Ayden Garnes

Ayden (AID-in) Garnes was born and raised in Philadelphia by his parents (Kevin Garnes and Jerelle Holden). He played both ways as a cornerback and wide receiver at Monsignor Bonner Catholic High School, earning all-state honors in 2020 and leading the team to an undefeated season. 562 Back to table of contents -- 566 of 629 -- A no-star recruit, he received a late offer from Duquesne (his only Division I offer). After an all-conference sophomore season, he went into the portal and transferred to West Virginia. After missing the second half of the 2024 season because of a head injury, he entered the portal again and transferred to Arizona (over Houston) for his 2025 season. He became a starter on an already deep Wildcats secondary. Garnes has a slender, lean-muscled frame and questionable play strength, but his functional length helps him match up on the outside. He is an above-average athlete, which translates to the field, although he loses spacing at times when his eyes are caught in the wrong place. His physicality as a tackler is inconsistent, which leads to fly-by or diving tackles (and too many misses). Overall, Garnes can be out-physicaled in coverage and the run game, but he has NFL-level speed and did a better job in 2025 using route recognition to limit big plays.