UAFB

In reshaping the Arizona Wildcats’ defensive staff, Rich Rodriguez had several goals in mind. Chief among them: boost the UA’s recruiting prowess.

Rodriguez’s latest hire should help in that area in a big way.

Arizona on Sunday announced the addition of Donté Williams to its defensive staff in an unspecified capacity. Williams spent the past three seasons at San Jose State, where he gained a reputation as one of the best, up-and-coming recruiters in the West.

“I am excited to bring Coach Williams on staff here at Arizona,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “He is a bright, young coach that is an outstanding evaluator of talent and someone who has shown he can develop players. He will bring an energy on and off the field that will have an immediate impact on our program.”

Last year, Sports Illustrated named Williams one of the top 10 recruiters in college football. 247Sports.com named him the top recruiter in the Mountain West Conference last year among assistant coaches.

Williams, 33, coached defensive backs at San Jose State, a year ago adding the title of recruiting coordinator. The Spartans ranked first in the nation in pass defense in 2014 (117.8 yards per game) and second in 2015 (157.8).

Williams spent the 2011 and ’12 seasons as a graduate assistant at Washington. In 2010, he served as an assistant linebackers coach at Nevada.

“He works his butt off, he’s a solid coach and he’s a great recruiter,” said Greg Biggins, national recruiting analyst for Fox Sports and Scout.com.

Biggins said Williams quickly gained a reputation as a top-notch talent evaluator, regularly securing commitments from under-the-radar prospects before Pac-12 schools would catch on and flip them. Examples include a trio of three-star prospects: cornerbacks Darren Gardenhire and Sidney Jones (both of whom ended up at Washington) and safety/athlete Leni Toailoa (UCLA).

Jones earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors this past season as a sophomore. Gardenhire started 9 of 13 games in 2015 for the Huskies. Toailoa will be a freshman this year.

Arizona still has two openings on its staff, including defensive coordinator. Williams’ exact role will be determined once the coordinator position is finalized. Arizona has a cornerbacks coach in place in Jahmile Addae, whom Rodriguez promoted in December. Assuming Addae remains in that role, Williams could coach safeties or linebackers.

Williams described himself as a defensive backs coach after updating his Twitter account. He tweeted the following message Sunday:

The favorite for the coordinator job is believed to be Marcel Yates, the defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Boise State. Yates has been linked to the UA in various reports, and a source told the Star he was a contender. The school likely will fill the coordinator post within the next few days.

Williams played collegiately at Syracuse and Idaho State and professionally in the Arena Football League 2 before beginning his coaching career at Los Angeles Harbor College.

Williams made $116,296 last year at SJSU, according to USA Today, and likely will get a substantial raise at Arizona. The Wildcats' lowest-paid full-time assistant was safeties coach Matt Caponi, who made $191,400, including bonuses. Caponi left the UA earlier this month to join the staff at West Virginia.

Here's more from Biggins on Williams' hire:

And here's a video interview of Williams, courtesy of UA Athletics:

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