A Deep Dive Into the 2024 Texas A&M Aggies

Intro now that the Jimbo Fisher era is over it's time to take a look at what Mike Elco brings to the table today we take a deep dive into the Texas A&M Eggies and see what the future looks like for this team not only in 2024 but the years after as well before we do that though make sure subscribe to the channel like the video share the video goes a long way in supporting this channel goes a long way in helping this deep dive series grow it's been a tremendous response so far so let's dive into Texas A&M to keep that going Mike El call Coaching Staff deserves a lot of credit for what he did at Duke taking over for David cutcliffe wasn't going to be easy and I think that he did a great job of not trying to do what Cliff did and taking over and putting his spit on things he didn't necessarily try to be his the guy before him he did what he wanted to do and he put his touch on it so that's something that you have to give him a ton of credit for because a lot of coaches I think try to follow someone up who is a a well-known person within a program and he didn't do that he has simply just decided hey I am my own person I'm going to do what I want to do and I think that he gets to do that once again it's a little less pressure because of the struggles with Jimbo Fisher and he brings in guys at coach as coaching staff that I think are going to be really fun people to watch and how they work with the Personnel they have on the roster Colin Klein was a great addition what he did at Kansas state was tremendous and I'm excited to see what he does with his offense you look at what he did with the Wildcats he put together an explosive offense and now he has better talent to work with so you have a guy who knows what he's doing as a play Coller and you get to put more talent in his hands and you get to see the results of that and those efforts that's going to be really exciting if you're a Texas A&M fan and that's going to be really fun to watch for this coach staff and this roster Jay baitman doesn't come in with as much flare but when you look at what he's done at his previous stops you've had a couple of stops that didn't necessarily go the right way but he's also shown that he can be a really good coach and it's going to be tough to coach in the secc to be able to put together a defense that can stop a lot of these offenses will be tough it's going to be a physical conference it's going to be tough to stop those opposing offenses but I I like what baitman has and what he can bring to the table so that's definitely something that when you're looking at what this team needs and what they can do it's going to be fun to see what baitman can do with this roster and what he can do with the talent level now obviously they went into the transfer portal to bring in some players to Transfer Portal replace some of the talent that they lost you know you lose guys like Walter Nolan leaving are always going to hurt that's going to be a big loss no matter who you are and Walter Nolan is a guy who could be a Major Impact player for any school in the country he goes to miss and now that leaves XM with a hole that they need to find a replacement for fortunately for them they have plenty of talent coming back at that position but that's still going to be a huge loss you also lose Evan Stewart to Oregon in the transfer portal so you have a number of players that you lost but I really like the pieces that they bring in because you're not always going to find Heavy Hitters in the transfer Port portal you're not always going to have the ability to replace guys one for one but you bring in players like Joby Barber and Cyrus Allen who maybe aren't as talented as Evan Stewart and I really like what they can do in this offense you also had a couple of interesting players on the offensive line Kaya fou is going to be an interesting player maybe a rotational player at the center position we'll talk more about him in a little bit and then you have arage Reed Adams coming in at Guard from Kansas I think that he's an instant impact player who will get up to speed pretty quick and then obviously everyone's talking about the two Edge players you bring in Nick scarton from Perdue and you also bring in cashes Howell from Bowling Green those are two guys who come from different places but also I think a lot of people wanted their services and expect big things from them in 2024 and Texas A&M was the team that was fortunate enough to get them I think the other thing with the transfer portal is Texas A&M is getting players healthy they're getting guys who were hurt last year uh either for the full year or throughout the year for various games you're getting some of those guys back healthy that's going to be a big key as well so not necessarily having to add talent but just getting certain talented players healthy that's going to be huge and one of those positions is the quarterback position QB & RB because you had a number of quarterbacks that played last year you lose one in Max Johnson to the transfer portal and you get back a couple of guys who went down with an injury at various times Conor Wegman is going to be the starter for Tex S&M they will there other guys Jaylen Henderson and Marcel Reed that will challenge him for that starting spot but it is Conor wigman's job to lose in my opinion I think Colin Klein can do a lot of good things for Conor Wegman and his skill set Conor's very talented a guy who can push the ball down the field and really distribute