2017 Texas A&M Football Preview

Seth Raborn
Aug 24, 2017 · 5 min read
Photo Courtesy of Butch Dill — Getty Images

SEC football is just days away. Before toe meets pigskin on August 31st, The Wheelhouse crew has compiled our preseason SEC power rankings and a preview of each team. As we release our team previews, we’ll release them in the order of which each team is ranked in our preseason rankings to help the days until kickoff go by quicker.

The Texas A&M Aggies check in at №. 7 in our preseason SEC power rankings.

Head coach Kevin Sumlin and Texas A&M got off to a very impressive to begin the 2016 season. This is no surprise considering Sumlin has won the first five games of the season for three years straight. However, they faced three top 25 teams in their first six games including UCLA, Arkansas and Tennessee. The Aggies outscored their opponents 241–115 on the six game win streak they started out on last season. From there it got a little rough.

After going 6–0 through the first half of the season, Texas A&M went 2–4 in the back half. Three of the four losses came to non-ranked SEC West opponents: Mississippi State, Ole Miss and LSU. The script was completely flipped as the Aggies once again struggled with the back half of their schedule. Texas A&M finished the 2016 season with an invite to the Texas Bowl to face Kansas State. The maroon-and-white lost 33–28 and finished the season unranked, making Sumlin’s seat just a touch hotter coming into the 2017 season.

Offensive Preview:

The Aggies offense has pretty big shoes to fill after an incredible 2016 season. They ranked 24th in the nation in total offense with over 6,000 yards and 467 yards per game. This may be a little tougher to do without gun slinging quarterback Trevor Knight in 2017.

Former Oklahoma State transfer Jake Hubenak will most likely be starting for A&M in game one against UCLA. Last season, Hubenak had 884 yards and eight touchdowns as the backup. However, for him to truly be able to break out of his shell, he will need solid offensive line play which is currently a problem. The Aggies return their interior lineman from last season but will have new faces on the outside for the 2017 season. This also goes for star sophomore running back Trayveon Williams as much of his production hinges on inexperienced outside tackles. In 2016, the explosive back tallied over 1,000 yards rushing and eight touchdowns.

The receiving core is surely in good hands with one of the best wide receivers in the NCAA right? Wrong, Christian Kirk is the only returning starter from the 2016 receiving core and Hubenak will need someone to step up to take pressure off him. All eyes are on four-star freshman Jhamon Ausbon to be a playmaker for Texas A&M and replace Josh Reynolds as the №. 2 man. JUCO transfer Damion Ratley, Clyde Chriss and Quartney Davis will all see the field considering the Aggies lost four of their top five receivers from last season. The passing game is still a concern for the Aggies because of the inexperience at both quarterback and receiver. However, their running game will still be just as lethal as it was in 2016.

Defensive Preview:

One thing that will surely change for Texas A&M in 2017 is that its unstoppable pass rush defense has moved on. With both Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall playing NFL ball, the defensive line will be vastly different. Tackles Zaycoven Henderson and Kingsley Keke are the glue of the defensive line. They return from last year with a combined 77 tackles and seven sacks in 2016. Seniors Jarret Johnson and Qualen Cunningham will cover the ends and attempt to fill the shoes of Garrett and Hall.

The linebackers for the Aggies are what they need to step up the most this season. In 2016 they gave up over 190 rushing yards a game including 21 touchdowns. Heralded four-star Anthony Hines III and sophomore Tyrel Dodson are likely to take over at outside linebacker. If Hines III and Dodson both make the most of their starting jobs, Texas A&M can improve its rush defense.

The Aggie secondary is one of the most stable groups on the team, mainly because of All-SEC safety Armani Watts. Watts is easily the most proven player for A&M with over 175 tackles and three picks in the last two years, and that’s including lost games from injury. Senior Donovan Wilson adds more veteran leadership at strong safety, but the main concern comes at cornerback. After losing Nick Harvey, senior Priest Willis will need to step up as the starter at cornerback. He will need solid contributions from Charles Oliver, DeShawn Capers-Smith and Roney Elam, guys who have not logged much playing time for the Aggies.

Special Teams Preview:

One thing that Texas A&M doesn’t have concern at is special teams. Christian Kirk has proven to be an electric kick-and-punt returner with over 400 yards and three touchdowns in 2016. Senior punter Shane Tripucka has proven to be pretty consistent, but junior kicker Daniel LaCamera could approve upon his accuracy as he just hit 70-percent of his field goal attempts last season.

Newcomer to watch:

Wide receiver Jhamon Ausbon is a name that SEC fans should get used to hearing. After the Aggies lost Josh Reynolds, Ricky Seals-Jones and Speedy Noil, Ausbon should be the №. 2 man behind Kirk. He is a former top-100 player and four-star from Florida. Ausbon had offers from just about every major national program you can think of and was once commited to LSU before officially committing to A&M. If he proves to validate his four-star status, look for him to take some weight off of Kirk’s shoulders this year.

Schedule Breakdown:

It is very unlikely that Sumlin will manage to win his first five games like he usually does. Texas A&M will play at UCLA as well as Arkansas and South Carolina at home during that stretch. The back half of the schedule will be presumably rough as usual as they play Alabama, Florida, Mississippi State and Auburn. To top it off, they finish with back-to-back SEC west games against Ole Miss and LSU. A&M has continued to be solid under Sumlin, but don’t expect too much considering their strength of schedule.

Keys to a successful season:

Offensively there is quite a bit that the Aggies have to do to maintain the offensive firepower from the 2016 season. Hubenak will have the starting job for the first time in his career and will need a tremendous effort from his receivers to run the pass offense smoothly. Defensively, the new linebackers will have to crack down on run defense to have any chance of giving their pass defense a break. Overall, they will need consistent play from new starters on the roster to have any chance of causing any damage in the SEC west.

Final Say:

Coach Sumlin was already on the hot seat coming into the 2017 season after three straight 8-and-5 seasons in College Station. However, I would not expect any more than eight wins for this year’s Texas A&M team considering how rough their schedule is looking. Sumlin has consistently been one of the better coaches in the SEC, but to pull out another season like 2012 would be a miracle.

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