Villanova Football Roster Preview: Another Year of Experience for the Safeties

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

Villanova had to retool their secondary this offseason after losing promising youngsters like Anthony Hawkins and Zahmir Dawud to the transfer portal. 

Their three prospective options to start at safety are sophomore Jamie Tyson (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) and redshirt freshmen Brenden Toppin (5-foot-11, 195 pounds); junior Jayvont Williams (6-foot-1, 205 pounds) is also in the mix to snag a leading role on the Wildcats’ 3-3-5 defense. Defaulting to nickel personnel, the Wildcats will likely opt for an extra safety as opposed to a third cornerback, making them stouter when it comes time to stop the run.

Williams played in 14 games as a reserve last season, racking up 13 tackles, an interception and a pass breakup. Toppin played seven games and made six tackles, while Tyson recorded 18 tackles, two pass breakups and a pick across 12 games played.

Quality Reserves

From there, Villanova could turn to the 6-foot-3, 200 pound Josh Oluremi, who draws on his size to play like more of a thumper, racking up 27 tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack and a forced fumble in 2025. Senior Garrett Rogan (6-foot-3, 210 pounds) played sparingly over the first three seasons of his college career, but with the Wildcats earning the No. 8 rank in the country in Stats Perform’s FCS Poll, they could end up in plenty of blowouts that will give him a chance to earn playing time.

Otherwise, Rogan can serve as a veteran leader in this young secondary, helping the next generation of Wildcats come into their own. With three freshmen also joining the mix at safety, Luis Martinez (5-foot-10, 190 pounds), Isaiah Selby (6-foot-0, 175 pounds) and Jack DeMenna (5-foot-9, 185 pounds), Villanova has a good deal of youth to draw on if injuries start to crop up.