Elko leaves Notre Dame for Texas a& m

Texas A&M has hired Notre Dame defensive coordinator Mike Elko to coach Jimbo Fisher’s defense.

Texas A&M announced the hiring Thursday, a few hours after Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly posted on Twitter that Elko had accepted an offer to be the Aggies’ defensive coordinator. Elko was at Notre Dame for one season and the Fighting Irish defense took a big step forward, from 5.40 yards per play allowed (45th in the nation) to 5.05 (25th). He spent the previous three seasons at Wake Forest.

“I’m excited to bring one of the top defensive minds in the nation onto our staff here at Texas A&M,” Fisher said in a statement “No matter where Mike has worked, he has consistently produced defenses that have been among the nation’s best.”

Texas A&M tried to hire Dave Aranda away from LSU, but he chose to stay with the Tigers and signed a fouryear deal worth $10 million Wednesday night. Aranda is the first FBS assistant to make more than $2 million per year.

Elko, 40, spent three seasons at Wake Forest before being hired by Kelly as part of a major overhaul to Notre Dame’s staff. The Irish went 4-8 last season but rebounded to 10-3 this year, including a 21-17 victory against LSU in the Citrus Bowl.

Yale: Carmen “Carm” Cozza, who coached Yale to 10 Ivy League football titles over 32 years as well as the famed 29-29 tie with Harvard, died Thursday. He was 87.

Cozza coached the Bull- dogs from 1965 to 1996 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002. He retired as the winningest coach in Ivy League history, with a career record of 179-119-5, including an undefeated 1968season that ended in a famous 29-29 tie with Harvard.

Harvard scored 16 points in the final minute for the tie. The headline in the Harvard Crimson student news- paper read, “Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29.” Cozza called the outcome “devastating” — the “worst loss of my life, even though it was a tie.”

Cozza had 19 winning seasons at Yale and between 1974 and 1981 won seven of eight Ivy crowns.

“He was an inspiration to all he coached and the best representative Yale could ever hope to have,” said Brian Dowling, the quar- terback of the 1968 team. “Even though he was only 15 years older than me, he was like a surrogate father to me as I lost mine when I was 19.”

Cozza was born in Parma, Ohio, and earned a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Miami of Ohio, where he played quarterback, run- ning back and defensive back for legendary coaches Ara Parseghi a n and Woody Hayes. He also ran track and played baseball, leading to a brief stint in the minor leagues with affiliates of the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.

Cozza began coaching with Miami’s freshmen football team in 1956 and was promoted to the varsity staff in 1961. He left with coach John Pont in 1963 to become Yale’s backfield coach and succeeded Pont as head coach two years later.

Washington State: Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch is leaving the Cougars and joining Ohio State as an assistant coach, a person with knowledge of the decision told the Associated Press on Thursday.

The person spoke on con- dition of anonymity because the deal was still being final- ized. Ohio State spokesman Jerry Emig says there would be no announcement on the addition of a 10th assistant coach on Urban Meyer’s staff until next week at earliest. A new NCAA rule goes into effect after this season that allows FBS teams to expand staffs to 10 full-time assistant coaches.

Sports Illustrated first reported Grinch was heading to Ohio State. Grinch, an Ohio native who played at Division III powerhouse Mount Union, has been with Washington State since 2015. The 37-year-old directed a defense ranked 16th in the country in yards allowed per game (323.3) and 34th in yard per play (5.13) this season. The Cougars ranked second in the Pac-12 in both those categories. Washington State also ranked eighth in the nation in tackles for loss with 103.

Oklahoma: Left tackle Orlando Brown is entering the NFL draft, where he is projected as a high first-round pick. The 6-foot-8, 345-pound redshirt junior announced his decision Thursday on Twitter. He says he has had an “amazing” four years and “wouldn’t want to be a part of any other university.”

Brown, from Peachtree Ridge High School, was a first-team All-Americ an, an Outland Trophy finalist and a team captain this season. He was a second-team All-American last season. Brown anchored three of the best offenses in school history and helped quarterback Baker Mayfield finish in the top four of the Heisman Trophy balloting three times. He started all 40 games of his career. Brown’s late father, Orlando Sr., played for the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens.

Florida State: Josh Sweat will forego his final year of eligibility and enter the NFL draft. The 6-foot-5, 253-pound defensive lineman led the Seminoles in sacks (5.5) and tackles for loss (12.5). He also had 56 tackles, which led the defensive line and was third on the team. Sweat chose not to play in the Seminoles’ Independence Bowl victory over Southern Mississippi on Dec. 27. Sweat is the third Florida State player to declare for the draft, joining safety Derwin James and tight end Ryan Izzo.

Stanford: Defensive lineman Harrison Phillips will bypass his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft. Phillips was a third-team All-American this season when he had 14½ tackles for loss and 7½ sacks forthe Cardinal. He had one year of eligibility remaining because he had a season-ending knee injury in the 2015 opener and was eligible for a medical redshirt.

Oregon: The Ducks have named Donte Williams outside linebackers coach. Williams comes to Oregon after spending a season as an assistant at Nebraska, coaching cornerbacks and performing other duties. Before that he was cornerbacks coach at Arizona for a season. Williams, who played at Idaho State, was also an assistant at San Jose State.

Duke: Coach David Cutcliffe said lineman Jack Wohlabaugh is transferring in after two seasons at Ohio State. Wohlabaugh will enroll at Duke for the start of the spring semester Jan. 10, sit out this season and have two years of eligibility remaining beginning in 2019. He did not appear in any games in his two seasons with the Buckeyes but was a four-star prospect in high school. He follows Evan Lisle, who started at right tackle for the Blue Devils this season as a graduate transfer after playing three seasons for Ohio State.