the ball well to his Playmakers and also run I think that he's not going to be a run first guy or someone who can make super explosive runs but Colin Klein is going to dial up things that make him very successful both throwing and running so that's a combination that I'm really excited for behind him we talked about Henderson took over when Wagman went down through for 715 yards six touchdowns rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns as well when he went down Marcel Reed comes in 374 yards through the air one touchdown the bowl game obviously was where we saw a new face takeover at quarterback and it was really fun to watch showed a lot of potential so I think you have to be excited about the future of the quarterback position but right now it's Wegman's job and Wegman has showed at times that he can be electric with the football in his hands whether that's throwing the ball and getting to his Playmakers or picking up yards that maybe people don't expect Conor wigman is a very underrated player because of couple things the injuries obviously don't help keeping yourself off the field is going to make people forget about you but that's also putting you in that underrated under Underdog role and Wagman is someone who's going to fit in to this offensive scheme really well I think and then if you if he's not or if he gets hurt Henderson and Reed can step up in a big way the running backs next to him or next to whoever plays quarterback are deep as well this is a group that's been deep for a little while now and you're hoping that they can take a step Levan moss and Amari Daniels will probably be the first two guys that get the opportunity to showcase what they can do but they are going to be pushed for sure Moss had 484 yards on the ground five touchdowns Daniels 532 yards and six touchdowns behind them you have Ruben Owens who at times showed tremendous flashes of his potential so he's going to be part of that rotation you also had Stanford transfer EJ Smith the son of EMT Smith who has plenty of talent as well so this is a loaded group you maybe see two running back sets on a more frequent basis than you did in the past with Colin Klein and with the talent you have I mean you got to get the best players on the field and sometimes that's going to be multiple running backs but I think that Colin Klein has a good plan for what his roster has and what his off offense should provide so you have a deep group you have plenty of talent it's not it's not an a thing of you don't have options Texas A&M has plenty of options at every single position and these are two where if you can stay healthy that's really where you can reach your full potential that's where you can see this team take a huge step passing attack obviously plays a role in that as well but running the football is going to be a focal point especially because they finished 91st last year that is something that Colin Klein is going to fix and that will also help the passing attack now Wagman staying healthy is probably the biggest key there because you need to find consistency with the guy throwing the ball to his receivers now the guys they have coming back out wide need to also WR & TE stay healthy but I think that when you have a healthy Texas A&M offense you are in big trouble if you're facing them J Walker Noah Thomas and moose Mohamed II third come back and they are all set to have big years again if they can all stay healthy and stay on the field that is a trio that's going to be a nightmare to stop Walker at 590 yards and two touchdowns Noah Thomas when healthy finished with 359 yards and five touchdowns I think that he is someone who could have a breakout year if he can stay on the field moose Muhammad has big playability there's been some inconsistencies with his game but he is someone who can be an absolute monster to stop on the field and speaking of injuries Don green is back at the tight end position he's back in the lineup after missing all of last year in 20122 he had 233 yards and two touchdowns I'm excited to see what he can do in this offense I think the tight end position might be featured a little bit more under Colin Klein because of what you saw at Kansas State and Texas aam has the offensive Talent at this position to make things happen behind those guys we talked about depth now the wide receiver position has pretty good depth you have Mike teas Cyrus Allen jbre barar we talked about them before those are kind of unproven talent right now at the SEC level so if Allen and barar can prove they are ready for that challenge they're going to be just fine behind them that's where the Freshman com in Wesley Watson Isaiah Williams and Ernest Campbell are three guys to keep an eye on those are guys who could step in and play bigger roles as the season progresses or you know in certain instances or maybe if you need someone to step up and one of those three is ready you insert them into the lineup and then let them show what they're capable of doing the tight end position also has options Garrett Miller comes in from Purdue 243 yards and two touchdowns last year Trey Watson comes in from Fresno State that was kind of an underrated Edition in my opinion you also get Shane Calhoun from ECU so you have plenty of options if you are Texas A&M this passing attack is not going to be short in terms of pass catchers who can make plays it's just a matter of finding the right guys that can be ient when they get the ball in their hands and find ways to move the ball down the field when