Fisher raids Irish staff

New Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher on Thursday lured defensive coordinator Mike Elko away from Notre Dame.

Texas A&M has hired Notre Dame defensive coordinator Mike Elko to coach Jimbo

Fisher's defense.

Texas A&M announced the hiring on 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. Texas A&M tried to hire

Dave Aranda away from LSU, but he chose to stay with the Tigers and signed a four-year deal worth $10 million on 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.

Fisher took over at Texas A&M last month after eight seasons at Florida State. Fisher took neither of his coordinators from Florida State with him to College Station, hiring Darrell Dickey away from Memphis to be offensive coordinator and now Elko to lead the defense.

Stanford DL Harrison Phillips to enter NFL draft

Stanford defensive lineman Harrison Phillips will bypass his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft.

Phillips announced his decision on Thursday.

Phillips was a third-team All-American this season when he had 14 ½ tackles for loss and 7 ½ sacks for the Cardinal. Phillips had one year of eligibility remaining because he had a seasonending knee injury in the 2015 opener and was eligible for a medical redshirt.