Villanova Football Roster Preview: Inexperienced Talent at Cornerback

This is one in a series of stories breaking down Villanova Football’s roster ahead of the 2026 season.

Villanova Football threw a young secondary into the fire during the 2025 season, with players like Zahmir Dawud and Anthony Hawkins maturing on the fly, struggling mightily in the early going before finding a rhythm as the year went on. The Wildcats will need to do it all again in 2026, with Dawud and Hawkins transferring to Power Four programs and just two players with any college experience — Newton Essiem and Amari Jackson, the latter of whom redshirted last season — listed specifically at cornerback.

Per Villanova’s roster, Essiem (5-foot-11, 185 pounds) should start this season after serving in a reserve role in 2025; Jackson (6-foot-0, 185 pounds) will battle for the other spot with junior transfer Mikey Allen (6-foot-0, 185 pounds), formerly of Southern Utah. 

Flood of Freshmen

The rest of the Wildcats’ talent at cornerback consists of incoming freshmen: Josiah Adams (6-foot-0, 165 pounds), Jordan Taylor (6-foot-0, 175 pounds) and Abu Fofana (6-foot-1, 180 pounds), the last of whom is a lanky speedster perhaps best prepared for major playing time of any of the youngsters.

Adams could probably stand to add some bulk, while Taylor is another excellent all-around athlete who logged a reported 40-inch vertical, 4.45 second 40-yard dash and an 11-foot-1 broad jump ahead of his senior year of high school. The Wildcats also have players who could fit in at both corner and safety, with redshirt freshman Samir Wilkins (5-foot-11, 170 pounds) and sophomore Ian Files (6-foot-0, 190 pounds) both listed vaguely as members of the secondary. Based on his size, Wilkins might fit best as a slot corner.

All in all, Villanova has plenty of talent at cornerback heading into 2026… but their Division I readiness is a question mark. Injuries could provide a major issue if the Wildcats need to rely on the next man up.