you need it the most again this offense has plenty of talent it's not a matter of if there's Talent or not they have the talent it's just a matter of getting the talent the football getting them in space and finding ways to make them successful a lot of that is on Colin Klein but they have to stay healthy and be consistent with their efforts the offensive line obviously OL plays a huge role in that and this is a group that wasn't exactly great next year I think if you ask anybody in the eggy program or in that fan base which area would you like to see improve the most the offens of line will probably be high on that list that being said there are some pretty talented guys that are coming back as well as coming in from the transfer portal that should help the consistency of this group treyzon is going to assume the left tackle position I think that his 24 starts give him plenty of experience where he's talented and knows what to expect and espe especially that on the SEC level is huge Jay bantes is someone who is still I think rising up on people's Radars but he's an electric player who's can be absolutely dominant he's you can make an argument the best lineman on this team and he is Young and still ready to make more noise in 2024 the center position is where things get interesting we talked about this a little bit before Mark Nabu Jr is someone who had 11 starts at left guard last year one Center so he has a little bit of experience at the position you also brought in kinuu from Utah so those are two guys that are going to be battling out for that position armage Reed Adams we talked about before really good for Kansas a group that was very fun to watch and now he joins a Texas C&M offensive line that needs to get better Ruben Fey comes back from injury missed all last or most of last year I should say he is back and healthy so that gives you a couple of guys that are coming in and coming back that you didn't have last year that kind of bolsters your line that gives you more options that gives you more talent and that should make this group better as a whole and again this is an offense that should be pretty explosive the offensive line plays a big role in that behind those guys you have a couple of players that you know one we already talked about Hunter herb and DJ Shanahan are the most inexperienced of the second group but you also have guys like cam duberry who has 20 games of exper experience and then you also have Demetrius crownover that has 21 games of experience so you have a good mix of experience to new faces so that's going to be huge to help some of those newer guys get up to speed and if they're able to create depth you don't have as many concerns if one of those guys go down because you saw what happened when Fa went down you saw hap what happened when certain players weren't able to go and it was kind of a struggle at times so the off line the big X Factor for this offense probably tied with the health of the rest of the offense the defense is going to be interesting because Mike ELO comes in with that defensive mindset like I said what he did at Duke was incredible I think last last year was one of those years where you didn't expect a lot of big things from duke and they kind of surprised you and then Jay bitman kind of comes in and he fits into I think he fits into this mentality really well because a lot of people kind of are doubting Jay bman after last year and what he can do just like people are doubting what Texas sanam's defense can do and the defensive line probably has DL some of those doubts as well when you lost a couple of key players you lost fidil Diggs to the transfer portal you lose Walter Nolan you lost a couple of players that let's be honest those are big losses that being said this is a group that is ready to prove people wrong wrong and they also have a ton of depth so while they did lose a couple of players it's not like they're hurting for talent now that being said you just have to find guys in the right role The Edge position is going to be one that I pay attention to because there's a lot of different options with different frames and different skill sets Nick Gordon and cashes how are not the same type of defensive end but you're still going to see them quite a bit and cashes how is more that edge player that maybe that more that pass rusher more than anything but he's still someone that's going to prove he can play on the field quite a bit behind them they have plenty of depth no actually let's let's go into scorton because he is someone that people are raving over this is someone who is a potential first round pick after this year if he can handle the transition to the SEC but again playing in the the Big 10 gives you plenty of challenges so I don't have too many concerns about that people are raving about his abilities people are excited to see what he can do with Texas A&M as well as what he can do at the next level behind those two man good luck trying to hold some of these guys off you have a former fivar Shamar Stewart that's going to be a fun player to watch if he can get on the field again it's going to be tough to find Reps for everybody but that being said you can rotate guys in and keep legs fresh because of the talent you have behind them an underrated transfer was getting Josh celiscar from UCF I think that he'll be a solid depth piece for this defensive line and after that you have interesting players you have man Malik Malika excuse me in white and then you also have Ryland Kennedy that could