Jeff Casteel

Hometown: Paden City, W. Va. Position: Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Alma Mater: California University (Pa.), 1984

Year in Coaching: 30th

Year at Arizona: Second

Veteran defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel is in his second season as a member of the Arizona staff under head coach Rich Rodriguez. He also coaches the Wildcat linebackers.

He has more than 25 years of coaching experience and was Rivals' 2007 Defensive Coordinator of the Year and its 2008 Big East Coordinator of the Year. He has coached in 12 bowl games.

In 2012, Arizona's defense was led by linebacker Jake Fischer, an All-Pac-12 honorable mention and CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree. Fischer ranked third in the Pac-12 in total tackles with 76 and 9.2 per game. Cornerback Shaquille Richardson ranked fourth in the league and No. 22 nationally in passes defended with 15. Safety Jared Tevis also earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention nods.

Casteel was defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at West Virginia during the 2003-11 seasons and spent the 2002 season in Morgantown as co-coordinator. He worked with the defensive line at WVU in 2001 and as defensive ends coach at UTEP in 2000.

His multiple spread defense, the 3-3-5, normally uses three down linemen and at times up to half a dozen defensive backs. His 2011 version helped the Mountaineers contain a potent Clemson offense and beat the Tigers, 70-33, in the 2012 Orange Bowl, with four turnovers gained, one for a score.

Among some of Casteel's noteworthy defenses at WVU were units that were No. 4 nationally in turnover margin in 2003; No. 7 nationally in turnover margin and No. 15 in total defense in 2005; best in the Big East and No. 13 nationally in rushing defense and 25th in turnover margin in 2006; No. 7 in total defense, No. 8 in scoring defense, No. 9 in turnover margin and top-20 marks in sacks and rushing defense in 2007; No. 11 in scoring defense and top-20 marks in turnover margin and pass efficiency defense in 2008; and No. 3 nationally in total defense in 2010.

He was the defensive line and strength coach at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, W. Va., in 1989 and 1990 and assistant head coach and defensive coordinator from 1991 to 1999 at Shepherd before moving to Division I football at UTEP.

Shepherd teams won West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles six times while he was assistant head coach. He was part of a WVU staff that led the Mountaineers to an average of 10 victories per season from 2006-11, two of those under Rich Rodriguez.

He began his coaching career at California University in Pennsylvania as a graduate assistant from 1984-86, and then coached the defensive line at Palmetto High School in Miami, Fla., for a year.

Casteel and his wife, Rosemary, have two children, Jacob and Sarah. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from California University (Pa.).