New Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez may not have yet found his first Wildcats defensive coordinator -- Jeff Casteel, we’re waiting -- but he has found a solid piece for whomever takes over that group.
According to the Tucson Citizen and Arizona Daily Star, Akron linebacker Brian Wagner has decided to transfer from the Zips to Arizona. Zips head coach Rob Ianello was fired after the season and replaced by Terry Bowden, and Wagner said he “just kind of felt that I’d look for another option.”
Wagner, who visited the UA campus late this past week, said he looked at several other football programs before deciding on the Wildcats, although the specific names of the schools were not divulged. Oddly enough, it was a graduate program -- biostatistics -- that may have sealed the deal for UA.
“It’s the degree I want, and not a lot of people have it,” Wagner said today. “I can get a good part of that done during my year here. From a football standpoint, it seems like they have a need for a one-year guy. I’m excited to help.”
Speaking of statistics, Wagner was third in the country with 147 total tackles, and he was second behind Boston College’s Luke Kuechly with 15.96 tackles per game. As Kuechly is leaving BC early for the NFL, Wagner will be the nation’s leading returning tackler.
“That’s kind of cool,” Wagner said of being the nation’s top returning tackler. “But stats don’t mean anything. I’m just excited to get to Arizona and help the team win next year.”
Wagner has already graduated from Akron and will be eligible to play immediately for Rodriguez.