Much of what Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch outlined as his requirements for a defensive coordinator fit with the team's newest defensive coach as well. Fisch ultimately decided on Johnny Nansen as the man who lead the Wildcats' defense, but he will not be coming to UA alone. The program announced Monday that UCLA outside linebackers coach Jason Kaufusi will be joining the Wildcats "to be a vital member of the defensive coaching staff" as a replacement for Keith Dudzinski, who is leaving UA to become the defensive coordinator at UMass.

Nansen and Kaufusi spent two seasons together with the Bruins, so there is a clear connection between the two coaches who will continue to work together in Tucson. Kaufusi led the outside linebackers in Westwood while Nansen was in charge of the defensive line.

Kaufusi also has experience coaching the defensive line as he guided that group at Nevada in 2017 and 2018 before making the move to UCLA.

Like Nansen, Kaufusi has strong ties to the Pac-12 footprint as a Salt Lake City native and one-time defensive end at Utah. Arizona's new linebackers coach began his coaching career at Cottonwood High School in Utah before earning his first college position at his alma mater where he helped coach the cornerback unit.

The 42-year-old coach also spent time at BYU and Weber State, where he was the defensive coordinator in 2016.

Most of Kaufusi's career has been spent coaching along the defensive line, but he has helped make improvements to UCLA's linebacker group during his time with the Bruins.

In 2021, the Bruins ranked second in the Pac-12 in sacks (2.17) and rushing defense (124.2). Bo Calvert topped the team with four sacks and Mitchell Agude paced the Pac-12 in forced fumbles (0.33) while adding 6.5 tackles for loss.

During his time at UCLA, Kaufusi has gained experience recruiting areas the Wildcats want to target, including Arizona. He helped bring in Scottsdale-Saguaro four-star linebacker Damien Sellers in 2020 and helped lead the recruitment of current high three-star UCLA linebacker commit Jalen Woods, who attends St. John Bosco High School in Southern California.

The addition of Kaufusi completes the current Arizona coaching staff with Fisch having to replace defensive coordinator Don Brown in addition to Dudzinski in recent weeks. Brown is leaving UA to take over the head coach position at UMass.

UA finished the season 1-11 but made improvements on the defensive side of the ball under Brown, who brought an aggressive style of play to the Wildcats. Arizona's announcement comes as the program will host several recruits on visits this weekend days before the start of the early signing period Wednesday.

The Wildcats currently hold commitments from 17 recruits in the 2022 class and rank 35th in the Rivals.com overall team recruiting rankings. UA is currently rated third in the Pac-12 recruiting rankings.

2004-07: Defensive line/strength coach (Cottonwood High School | Murray, Utah)

2009: Administrative assistant/Cornerbacks (Utah)

2010-11: Defensive ends (Weber State)

2012-13: Defensive graduate assistant (BYU)

2014-15: Defensive ends (Weber State)

2016: Defensive coordinator (Weber State)

2017-18: Defensive line (Nevada)

2019-21: Outside linebackers (UCLA)

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