The Arizona Wildcats entered 2017 spring practice with two assistant coaching vacancies, the only Power Five school to have multiple spots on the staff available.
One of those spots seems to have been taken based on UTEP wide receivers coach Theron Aych’s Twitter profile.
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Aych was at UTEP for just one year after spending five years at Angelo State (San Angelo, TX) as the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach.
According to his UTEP bio, Aych spent two seasons as an assistant at Washington (2003-04) and three years at Houston (2000-02). At UW, he was a grad assistant that was working with the linebackers and punters. While in Houston, Aych coached running backs, tight ends, and kickers.
He had not coached at the D-1 level since 2004 before joining the UTEP staff last year.
In 2016, UTEP only averaged 183.7 yards per game through the air. The Miners averaged more rushing yards per contest (185.5) than passing, which was just like Arizona. The Wildcats averaged 178.1 passing yards per game last year compared to 235.0 on the ground.
This move is likely to help Arizona gain ground on the recruiting front in the state of Texas. This is a state that UA hasn’t exactly had a ton of success in the Rich Rodriguez era, and if the Cats are able to gain any kind of footing with the top prospects there, that could improve the overall recruiting efforts.
Arizona and UTEP play each other in 2017. They will meet on Saturday, September 16th in El Paso.