B&S preview series: Contenders or Longhorns in Disguise?
Photo via Populous
If you are from the great state of Texas, there are a few inalienable rights you are born with. The right to drink beer for any occasion (graduations, sweet sixteens, quinceañeras, funerals, because it’s a Tuesday, etc), the right to eat steak and potatoes every night, the right to wear boots and jeans during the summer, and the right to enjoy some of the best damn football this side of the Mississippi has to offer every Friday and Saturday night during the fall season. For those who were lucky enough to attend a University in the Lonestar State, Sundays may be the Holy Day, but Saturdays were days of obligation, committed to parties, tailgating, team colors, making so much noise that a stadium of 100,000+ seated fans starts trembling to its foundation, and watching those fat cows from out yonder get milked for a win by every team on their schedule. Oh, I apologize that isn’t every college football team in Texas, just one, the only one that matters to an SEC blog, Texas A&M.
Come Saturday, the 12th man will make its reappearance after a long hibernation throughout the heat of summer. Once this 7 month sleep is over, Kyle Field will come alive with the roars of over 100,000 students and alumni, so deafening that nearby towns will be unable to sleep until the last of the Aggies have vacated the stadium. Fans will be on the edge of their seats, anxiously awaiting their first glimpse of a new beginning and a new hope. The canons will fire, smoke will fill the entrance tunnel as the aroma of a bonfire slowly makes its way throughout the fan base, in the distance onlookers will be able to make out the slight appearance of the 12th man flag waving through all of the smoke, there is the briefest moment of silence, everyone is holding their breath and then “AHHH HEYYY, AHHH HEYYY, AHHH HEYYY, HEYYYYY, HEYYYYYY” Kanye West’s Power will begin echoing throughout the town from Harvey Mitchell to Wellborn, all the way down Texas and University and the Fightin’ Texas Aggies will emerge from the smoke led by #12 furiously waving the maroon and white. At this point, the humid College Station air will suddenly clear and be filled with a spirit that can ne’er be told but must be experienced first hand. The 2022 football season will have begun.
For Jimbo Fisher and the Ags, this season is all about the hype. After signing the best recruiting class of all time, the pressure is on for the fifth year head coach. Expectations have never been higher, and for a fanbase that is constantly getting their hearts broken, that is saying quite a bit. Under Fisher, Texas A&M has been a habitual 4-5 loss team, and for a coach that was hired to bring National Championships to College Station, this hasn’t quite cut it. Every year strides are made in the right direction, but there always seems to be some hurdle in the Aggies’ way that throws them for a loop. In 2020 it was the Playoff committee selecting Notre Dame over A&M, 2019 was a year the team faced three out of four playoff teams during the regular season, and 2018 just was a year of some hard losses. Just like every other year, for the maroon faithful, this could be “the year”.
Last year expectations were as high as ever with Haynes King being named starting quarterback. He came out of high school as one of the top ranked dual threat QBs in the nation, and his athleticism alone is intriguing. Expectations quickly fell once King was injured in game 2 against Colorado and was ruled out for the rest of the season. Zach Calzada took over the reins behind center and was quite the back up but did not have the intangibles that the QB1 displayed. From there, the Ags went on to lose to Arkansas, MSU, Ole Miss and LSU. The highlight of their season was an upset win over Alabama at home. A win like that can almost salvage a 4 loss season.
While TAMU lost a lot of great players and starters after the season last year, they also retained some of their most high-powered playmakers. Most notably they lost DL Demarvin Leal, RB Isaiah Spiller, QB Zach Calzada, OL Kenyon Green, TE Jalen Wydemeyer, DL Michael Clemons, DB Leon O’Neal, DL Jayden Peevy, and DL Tyree Johnson. Projected starting receiver Demond Demas also left due to some legal trouble he got into. With all of this talent leaving, you would expect a down tick in especially defensive production but you would be wrong. Over the past two recruiting cycles, A&M has signed so many top D-linemen that the drop off should not be significant.
The 2022 offense is bringing back two high-powered players in Devon Achane and Ainias Smith, who might end up being the most dynamic duo in college football this season. Also returning as a starter is gunslinger Haynes King. Between the two guys mentioned before, Chase Lane, Moose Muhammad III and incoming freshmen Evan Stewart and Chris Marshall, the Aggies might surprise a lot of teams what they can do with the ball through the air. Of course, Achane will be lined up in the backfield with King and will take most of the running back reps this season, while LJ Johnson Jr will jump in for short yardage plays if I had to guess. Achane has the vision and break away speed to turn any rush into a long gain or a touchdown. If that wasn’t enough of a high octane offense then add in the Maroon Goons offensive line that finally has some experience under its belt. Three of the big men upfront were starters last year and will look to continue to improve from year to year.
The defense for Texas A&M will be a whole new beast. Returning starters are DL McKinley Jackson, LB Andre White, not to mention LB Edgerrin Cooper who was not a starter but has been extremely impressive, and pretty much the whole secondary. Tyreek Chappell, Jaylon Jones, Demani Richardson, and Antonio Johnson head up the defensive backfield and may be one of the best in the SEC, possibly even the country. Now most people will see the above and say that this looks like a depleted front seven, well the guys that will be rotating on the line are no scrubs. We are talking about sophomores Shemar Turner and Tunmise Adeleye, freshman Walter Nolen, Shemar Stewart, Anthony Lucas, Lebbeus Overton, Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, Enai White, etc. Yes, that is an etc. after naming all defensive linemen in the top 60 national recruits of their respective classes. These are guys that will wreak havoc on opposing offenses for the next 3-4 years and will breathe new life into the old ways of the wrecking crew. By the end of the year, the Aggies will have a top 5 SEC defense and will be ranked in the top 25 nationally.
So the question remains: Contender or Longhorn? For the past few years, the scales may have been tipping towards T-Sip but not quite as bad (see 5-7 record and lack of skill or power outside of Bijan Robinson). This year will show if the Ags have turned the corner and can earn the title of contender head on without getting ahead of themselves. If they can turn that corner and finish in the top 7, then the SEC will finally see the progression Fisher was brought in to accomplish and it will solidify the maroon and white as a force to be dealt with during conference play. One thing is for sure, no matter how many losses A&M may have come season end, at least they will never be the burnt orange wearing wannabe cowboys that ride around the city of Austin on mopeds and cannot beat the University of Kansas in football.
Texas A&M 2022 Schedule
Sept 3: Sam Houston State
Sept 10: Appalachian State
Sept 17: Miami
Sept 24: Arkansas
Oct 1: @ Mississippi State
Oct 8: @ Alabama
Oct 22: @ South Carolina
Oct 29: Ole Miss
Nov 5: Florida
Nov 12: @ Auburn
Nov 19: UMASS
Nov 26: LSU
A&M hosts Sam Houston State to open the season. The Bearkats are a great team in their own league, they even won the FCS National Championship in 2020. They are not just your average cupcake pushover team, but a powerhouse in their own right. Saying that, it is just a completely different league, SHSU gets the guys that play in Texas that are not big enough, fast enough, or strong enough to play D1. TAMU should be able to win this one as long as they do not come out overly confident just because they are playing a smaller team. Never underestimate teams that have shown a willingness to compete and the ability to win no matter the division. This game does not actually have a line, but I continue to hear A&M -30.5. At -30.5 the Ags should be able to cover but that does not mean they will, if the game gets out of hand starters may get benched and Sam Houston could cover. This game will be a good indication of the season to come for the SEC West squad.