Texas A&M Aggies To Hire Florida's Jay Bateman As New Defensive Coordinator
Mike Elko has found his new defensive coordinator.
The Texas A&M Aggies are set to hire Florida's Jay Bateman as its next coordinator and linebackers coach. Bateman will share duties with new defensive line coach Sean Spencer, who also was hired by first-year coach Mike Elko from Gainsville.
TexAgs first reported the news of Bateman's hiring, which later was confirmed by a source to AllAggies.com.
Bateman, 50, has spent the last two seasons on staff under Billy Napier as the team's linebacker's coach and tackling coordinator. He is also considered to be one of the better defensive recruiters in college football.
Last season, en route to a 6-7 finish, Bateman helped iVentrell Miller and Amari Burney become draftable targets. Miller was picked in the fourth round by the Jacksonville Jaguars, while the Las Vegas Raiders selected Burney in the sixth round.
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Elko, who's closing in on a top-20 recruiting class in Year 1, has crossed paths with Bateman back at Richmond in 2004. Under Dave Clawson, the duo worked on the Spiders' defense. Elko coached linebackers, while Bateman worked with the secondary.
Prior to his arrival in Gainsville, Bateman served as North Carolina's co-defensive coordinator (2019-21). While at Chapel Hill, Bateman led the Tar Heels to finishing a top-50 scoring defense in 2019.
Before that, Bateman spent four seasons at Army, leading the Black Knights to a No.8 total finish in 2018. He was named a finalist for the Broyles Award for his efforts, which is presented annually to the nation's top assistant coach.
A native of Richmond, Virginia, Bateman also served as defensive coordinator at Elon (2006-10) and Ball State (2011-13). He previously coached at Siena College (1999-2003) and Lehigh (2005) between stops at Richmond and Elon.
The Aggies have so far landed five defensive recruits as part of their 2024 class, including four-star defensive lineman Solomon Williams and four-star safety Myles Davis.
A&M also landed transfers Will Lee III (Kansas State), Alex Young (Youngstown State), and Trey Jones (Central Michigan), who will all be on campus for spring practice.
