It is a time of transition for Arizona's defensive back unit.

Gone is former secondary coach Demetrice Martin after he decided to leave the program early in the year to take a similar job at Colorado. In is longtime Pac-12 assistant coach Greg Burns who joined the program in the spring after serving in a similar role at USC last year.

Burns, who was hired after spring practice came to an end in March, is taking the early portion of fall practice to get more familiar with his players. Some of them he knows from the recruiting them while at his previous stops and others he is learning about for the first time.

Also gone from UA are some of the team's biggest contributors and familiar faces on the back end of the defense. Longtime starting cornerback Jace Whittaker is in the NFL playing with the Arizona Cardinals this year.

Tristian Cooper used up all his eligibility while a number of other safeties, including starter Scottie Young Jr., decided to transfer during the offseason.

It's left redshirt senior Lorenzo Burns as the lone remaining veteran of the group. He didn't have to return, but his hope is to improve his stock as an NFL prospect with one final season at the college level.

A three-year starter at cornerback, Burns is getting used to a different-looking secondary in Tucson.

"The group that left last year they were there for about four years," the California native said last week. "Tristan Cooper, Jace, Scottie Young. So you just have to get adjusted to everybody as a whole because it was such a tight fit and tight mold in that room.

"Now, I think that what's changed is it's whole different mindset, not in a negative way, but as far as there's a whole bunch of young guys that are excited to get an opportunity to play and love sharing the game with each other."

Greg Burns has known his top cornerback since high school and he was the first coach to offer standout UA sophomore cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace. He is still getting more familiar with the rest of the group as the Wildcats prepare for the upcoming season.

"Most of the players that I saw from afar are gone," said the UA secondary coach, who was previously also a coach at Oregon State and Cal in recent years. "They were older and or potentially a transfer. ... There's a lot of potential there we just gotta get it all together and see what it looks like when the lights are on and things are going fast."

Right now he's leaning on the more experienced players to help ease the transition from a leadership standpoint.

"The cool part is with this group I got multiple leaders," the UA secondary coach said. "Burns, for sure, is going to be the staple, but he's gonna lead in his own way. He's not gonna be the 'rah, rah' guy. ... I've got Christian Roland-Wallace and he's gonna be the guy that will speak his mind when he has the chance to.

"Then I got Jarrius Wallace. He's probably gonna be the louder one of the group in regards to being demanding."

The Wildcats have playmakers and multiple players that have started games in the secondary, and it is a unit that will be called on this season to help ease some of pressure on the thinned out linebacker group with the team making a move to a new-look defense under coordinator Paul Rhoads.

UA opens up its second full week of fall practice Monday evening in preparation for the season opener Nov. 7 on the road against Utah.

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