(Photo: Mamta Popat/Arizona Daily Star)
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: This is the year the Arizona Wildcats defense will put it all together.
The elements seemed to be in place a year ago. Marcel Yates was retained as defensive coordinator, ensuring continuity amid a regime change. The green freshmen who played sizable roles in 2017 would be rising sophomores in ’18.
Then the Wildcats hit the field, and the jump didn’t happen — at least not to the degree the UA and its faithful were hoping. Arizona again ranked in the bottom four in the Pac-12 in total defense, points allowed and third-down percentage.