Anyone want to play in the secondary for the Arizona Wildcats?
Michael Lev of the Arizona Daily Star is reporting that junior cornerbacks McKenzie Barnes and Malik Hausman have opted out of the remainder of the 2020 season, adding to the growing list of UA defensive backs who have called it quits recently.
Neither Barnes of Hausman were available for Saturday’s 27-10 loss at UCLA, the Wildcats’ program-record 10th consecutive setback. Each played in Arizona’s first two games.
Barnes and Hausman are the fifth and sixth scholarship DBs to either opt out or leave the team in the past week. Sophomore corner Bobby Wolfe announced on Instagram Saturday night via Instagram that he was opting out, two days after junior safety Christian Young cited an ankle injury for wanting to skip the remainder of 2020.
True freshmen corners Khary Crump and Edric Whitley left the program earlier in the week before either ever appeared in a game.
The departures leaves Arizona’s secondary perilously thin, with just six scholarship athletes in the DB room. Redshirt senior Christian Roland-Wallace sophomore Christian Roland-Wallace have started every game at corner, same with redshirt junior Rhedi Short and sophomores Jaxen Turner at safety. Redshirt senior Jarrius Wallace and junior Isaiah Mays have also played in the secondary, though Wallace hasn’t been in action since the opener against USC.
Including suspended players and those out for the year with injuries, Arizona is down to 66 available scholarship players. The Pac-12 requires 53 in order to play games this season as part of its COVID-10 protocols.