be in the the mix as well Kendall Jackson is someone who could also figure into that rotation Solomon Williams you have options the one thing that Texas A&M has done really well is recruit and they've done a good job of bringing in talent that can compete and push the guys in front of them and that's a big reason why this defensive line should be really good on the interior obviously one spot we're looking at is the one that Walter Nolan leaves open Albert reg just could be someone that takes over that spot Gabriel Brown L dindy is another one that could be into that rotation but then the other defensive tackle spot you're getting a guy in Shamar Turner who's a stud I think that the the fact that we lost a couple Big Time Players people are kind of forgetting what Shamar Stewart or Turner excuse me is capable of doing both Shamar I should say but Turner is an absolute monster when he's playing at his best and this is a group that should be able to feature his skill set quite a bit this is someone who is going to be very disruptive up the middle and can also slide out to the edge as if they didn't have enough depth they have another guy who can rotate out to that he's 280 pounds so he maybe isn't the most explosive around the edge but he is someone who can slide out to the edge and hand handle his business hold his own out there DJ Hicks is another guy that this staff really likes someone who could take a big step in terms of being a featured player but also start alongside Turner if they need him to do that you also brought in Rus Johnson who could be a factor as well so again depth is a not a question at many of these positions it's just going to be a matter of what ceiling are you going to hit and how do you find ways to be successful as well as combat plenty of adversity the SEC provides you plenty of opportunities to handle adversity because that's how good this conference is and the defensive line has the talent to set the tone and that's going to open things up for the guys behind them the linebacker position maybe is the least LB experien of everyone in terms of not only are you bringing back certain players but you're also adding a couple transfers that need to learn the system and learn their new teammates understand how to communicate with them so that'll be interesting torian York comes back after a 74 tackle season he also had eight and a half tackles for loss three sacks one force fumble then you bring guys like Solomon to Shields and Scooby Williams in from the transfer portal I think that that's really good because you lost quite a bit of talent at the linebacker position to the NFL draft so finding new guys to step up and take over is going to be a big question but again a lot of that is going to be on the defensive line if the defensive line can play as well as I think they can the linebackers won't have to do a ton that being said it's still the SEC you can't rely on one unit to do all the work you have to be a good unit as a whole the defense on all three levels must step up I think tan York is a really fun player to watch a young player who is just I think still growing and and becoming an elite player he'll be really fun to watch the Shields and Williams have plenty of experience so they'll be I think they'll handle this transition pretty well marchell Harris is a young inexperienced player that could step up and then you also have chance Johnson and Tristan Jernigan that expect to compete for time as well it may not be a ton of time but they are going to push again one of the things that Mike alol will love when he comes to Texas A&M is the number of talented players that he has the number of options that he has to put on the field if one guy's not getting the job done you know you can go to another guy or with what they've experienced in the past somebody goes down you have another guy that is ready and hungry to make his presence known and get the job done for that team so this linebacker position is going to be really interesting they have a number of different responsibilities but I also like what they could do under baitman and under Elco that makes them really intriguing and I think they have the right skill set to be a really fun group to watch there the secondary is where I get the Secondary most excited because when you look at what Elco did at Duke the secondary was probably the brightest star of that group now granted they had a really good defensive line theyve had really talented linebackers and that's kind of the same thing here the secondary though is really going to be intriguing because Elco has proven time and time again that he can produce underappreciated and overachieving secondaries and that should be the case but it also is probably the most talented secondary that he's had in the last couple of years Willie comes in from Kansas state that was a huge addition for Texas A&M I think that that was a huge loss for the wild cats but he is someone who expects to be in that starting lineup he'll compete with BJ ma from UAB Mays is someone who this staff really likes but they also like what Lee brings to the table again competition is good you want the competition to make each other better and the cornerback position is one of those positions that should be competitive Tyreek Chapelle is on the other side he is probably one I won't say he's locked into a starting spot but he will be on the field quite a bit asz rcks The Freshman is expected to compete for that starting spot as well so he is someone that is ready to go