Arizona Wildcats tab Marcel Yates to be new defensive coordinator

Less than two weeks after announcing Jeff Casteel would not return as the Arizona Wildcats defensive coordinator, it appears the school has found a replacement.

According to reports, Rich Rodriguez has tabbed Marcel Yates to run Arizona’s defense. The Boise State assistant coach has confirmed it to Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman.

#BoiseState DC Marcel Yates tells @FoxSports he has accepted the #Arizona defensive coordinator job.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 18, 2016

Arizona will reportedly make the official announcement on Monday, and word is already leaking out about the details of his new contract.

Yates gets 2 year contract at Arizona for 530k per year about a 200k per year raise.

— Jeff Caves (@JeffCaves) January 18, 2016

Yates comes to Arizona after being the defensive coordinator for Boise State each of the last two seasons. In 2015, the Broncos ranked 12th in the nation, allowing just 318.3 yards per game while surrendering 20.2 points per contest, a mark that ranked 18th nationally.

Boise State also registered two shutouts on the season, beating Idaho State 52-0 on Sept. 18 and then blanking Hawaii 55-0 two weeks later.

By contrast, the Wildcats allowed 35.8 points per game last season, with 27 sacks and 11 interceptions.

Prior to becoming Boise State’s defensive coordinator in 2014, Yates spent two seasons as the co-defensive coordinator at Texas A&M.

Arizona made another move on defense this past weekend, officially hiring Donte Williams as a defensive assistant on Sunday. Williams was previously at San Jose State for three seasons and is known for his recruiting efforts.

In February 2015, Williams was named a top 10 recruiter in college football by Sports Illustrated.

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