Oklahoma’s Zac Alley joins Rich Rodriguez’s West Virginia staff as defensive coordinator

By The Associated Press

FILE - Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Zac Alley, left, and head coach Brent Venables, right, watch their team play against Tennessee during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Sept. 21, 2024, in Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Alonzo Adams]

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Zac Alley is being reunited with Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia. Rodriguez announced he’s hired the 31-year-old Alley as the Mountaineers’ defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Rodriguez was hired for his second stint as West Virginia’s coach on Dec. 12. Under Rodriguez, Alley spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Jacksonville State. Alley was the youngest defensive coordinator in the Bowl Subdivision at Louisiana-Monroe in 2021 when Rodriguez was the Warhawks’ offensive coordinator. In Alley’s lone season at Oklahoma, the Sooners ranked fifth in the Southeastern Conference in total defense, allowing 318 yards per game.