5-8 | 140 | Jr. | 5AH | -- | 2 |
| Jaxsun Sharp | Marana | 5-9 | 123 | Jr. | 5AH | -- | -- |
| Fernando Soto | Desert View | 5-11 | 170 | Sr. | 5AH | -- | -- |
| Jordan Dobson | Walden Grove | 5-11 | 170 | Jr. | 4AH | 47 | 1 |
| David Gutierrez | Sahuaro | 5-8 | 165 | Sr. | 4AH | 36 | 0 |
| Miguel Blanco | Pueblo | 5-8 | 150 | Sr. | 4AH | 29 | 0 |
| Adam Armstrong | Empire | -- | -- | Sr. | 4AH | 27 | 5 |
| Matt Hudson | Douglas | 6-2 | 145 | Jr. | 4AH | 27 | 2 |
| Matthew Felix | Rio Rico | 5-10 | 185 | Sr. | 4AH | 24 | 2 |
| Wheeler Delancey | Walden Grove | 6-0 | 165 | Sr. | 4AH | 10 | 3 |
| Fernando Garcia | Pueblo | 5-7 | 145 | Sr. | 4AH | -- | -- |
| Dayron Neal | Florence | 5-11 | 160 | Jr. | 3AH | 25 | 2 |
| Gabriel Casillas | Coolidge | 5-8 | 150 | So. | 3AH | -- | -- |
| Cameron Anderson | Bisbee | 5-11 | 137 | Jr. | 2AH | 58 | 3 |
| Eli Nelson | Willcox | 5-9 | 150 | Jr. | 2AH | 39 | 1 |
| Daniel Martinez | Catalina | 5-7 | 150 | Sr. | 2AH | 28 | 3 |
| Titan Heins | Santa Rita | 6-5 | 170 | Jr. | 2AH | -- | -- |
| Xavier Meza | Santa Cruz Valley | -- | -- | Jr. | 2AH | -- | -- |
| Jacob Maclagan | Tombstone | 5-7 | 140 | Sr. | 2AH | -- | -- |
| Kason Garcia | Baboquivari | -- | -- | Sr. | 1AH | -- | -- |
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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