Texas Football: Jay Valai joining Holgorsen’s staff as CB coach
Now former first-year Texas football cornerbacks coach Jay Valai has officially found his next landing spot in the college football coaching ranks late this week. The former Wisconsin Badgers defensive back has reportedly (per 247Sports, among multiple reports) joined the staff of head coach Dana Holgorsen with the Houston Cougars to become their next defensive backs coach.
Valai will wind up holding a very similar role to that he had with the Longhorns, under now former fourth-year head coach Tom Herman. During the 2020 season, Valai was set as the sole cornerbacks coach for the Longhorns under the direction of Herman and first-year defensive coordinator/safeties coach Chris Ash.
Now that Ash is also out of his role on the Forty Acres early in the 2021 offseason, Valai was forced to find a new home too. Ash will be an assistant in his first NFL job, on staff with newly hired head coach Urban Meyer and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Former Texas head coach Charlie Strong also landed a job on staff with Meyer and the Jags this offseason.
Where former Texas football assistant Valai goes from here
Moreover, Valai will now get his third stab at being a defensive backs/cornerbacks coach in the college football ranks (more specifically in the FBS). Although, this will be his first stint as a Group of Five positional coach. His last two roles were as a cornerbacks coach with the Longhorns, and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (during the 2019 season).
Valai seemingly recruited well during his one year on the Forty Acres as the cornerbacks coach. He helped in the process of landing key commitments like 2022 Memorial cornerback Jaylon Guilbeau and 2021 four-star corners Ishmael Ibraheem and Jamier Johnson.
But now Valai will be off to join a former Big 12 head coach (from his days with the West Virginia Mountaineers) in Holgorsen to try and right the ship with the Cougars. Ironically enough, Houston was the head coaching job that Herman held prior to getting the same role with the Longhorns heading into the 2017 offseason.
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Texas finished up the 2020 season with a record of 7-3 (5-3 Big 12), including an Alamo Bowl win over the Colorado Buffaloes back on Dec. 29 in their final game. Meanwhile, Holgorsen and the Cougars finished up last season with a record of 3-5 (3-3 AAC), including a New Mexico Bowl loss to Hawaii from back on Dec. 24.