With the departures of Jonathan McKnight, Tra'Mayne Bondurant and Jared Tevis in the secondary, there are many voids to fill. But after speaking with Cam Denson, he seems to have found his comfort zone heading into spring practice.
Denson played in a total of seven games in 2014. He finished the season with 21 tackles and two interceptions, which includes a very critical play against Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.
At 5-11 and 170lbs, Denson has a fairly small build, but that's one of his main concerns. "Obviously I need to get a lot stronger and bigger," he said.
As a true freshman, Denson was able to make the most out of his opportunities. With a few games under his belt and a few months of off-season training, he feels much more comfortable. But he's fully aware that he has a long way to go but for now he claims he is "just refreshing [his] mind, leaning new things [he] didn't get to learn in the fall because it was so fast paced. Now [spring practice] is a learning experience."
He also went on to to say that the secondary is a very tight-knit group and "the biggest thing is being comfortable with everyone and learning other positions to know what everyone else on the field is doing."
Luckily, Arizona has one of the deepest receiving groups in the nation. Denson believes that going up against guys like Cayleb Jones, Trey Griffey and Samajie Grant "gives [him] an advantage everyday by going up against the top guys in the nation." He also noted that Samajie is the hardest of the group to cover due to his quickness, strength and route running.
The Pac-12 is home to many historic and aesthetic venues. When asked about his favorite road trip, Denson immediately thought of the Rose Bowl, citing the tradition and big time atmosphere. It's also worth nothing that Utah was his least favorite. Too much rain.
With Devin Holiday returning for his junior campaign and DaVonte' Neal switching to defense, there will be plenty of competition for both of the starting corner positions.