John Rushing holds strong ties with Kevin Sumlin, Marcel Yates

By Justin Spears / Arizona Daily Star

Arizona safeties coach John Rushing is new to the UA, but his relationship with head coach Kevin Sumlin and defensive coordinator Marcel Yates dates back to the ‘90s.

When Rushing was a freshman at Washington State, Sumlin was a graduate assistant before leaving for Purdue in 1990. Fast forward to when Rushing became a graduate assistant at Boise State in 1996, Yates was a player. And fast forwarding even more. Rushing and Yates coached together in the secondary unit at Montana State from 2000-02.

Rushing’s career took a different turn than Sumlin and Yates. While the two were climbing the ranks in the college coaching scene, Rushing ventured off into the NFL and joined the Green Bay Packers’ coaching staff for eight seasons, winning a Super Bowl in 2011. He was also the defensive consultant for the Los Angeles Rams in 2016, and joined Oregon State’s staff as a safeties coach for the 2017 season.

His journey as a coach comes full circle reuniting with Sumlin and Yates as he embraces one of the deepest positions heading into the 2018 season. At safety, Arizona returns Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, Jarrius Wallace, Tristan Cooper, Xavier Bell, Troy Young and Isaiah Hayes.

Rushing spoke with the media after Wednesday’s practice, here’s what he had to say.