OU football: Who is Zac Alley, the Sooners' reported defensive coordinator choice?

NORMAN — One of Brent Venables main talking points when he took over as OU’s head coach two years ago was investing in his players beyond what they could contribute on the field.

In the Sooners’ new defensive coordinator, Zac Alley, Venables appears to have found a young voice that lines up with what Venables preaches off the field and what he wants from his defense on the field.

Alley, 30, has yet to be officially announced as Ted Roof’s replacement as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, but multiple reports have Alley as Venables’ choice.

“I think the biggest thing for me is that I want them to know I love them and treat them in a way that shows them that all the time,” Alley told the Anniston (Alabama) Star last summer. “And I believe that. More than you show a guy that you love them, you care about them, the harder he will play for you, and the more he’ll believe in what you got to say.”

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That Alley and Venables have plenty in common isn’t a surprise.

Alley was already at Clemson when Venables arrived as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator in 2012.

After playing linebacker and offensive line at Charlotte (North Carolina) Country Day, Alley went to Clemson, though not to play football.

Instead, Alley joined Dabo Swinney’s staff as a student assistant in 2011.

When Venables arrived, Alley was able to have a first-hand view of the way Venables built the Tigers’ defense, staying on staff as Venables helped turn Clemson’s defense into one of the nation’s best. They eventually won two national titles there.

“He’s so diligent in the way he prepares and his ability to game plan week to week and get the guys ready,” Alley told the Monroe (Louisiana) News Star in 2021 when asked about Venables. “That’s something he hangs his hat on is understanding offense and he’d give them problems because he’s very diverse. Now we can draw on the board all we want, but it comes down to what the guys can execute week in and week out, and he does such a good job of that.

“That’s what I think makes him so effective is how diverse he is and how he can teach it to the players.”

After eight years at Clemson as a student assistant and graduate assistant, Alley was hired as an assistant at Charlotte.

That didn’t last long, as then-Boise State coach Bryan Harsin offered him as the Broncos’ inside linebacker coach. The next season, he coached outside linebackers and served as the co-special teams coordinator.

Before the 2021 season, he was named Louisiana-Monroe’s defensive coordinator and offensive line coach at 27, becoming the youngest defensive coordinator in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

When Monroe offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez was hired to help Jacksonville State make the leap from Football Championship Series to FBS, Rodriguez brought Alley along.

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In 2023, the Gamecocks’ first FBS season, Alley led a defense that ranked seventh nationally in tackles for loss yards, eighth in turnovers gained, 10th in sacks, 15th in tackles for loss and 22nd in third-down defense.

“For me, we’re going to do whatever it takes to win,” Alley told the News Star. “We’ll have our base alignments that go in, but we’ll look at different shapes and sizes. It’s going to look different based on who we play and I want it to because I don’t want other teams to be able to prepare for what they’ve seen on film. I want to get offense back on their heels and dictate what they do to me and not the other way around.”

Alley’s unusual career path continues to shape who he is as a coach.

“I think I’ve always had that chip honestly,” Alley told the News Star when asked if his youth gave him a chip on his shoulder. “Not that I didn’t belong but maybe I was overlooked because I wasn’t a college player, so I’m going to outwork you, I’m going to teach better than you do, I’m going to prepare more than you do and we’re going to win because of that. That’s something I hang my hat on is I firmly believe I’m going to outwork people.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: A look at reported Sooners' defensive coordinator hire Zac Alley