Texas A&M Football: New DC DJ Durkin is already on the recruiting trail

The Texas A&M football team’s 2022 offseason has been filled with huge recruiting news, roster changes, and speculation. One piece of news, however, seems to rise above the rest in terms of importance. That news is in regards to the departure of defensive coordinator Mike Elko, who took the Duke head coaching job earlier in the offseason.

This left the position open, giving Jimbo Fisher an opportunity to pick a new hire.

It would be a slow and relatively uneventful coaching search but Fisher would ultimately land on DJ Durkin as the team’s new defensive coordinator. Durkin was the former defensive coordinator at Michigan, Florida, and later on, Ole Miss.

The Texas A&M football team’s new defensive coordinator in DJ Durkin is already knee-deep in recruiting

Many were critical of Ole Miss’s hire of DJ Durkin in 2020, as Durkin had been involved in a scandal during his time as head coach with the Maryland Terrapins. He would subsequently be fired before working as a consultant with the Atlanta Falcons, which allowed him to get his foot into the door.

And as bad as it sounds, Durkin still gets results. The now-TAMU assistant isn’t the top dog anymore — if you think Jimbo Fisher is going to allow him to repeat his past mistakes on this Aggie staff, you’re dead wrong. Durkin is here to do a job and without a doubt on thin ice.

This is a common understanding and, as a result, Durkin is already out on the recruiting trail for Texas A&M. He and defensive ends coach Terry Price were spotted recruiting at Wylie East High School in Texas.

In all likelihood, Durkin’s ties to the northeast region of the US will help Texas A&M recruit players from that area, as rare as that may be. The Aggie defensive coordinator has a strong connection to that area after his time with Maryland a few years back.

Durkin also holds arguably more important ties to the Florida area, as he was on the Gators’ staff for five years as a linebackers coach, defensive coordinator, and interim head coach. These ties will go a long way — one of Texas A&M’s five-star recruits in the 2022 class is from the state of Florida (Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy).

Again, say what you want about Durkin — he gets results and will not even have an opportunity to repeat his mistakes as defensive coordinator. No matter what your opinion of him is, this is a strong hire for on-field results.