OU defensive coordinator Zac Alley nominated for Broyles Award

OU defensive coordinator Zac Alley is a nominee for the Broyles Award, which is given to the top assistant coach in college football. 

Alley, 30, is in his first year at Oklahoma, joining the staff in January this year. He was previously the defensive coordinator at Jacksonville State and Louisiana Monroe. He started his coaching career as a GA at Clemson under Brent Venables. When former defensive coordinator Ted Roof was let go at the end of the 2023 season, Venables called Alley, wanting to reunite in Norman. 

And he’s done a phenomenal job, helping OU have one of the best defenses in the country. The Sooners rank 23rd in scoring defense, 16th in total defense, 11th in sacks and sixth in defensive efficiency. Oklahoma is coming off maybe its best performance of the season on defense, holding Alabama to just three points — the Crimson Tide’s lowest point total in 20 years.

“I was excited,” Alley said earlier this season when asked about being hired at Oklahoma. “It had been a long time. He just found the right fit. Coach V’s definitely not somebody that jumps at every opportunity. He’s going to do things for the right reason, all the time. That’s just how he is as a man. As a foundation of who he is as a person. When he got the opportunity to come here, I was like, man, that’s the right fit. Obviously, being here for a long time, he knows the people. The community. All those things. So I was just really excited for him, just happy to see him get a chance to be a head coach, because he’s really good at it.”

Alley is one of 65 nominees for the award. The winner will be announced sometime in the next week or two. 

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