Gophers assistant head coach Maurice Linguist leaves for Texas A&M

Maurice Linguist, promoted to Gophers assistant head coach in December, is leaving Minnesota to become Texas A&M's defensive backs coach, according to multiple media reports Monday night. On Twitter, Linguist changed his bio to say he is an assistant coach at Texas A&M.

Linguist, 33, served as Gophers defensive backs coach in 2016 and was promoted to assistant head coach by head coach P.J. Fleck after the season. He'll join the staff of new Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, who left Florida State for College Station. Linguist is a Mesquite, Texas, native who played at Baylor.

Considered an outstanding recruiter, Linguist has strong ties in Texas and Georgia and recruited those states for the Gophers. He helped the Gophers sign five players from Georgia during December's early signing period, including four-star wide receiver Rashod Bateman, who had late offers from SEC schools Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and Texas A&M.

"Mo Linguist has established relationships [in Georgia] for years, and that's one of the reasons he was hired," Fleck said during the signing day news conference. "These young people love him, absolutely love him."

Linguist was defensive backs coach at Mississippi State in 2016 before joining Fleck's first staff with the Gophers. He previously coached at Iowa State, Buffalo, James Madison, Valdosta State and Baylor.

Linguist will join another former Gophers coach on the Texas A&M staff. Tim Brewster, Minnesota's head coach from 2007 through seven games into the 2010 season, is the Aggies tight ends coach after following Fisher from Florida State.