TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) National champion Alabama has hired former Texas assistant Jay Valai as cornerbacks coach.

Coach Nick Saban announced the hiring on Thursday of Valai, who spent last season in the same post for then-Longhorns coach Tom Herman.

Valai served as cornerbacks coach at Rutgers in 2019 after spending the 2018 season with the Kansas City Chiefs, serving as defensive quality control and assistant defensive backs coach.

''Jay is an excellent young coach who possesses outstanding knowledge and enthusiasm for the game,'' Saban said in a statement. ''He is a really good teacher and an outstanding recruiter who works tirelessly at his craft.''

Valai was a four-year letter winner at Wisconsin, where he captained the Badgers 2010 Rose Bowl team. Then he opened a sports performance training facility, working with NBA and NFL athletes, as well as high school students.

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