Elko set to add JMU's Lyle Hemphill to Texas A&M's defensive staff

Mike Elko has made a defensive addition to his Texas A&M staff as Lyle Hemphill comes to Aggieland in a senior assistant role.

Hemphill, 45, comes to College Station after one year as the defensive coordinator at James Madison. Prior to his lone season with the Dukes, he spent two with Elko at Duke as the safeties coach in 2022 before adding co-defensive coordinator to his title for the 2023 campaign.

The hire comes after the Aggies ranked 63rd nationally in yards allowed per game (367.3) and 35th in points allowed per game (22.2).

A 2002 graduate of Ursinus College in Pennsylvania, Hemphill began his coaching career that year as the defensive backs and special teams coach at Division III Delaware Valley. After two seasons with the DelVal Aggies, he became a graduate assistant and secondary coach at Delaware in 2004.

His coaching career includes stops at Hofstra (2006-09), another season with the Blue Hens in 2010 and Stony Brook (2011-2016) before joining Dave Clawson’s Wake Forest staff in 2017.

During his five years in Winston-Salem, the Demon Deacons reached a bowl game each season, and he coached 14 defensive players to a combined 17 All-ACC honors, including safety Jessie Bates III and linebacker Carlos “Boogie” Basham Jr., who both became second-round selections in the NFL Draft in 2018 and 2021, respectively.

After two years as Wake’s safeties coach, Hemphill was elevated to defensive coordinator prior to the 2019 campaign. In 2021, the Deacs reached the ACC title game and ultimately finished No. 15 in that year’s final AP Poll.

Joining Elko’s initial staff in Durham, Hemphill helped the Blue Devils post 9-4 and 8-5 records in 2022 and 2023, respectively. In 2023, Duke finished 10th nationally in red zone defense (74.4%) and 16th in scoring defense (19.0).