Arizona football: Marcel Yates wanted to be a Wildcat in high school

How was Rich Rodriguez able to lure a Boise State alum away from the Broncos like this?

The Arizona Wildcats are bringing in Boise State Broncos defensive coordinator Marcel Yates in 2016 after dismissing Jeff Casteel.

It may seem pretty straight forward for a coach to jump from the Mountain West to the Pac-12, as was the case with San Jose State's Donte Williams, who is now the Arizona corners coach. But in Yates' case, he was at the place he played college football, and had spent nearly half his life there.

But the Arizona Desert Swarm defense of the 1990's may have been the reason Yates and his family are moving to Tucson.

"Every coach kind of has their schools where if they were to get offered a job at those certain schools, then they would be interested in them, and Arizona was one," Yates told KTIK in an interview earlier this week. "With me growing up in L.A., and going to high school during the Desert Swarm years; in high school I actually wanted to go to Arizona. The talent on those teams in the Pac-10 on defense were Arizona and Washington State, so those were kind of two schools that I wanted to play for back then."

"So just over the years, I had my schools that if I was offered a job by those schools, I would be interested in them, and Arizona was one. With it being on the West Coast, it was a good fit I thought."

This is not the first time Yates has left his alma mater. In 2011, he left for Texas A&M, but that move made him realize he should stay closer to the Pacific Ocean.

"In leaving Boise State and going to A&M, I realized I thought I was a better fit on the West Coast," coach Yates explained. "I'm not saying I will always be on the West Coast, but as far as recruiting and knowing the landscape, I'm a better fit on the West Coast."

The entire interview lasts just over 16 minutes, and is very interesting when you're looking at things from the Boise perspective. Yates is very open with his thoughts on more of that coaching staff leaving, and what the Broncos will face next year.

Definitely worth a listen, but we are now officially in love with Coach Yates due to his Desert Swarm shoutout just about 20 seconds into his first interview since accepting the Arizona job offer.

http://pic.twitter.com/MyLpIJcbf4

— Melanie Yates (@MelanieYates17) January 19, 2016

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