When Marcel Yates was brought in as the Arizona Wildcats’ defensive coordinator in 2016, replacing Jeff Casteel, the hire was widely praised.
It showed a willingness of then-coach Rich Rodriguez to go outside his comfort zone, adding a young assistant known for recruiting rather than stick with the tried-and-true old-school coaches he’d worked with throughout his career.
But while Yates’ acumen on the recruiting trail has shown in his two-plus years with the Wildcats, his in-game performance has left a lot to be desired.
Arizona ranked 119th (out of 130 FBS schools) in total defense last season, down from 115th in 2016 when the team posted an abysmal 3-9 record.