Football
Arizona Athletics
TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona football defensive back Genesis Smith has earned Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors after his performance in the 27-3 win over Houston, as announced today by the Conference.
Genesis Smith recorded a career-high seven tackles, grabbed one interception, and recovered one fumble in Arizona’s 27-3 win over Houston last Friday. It marks the first conference weekly honor for the sophomore defensive back. Smith became the fourth Wildcat honored by the Big 12 this season.
Smith made six solo tackles, one assisted tackle, and 1.5 tackles for loss alongside one pass breakup in the stifling effort against Houston. The Wildcats held an opponent without a touchdown for the first time since the beginning of the 2023 season.
The sophomore defensive back from Chandler has made four or more tackles in each of his last six games with 3.5 tackles for loss as he has become a starter on defense. Smith is fourth on the team in tackles (46.0), leads the team in interceptions (3), second on the team in pass breakups (5), and 5th on the team in tackles for loss (3.5) this season.
Arizona came away with a dominant 27-3 victory, improving to 4-6 on the season and keeping the program’s bowl game hopes alive.
The three points surrendered to Houston match the fewest points allowed by an Arizona defense in a conference game since shutting out Oregon State during the 1993 season. The Wildcats surrendered three points to Oregon in 1998, Stanford in 2000, and Cal in 2021.
| Arizona’s Big 12 Players of the Week | |||
| Name | Pos. | Award | Week |
| Tetairoa McMillan | WR | Offensive Player of the Week | Week 1 |
| Tacario Davis | DB | Defensive Player of the Week | Week 5 |
| Tyler Loop | PK | Special Teams Player of the Week | Week 7 |
| Genesis Smith | DB | Co-Defensive Player of the Week | Week 12 |
Arizona travels to face TCU for the final road game of the 2024 regular season. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. MST and the game can be watched on ESPN+.
