Marshall Malchow, who has helped assemble some of the nation's top recruiting classes in recent years serving as UGA's director of recruiting, is leaving Athens to take the same position at Texas A&M. He replaces Austin Thomas, who left Friday to take a position on Dave Aranda's staff at Baylor.

Malchow, a graduate of Alabama, started his career on Nick Saban's staff and worked directly with Kirby Smart, then the defensive coordinator with the Crimson Tide. He then moved on to serve as the director of on-campus recruiting at Louisville, the assistant director of player personnel at Boise State, then the director of player personnel at Washington.

When Smart took over as the head coach at Georgia, Malchow was one of his first hires. During his tenure as the Bulldogs' director of player personnel, Georgia ranked third, first, first and is currently third in the Rivals.com rankings.

Malchow has not worked with coach Jimbo Fisher in the past, but his reputation is firmly established as one of the nation's elite recruiting directors. It is an impressive addition to the Aggies' coaching staff.