Arizona is expected to hire Iona Uiagalelei of Mt. San Antonio College as its defensive line coach – an interesting addition to say the least.
Uiagalelei has been the defensive coordinator at Mt. SAC since 2006 and the associate head coach at the California junior college since 2010. He has coached several standout players, including Bruce Irvin of the Oakland Raiders.
Uiagalelei is also the uncle of DJ Uiagalelei, one of the top quarterback prospects in the country for the class of 2020. The younger Uiagalelei plays at powerhouse St. John Bosco and has offers from blue-blood programs such as USC, Alabama, Florida State, LSU and Michigan.
Another of Iona Uiagalelei’s nephews, Oregon State offensive lineman Kammy Delp, tweeted a message of congratulations to his uncle late Wednesday night. Current Arizona defensive tackle Sione Taufahema responded by saying he’s “happy to have him as my new D-line coach!”
Excited for my uncle Iona Uiagalelei as he retires being a coach at Mt. Sac for 18 years, & becomes the new Defensive Line coach for the University of Arizona!! 🙏🏾
— Kammy Delp (@HateKammy) January 25, 2018
Kevin Sumlin has yet to announce his staff. The Star has been able to confirm at least two additions: Jeremy Springer and Demetrice Martin.
Springer will be the Wildcats’ special-teams coach. He worked for Sumlin at Texas A&M as a quality-control coach focusing on special teams. Springer played linebacker at UTEP, recording a team-high 70 tackles in 2011, his final season.
Martin spent the past six seasons coaching defensive backs at UCLA under Jim Mora. Martin was not retained by new Bruins coach Chip Kelly.
Before UCLA, Martin coached at Washington, USC, Mt. SAC (where he worked with Uiagalelei) and Pasadena City College. Martin likely will share secondary coaching responsibilities with defensive coordinator Marcel Yates, who tutored cornerbacks and “Spur” safeties last season.
Two more things worth noting regarding Uiagalelei:
- It’s not clear whether he would coach interior defensive linemen or the entire line. Arizona divided those duties last season, assigning Vince Amey to the interior linemen and Brian Knorr to the edge rushers. Sumlin had a similar setup at A&M.
- Arizona could recruit DJ Uiagalelei despite an NCAA rule passed last year prohibiting the hiring of “individuals associated with a prospect.” The rule applies to camps and support-staff positions, not on-field assistants.
