Defensive coordinator Marcel Yates works with some of his unit before the kick-off at the University of Arizona's spring game in Arizona Stadium, Saturday, April 14, 2018, Tucson, Ariz.
Arizona was ranked No. 118 in total defense and coughed up 34 points per game last season. The Wildcats' opponents averaged 6.3 yards per play and 471 yards per game. That's not good.
The glass-half-full side of it? The Wildcats started six freshmen on defense, including freshman All-American linebackers Colin Schooler and Tony Fields. Those two return as the leaders of a growing defense that remains young, but experienced considering all of the returners were baptized by fire in 2017.
Despite a new coaching staff, Kevin Sumlin retained defensive coordinator Marcel Yates, who is entering his third season at UA. Yates overlooked the secondary for the last two seasons, but is now only coaching the defensive line and linebackers.
The defense for the most part isn't new.
UA added PJ Johnson, a 6-foot-4, 330-pound defensive tackle from San Francisco College. With Dereck Boles back as a defensive tackle, the linebackers and safeties back in the fold, plus Jace Whittaker and Lorenzo Burns returning as cornerbacks, Arizona could put together a sound defense if it can stay healthy.
Yates and Fields spoke to the media after Arizona's practice on Thursday, here's what they had to say:
