5th – SEC West

College Station, TX | Kyle Field (102, 733) | 2017 Record: 7-6 (4-4)

It was obvious after the UCLA debacle to open the 2017 season that Kevin Sumlin wasn’t going to survive the season. The moment that decided the fate of not only that game, but the entire season was when Kevin Sumlin decided to be politically correct. What do I mean by that? With 15 seconds left in the first half, Texas A&M was up 38-10 and to be honest, the score didn’t even feel that close. It felt closer to 100-0. The Aggie offensive and defensive line absolutely dominated the first half of that football. With 15 seconds left in the first half, A&M had the ball on the UCLA 40 yard line (with a timeout may I add). Instead of calling a timeout and call one or two plays to try and get within field goal range (heck, the way they had been playing, they could have probably scored another touchdown), Sumlin decided to let the clock run out. To me, that took the fire and competitive edge out of the Aggies. That whole second half felt like a bunch of guys trying to protect a lead instead of a bunch of guys imposing their will on the other team. That decision at the end of the first half cost A&M the game and Sumlin his job. I have no proof of that, but after watching a lot of A&M collapses and looking at the coaching staffs and recruits this program had at its disposal, I feel confident saying that was the defining moment of not only that game or season, but the defining moment of the Sumlin tenure. I haven’t read or heard of anyone else saying that, so maybe I am insane, but that’s what I believe.

Image from USA Today

I also believe that Jimbo Fisher is going to be much more successful at A&M then people are predicting. Fisher is a great recruiter, and he will put the competitive edge back into this program. The Aggies are already competing at unbelievable levels on the recruiting trail, and if anyone can put the “Fear of God” into a quarterback, it is Jimbo. You won’t see it in 2018, but by the 2020s, A&M will be competing for SEC Titles. Jimbo left the ACC Atlantic for the SEC West at the right time. Yes, Alabama looks like it still has a lot of time left on its tyrannical ride, but Saban will turn 67 years old this Fall while Dabo will only be 49 years old. If Jimbo can start stockpiling and building a program for these next few years, by the time Saban leaves Alabama, and the entire SEC West struggles to replace the Tide as top dog, A&M might be in the best position to do it.

Fisher can be a lot more successful. Image from Texas A&M Athletics.

Offense

Quarterbacks: Christian Ponder, EJ Manuel, Jameis Winston, Everrette Golson, and Deondre Francois were the starting quarterbacks for Florida State under Jimbo Fisher. That is pretty dang good. A&M needs those types of players (maybe not people, but I digress) to start at the quarterback position. According to Jimbo, the quarterback competition is open, but if I was a betting man, I would say Nick Starkel (6-3, 220) wins the competition. The reason is simple – he is a better passer and better decision maker.  In less passing attempts than his counterpart, Kellen Mond (6-2, 210), Starkel threw for more yards, completed more passes, and threw for more touchdowns. Watching the A&M spring game, I was very impressed with how comfortable Starkel looked in the pocket, and I think he will pick up where he left off at the end of last season. Kellen Mond will still be featured in some run-heavy, Wildcat-like packages, but the starter will and should be Nick Starkel.

Starting quarterback position is still wide open. Image for Go Aggie Gazette.

Running Back: For a team that finished a mere 10^th in the SEC in rushing yards per game last season, the Aggies sure had a great running back tandem. Only one half of that tandem returns this season as Keith Ford tries and makes a career for himself in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills. Who returns? Trayveon Williams (5-9, 200), a big-time back out of Houston, returns for his junior season. Williams might be the fastest running back I have seen hit his top speed almost immediately. Williams is fast, don’t get me wrong, but it isn’t necessarily his speed that impresses me, but his acceleration. I have watched a ton of SEC football. Like an unhealthy amount of SEC football. Very few hit their top speed as quickly as Williams. That acceleration is what makes him so tough to tackle within the line of scrimmage. He is up to the second level after one cut in a blink of an eye. A&M signed five running backs in this last class. So depth, albeit unproven depth, should not be an issue for A&M this year.

Trayveon Williams has that breakaway speed. Image from USA Today.

Wide Receiver: Every single year it feels like A&M hauls in some highly touted receiver prospects and every single year it feels like A&M has one of the best receiving corps in the country and every single year it feels like they have a decent, but unspectacular passing attack. Since 2015, the Aggies have consistently had about 40-45 other teams rank ahead of them in passing yards per game. This year, despite losing Christian Kirk and Damion Ratley, the Aggies do return some proven talent in true sophomore Jhamon Ausbon (6-2, 220) who caught 50 passes last season. There is a lot of youth, however, in this position group. Sophomores Camron Buckley, Klyde Chriss, Roshauud Paul, and Kendrick Rogers, all try and stave off true freshman, blue chip signee Jalen Preston (6-2, 215) who was courted by all of the Texas and Oklahoma schools.

Offensive Line: I’ve said this a lot about Texas A&M, mostly in regard to their defense, but I’ll say it anyway – just because you have returning starters, doesn’t mean their good. If you watched just the first half of the UCLA game, and only the first half of the UCLA game, then you would have thought that this was the best run blocking offensive line in the country. That wasn’t the case for the rest of the season. A&M finished a mere 78^th nationally in rushing yards per game, and it wasn’t because there was a lack of talent running the football. This offensive line is going to need to play a lot better if A&M is going to have a winning record in conference play. This offensive line has to go up against Clemson and LSU at home, both of which are elite defensive lines, and then has to play at Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi State, and Auburn, all four of which range from very good to excellent defensive fronts. This is why Erik McCoy (6-4, 315) at center and Keaton Sutherland (6-5, 315) at tackle have to play their best football this season. Tackle Koda Martin decided to play his last season of college football at Syracuse as a graduate transfer, so between that and lackluster play up front in 2017, look for 2018 to look a lot different.

McCoy needs to be the anchor for this O-Line. Image from 12th Man.

Defense

Defensive Line: For the first time in a long time, Texas A&M might actually have a better defense in 2018 than offense. With concerns on the offensive line and at quarterback, and with unproven depth at both receiver  and running back, it must be refreshing for the new A&M coaching staff to know that there is some talented defensive guys up front for the Aggies. To me, it all starts with the massive senior, Daylon Mack. Mack was a five-star prospect coming out of high school and was recruited by all the top dogs in Texas and the SEC. But to this point he has been nothing more than an out-of-shape, unimpressive, yet super talented player.This year’s combination of Jimbo Fisher as head coach and his last year of college football before entering the NFL Draft might be the perfect recipe for Mack to play like the stud he is.

Mack (5) has one more to reach his full potential. Image from the Dallas Morning News

Opposite of him will be another senior in Kingsley Keke who has produced at a high level in seasons past. Keke is big (6-4, 305), and athletic enough to generate an interior pass rush for the Aggies. Sophomores Jayden Peevy and Justin Madubuike are both solid options at defensive tackle. Plus, don’t sleep on true freshman Bobby Brown. He decided to stay in-state on National Signing Day instead of heading to Tuscaloosa. At defensive end, there is a little less depth. However, pass rushing specialist Landis Durham returns for his senior season after registering 10.5 sacks last year.

Linebacker: Tyrel Dodson (6-2, 245) returns for his junior season after leading the team in tackles in 2017. Dodson is a thumper who likes to throw his weight around (watch his highlights), but he also has decent speed. He will be accompanied by Otaro Alaka (6-3, 240). Alaka had strong showings last season, especially in the UCLA game. He will be freer to play with reckless abandon with other studs around him and up front.

This linebacker core can swarm. Image from Getty Images.

But the guy that I think is the best in the bunch, and that is saying something, is sophomore Anthony Hines (6-3, 230) out of Plano, Texas. In last year’s A&M preview I was all about Hines. I wrote, “Aggie fans, if you only take one thing from this preview, then please take this – you have an All-American talent on campus and he is, you guessed it, another true freshman. Forget Kellen Mond, forget Jhamon Ausbon, forget Camron Horry. The best pickup in the 2017 recruiting class was linebacker Anthony Hines out of Plano, Texas. Ranked by 247 Sports as one of the top 75 prospects in the country, Hines already has the size (6-3, 220) to play the Weak Side … He may not have a breakout season this year (especially if they put him at middle linebacker), but he will be an All-American one day.” I stand by all of that, and 2018 will be his coming out party.

After a successful season as a true freshman, Hines looks to dominate in 2018. Image from Getty Images.

Defensive Backs: This was a bad passing defense last season. On top of that, the Aggies lose safety Armani Watts who was an All-SEC playmaker. Watts led the team in interceptions last year. On top of that, the Aggies will not benefit from the return of cornerback Nick Harvey. Due to an injury he missed all of 2017. Harvey utilized his graduate status and transferred to South Carolina. He is expected to immediately start for the Gamecocks after leading A&M in most pass defense statistics in 2016. Look out for Clifford Chattman (6-5, 195). Chattman is mentioned every time I watch a press conference or interview. If he is flexible enough in his hips to run like a 5-11 corner, then his size will take away half of a field. The Aggies signed some really talented safeties in last year’s recruiting class. So if some of the veterans don’t play up to par, look for Jimbo to throw in the young guys.

Clifford Chattman stands 6-5 at DB. Image from Texas A&M Athletics.

 Special Teams

Jimbo won’t have to worry about the place kicking game in 2018. That is because senior Daniel LaCamera returns after missing just three field goals on over 20 attempts. Punting might be another story. Jimbo might open up a competition at that position. Trayveon Williams should handle most of the return responsibilities, or at least he should.

Daniel LaCamera can boot it. Image from Texas A&M Athletics.

Coaching Staff

A&M made the biggest off-season splash when they hired Jimbo Fisher from Florida State. Fisher has coached a Heisman Trophy winner and won multiple ACC Titles to go along with his National Title. A&M broke the bank to get him paying him $75 million over 10 years, but to be honest, I think it was a solid hire. Give him a few years to get his guys in there and I bet A&M is competing at a high level. Fisher was ready to get out of Tallahassee for multiple reasons, but I think he will want to stay in College Station. Mike Elko left Notre Dame to become the defensive coordinator at A&M, another great hire by the Aggies, but to be honest, it’s going to take big time recruiting classes and maturation before this coaching staff truly shows off its skill and genius.

Jimbo fits in well with Texas A&M. Image from 247 Sports.

 Biggest Strength: Linebacker – The Aggies have three future NFL Draft picks playing a ton of snaps this season at the linebacker spot. Two physical, downhill-type guys in Dodson and Alaka and then a versatile, playmaking-type linebacker in Anthony Hines.

Biggest Weakness: Offensive Line. It’s not like this position group is one of the worst in the country. However, it isn’t SEC-ready or SEC-experienced. Losing Koda Martin hurts and the Aggies really didn’t do much with him anyways. This position group won’t lose the Aggies games, but it won’t win them games either.

Offensive, Defensive, and Freshman Players of the Year

Offensive: Jhamon Ausbon. Whether it is Starkel or Mond, either one of those quarterbacks will enjoy throwing to a big, athletic target like Ausbon. Now the featured receiver, look for Ausbon to get a lot more passes thrown his way in 2018.

Defensive: Daylon Mack. There are some A&M fans howling either in laughter or anger at me putting Daylon Mack as the Defensive POY, but I think he is poised for a monster season. He knows that if he doesn’t play up to his abilities, he will not get drafted. And his chances at making an NFL roster are slim. He will be focused and motivated. Offensive lines will have to focus on Keke and Durham. Mack will get a lot of favorable opportunities presented to himself in both run and pass defense.

Freshman: Jalen Preston. With defense’s more focused on stopping Ausbon, Preston will get a lot of single coverage put on him, and that is a recipe for Preston to get a lot of balls thrown his way even as a true freshman. At least 500 yards receiving and 5 touchdown receptions as a true freshman.

 Schedule Breakdown and Projected Wins and Losses

 Win – New Mexico State

Clemson – Loss

Win – UL Monroe

at Alabama – Loss

Win – Arkansas

Win – Kentucky

at South Carolina – Loss

at Mississippi State – Loss

at Auburn – Loss

Win – Ole Miss

Win – UAB

 LSU – Loss

Final Record: 6-6 (3-5)

 The Final Word

Going to be bit of a bumpy road for the Aggies in year one of the Jimbo Fisher era. But who really cares? This isn’t his team, and he is already recruiting at an amazing pace. The games that intrigue me the most are Clemson in Week 2. Then South Carolina on October 13. And LSU to close the season out. Clemson will probably steamroll the Aggies, but I have said it before and I will say it again. If Clemson starts Kelly Bryant in the A&M game, and he doesn’t play well, Clemson will lose that game if they throw Trevor Lawrence into that situation and into that atmosphere. I say you start either Bryant or Lawrence heading into that game. And you keep him in unless it becomes a blowout in either direction.

The South Carolina game is interesting because it will be a real measuring stick for both programs. Heading into Columbia, SC, the Aggies will have not really played an opponent that is about as good as A&M. Alabama and Clemson are superior to A&M and Arkansas and Kentucky should be inferior teams this year. South Carolina will be a road test against a pretty equally matched team. The last game I am intrigued with is LSU. LSU by this point will have one of the worst offenses in the SEC, but one of the best defenses. A&M hasn’t beaten LSU since 2010. They have lost seven straight times to LSU. I think this will be a slugfest. But until the Aggies can show me that they have the same type of athletes and the same type of physicality that LSU does, I will continue to pick the Tigers in this matchup.