NORMAN — Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables completed his full-time coaching staff Tuesday when he announced the hiring of Jay Valai as the Sooners' new co-defensive coordinator/pass defense. Valai (pronounced vuh-LIE) will coach cornerbacks and nickelbacks at OU.
A former All-Big Ten defensive back at Wisconsin, Valai has coached at both the collegiate and NFL levels since joining the profession in 2016. This season he helped Alabama to a 13-2 record, an SEC title and an appearance in the CFP National Championship Game. Alabama ranked seventh nationally in total defense (304.1 yards per game) and 18th in scoring defense (20.1 points per game) while totaling 15 interceptions and 45 pass breakups. Redshirt junior cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis earned second-team All-SEC honors after registering a team-high-tying three interceptions in his 11 games.
Prior to this year, Valai served as cornerbacks coach at Texas in 2020 and Rutgers in 2019. He spent the 2018 season with the Kansas City Chiefs in a defensive quality control role and as assistant defensive backs coach, and was a defensive quality control assistant at Georgia in 2016 and '17.
During his season at Texas, the Longhorns ranked third in the Big 12 in opponent yards per completion (13.5), fourth in pass efficiency defense (128.7) and fourth in opponent yards per pass attempt (6.8). In 2018 with Kansas City, the Chiefs ranked 12th in the NFL regular season in pass efficiency defense (92.7). They went 12-4 before beating Indianapolis in the divisional round of the playoffs and eventually lost in overtime to New England in the AFC Championship Game.
As a staff member at Georgia, he helped the Bulldogs to a College Football Playoff semifinals win over Oklahoma at the Rose Bowl at the end of the 2017 season. He has worked two national championship games (2017 and 2021 seasons).
Valai was a four-year letterwinner at Wisconsin, where he was a senior captain on its 2010 Rose Bowl team. He earned second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2008 and '09 and totaled 153 tackles, four forced fumbles and a pair of interceptions in 48 career games in helping the Badgers to a 37-15 record. His three forced fumbles in 2008 paced the Big Ten. He appeared in four bowl games and helped UW to the 2010 Big Ten title, an 11-2 overall record (7-1 in league play) and a No. 7 final AP ranking.
Following his playing career, Valai opened a sports-performance training facility and for six years (2011-16) worked with professional athletes from the NBA and NFL, as well as with high school student-athletes.
A native of Euless, Texas, he lettered in football, basketball and track at Colleyville Heritage High School. As a senior in 2005, he was a PrepStar All-American, first-team All-District 5-5A selection and district special teams player of the year. A captain that season, he was also named the squad's co-defensive MVP and its special teams MVP.
Valai graduated from Wisconsin in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in life science communication and earned a certificate of business. He and his wife Courtney have two daughters, Jayla and Kenzli, and a son, Jaxon.
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OKLAHOMA HEAD COACH BRENT VENABLES:
"Jay is one of the up-and-coming coaches in college football. He brings a tremendous amount of passion and energy to the job, as well as a real love for the game and for relationship-building. He's experienced the game collegiately at the highest level as a player at Wisconsin and has gained terrific coaching experience on the NFL and college levels. He'll bring a lot of great ideas from a scheme standpoint, he's one of the best teachers in the game and he's got a great reputation as a recruiter. He's going to be a head coach sooner rather than later. Sometimes you know when guys have 'it,' and Jay certainly has it.
"I met him on the recruiting trail years ago and immediately connected with him. Our philosophies meshed and I really liked his passion for the game and his desire to be a great leader. So we exchanged numbers and stayed in touch. He loves his craft and is mature beyond his years regarding X's and O's and the teaching of all defensive positions. I've just been drawn to his thirst for knowledge and his great sense of humility. He asked me if I minded serving as one of his mentors and I was just honored. Loved his hunger and toughness and how he had a good edge about him. We set time aside to clinic on the phone or even in person, and would also talk a lot about people, relationships and things like that. A lot of our values aligned as husbands and fathers, and certainly as coaches in this profession. Really excited for Jay and his wife and children to get to Norman. Our players will love his expertise, his passion and his ability to connect."
CO-DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR/PASS DEFENSE/CORNERBACKS AND NICKEL BACKS JAY VALAI:
"Coach Venables and I met on the road recruiting years ago and he has always been awesome to me as a mentor. We both love football so much and I've loved talking about the nuances of the game with him. Just going back and forth with ideas and thoughts, scheme adjustments and so on. We just really clicked. But I also really admire his passion. That's one thing you can't hide in life, and Coach Venables is one of the most passionate and authentic human beings you could ever meet.
"Alabama has been awesome and Nick Saban is the G.O.A.T. I learned so much working under him and we have a tremendous relationship. He and Miss Terry have been amazing to my family and me. But to get the opportunity to be closer to home working for an Oklahoma program I grew up watching while living in Dallas and to work with Brent and be a cook in the kitchen with him is special. I'm excited. It's beyond a blessing to be part of Sooner Nation."
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Venables Hires Valai to Complete Coaching Staff - University of Oklahoma - Soonersports.com
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