and ready to prove his worth as well the safety position is interesting because a guy like Trey Jones found ways to settle in and make his presence known and I think that he's set to have a bigger year now that he understands what's expected of him and also the speed of the game at the SEC level that kind of stuff dton Brooks will join him as well I I think that Jones and Brooks are underappreciated in the SEC but again with so many talented players it's easy to see why some guys get onto that list Marcus radliff Radcliffe comes in from San Diego State Bobby Taylor The Freshman that could be in the rotation at the safety position so you have plenty of options again that's probably the theme with Texas A&M is options I think that that's not a bad thing to have because you have plenty of opportunities to give guys chances to show what they can do the star Position will be interesting that's the position that with Duke was really fun to watch when you watch Chandler Rivers do what he did with the Blue Devils he was someone that thrived at that star position kind of that nickel near the line of scrimmage moving all over the field Bryce Anderson will be in that position Jaden Hill will also be a part of that as well and then a guy to keep an eye on for that is Jared Kerr someone who's kind of a slept on option right now but you probably will hear his name a little bit more as the year progresses now when you get to strengths and Strengths & Concerns concerns of this team I think that the biggest concern probably has to be the health of this team that's probably the biggest concern you're playing in the SEC so obviously that I mean it's it's things that you can kind of control but also sometimes you can't so injuries are just part of the game injuries are just they are what they are and this is a team that has struggled with them if they stay healthy this is going to be a really good team because to me the strength of this team running backs the strength because of the amount of talent that you have now it hasn't been realized yet but I think that this is a group that is set to take a big step forward I think that wide receiver could be considered a strength though I'm not ready to put them in that role quite yet defensive line is probably the biggest strength that's really not a question you look at what they've returned you look at what they brought in from the transfer portal and you look at what they recruited there is not too many concern there aren't many concerns about that group the secondary I think is a strength as well so that's going to be a fun group to watch a really really fun team in general I think that that this Texas A&M team has plenty of options to work with like I said there's plenty of options and it's just a matter of finding the right guys finding the right pieces to the puzzle and then from there you're just waiting for certain things to happen or or certain players to make their presence known the schedule gets things going right off the bat there is Schedule no time to sleep if you are Tex A&M and I think that this is going to be a really really fun year if you are the Eggies mostly because you get Notre Dame in week one you get Notre Dame when a lot of people are probably playing you know a easier an easier opponent you get Notre Dame you get Marcus Freeman you get a chance to play a potential playoff Contender right off the bat and if tou saym wants to be in that conversation for the college football playoff they need a win in week one that is going to be a tough one to win but it is a winnable game like I said if you are healthy especially in week one you should be fully healthy finding ways to win that football game shouldn't be a problem mcne will be a win after that at Florida will be interesting what is the Florida situation going to be what do the Gators look like in week three that's going to be a big question as well you also then have Bowling Green that should be a win I though we'll see what happens there but Bowling Green no should be a win I think Elco will bring in this the the No Nonsense we're taking care of business we're not going to overlook anyone Arkansas in Arlington should be a win I think that even though Sam Pitman is on the hot seat and will have his team potentially uh very motivated and ready to play that should be a win for the Eggies Missouri at home will be interesting I think we're going to find out real quick if Missouri is actually a contender or if last year was just kind of the flash on the pan Missouri is gonna be very fun to watch but Texas A&M should be the better team in that one at Mississippi State should be a win even though it's on the road and they'll face a new team under Jeff leby I think Texas A&M is the better team there so that should be a win LSU at home is going to be really tough they get a lot of their tough games at home which is the real nice thing about this schedule you get Notre Dame Missouri LSU and Texas at home so those are going to be huge huge games and you get those in a familiar territory at South Carolina could be tricky but again if T&M is playing to the level that they're capable of that should be a win New Mexico State could be a win as well that's at home at Auburn could be tricky unless Auburn is not what some people think they are that is a team that could be a sleeper but that will be an interesting game for sure Texas at home will be tough but again it's at home so when you're looking at tallying things up I think this is a group that is capable of winning 10 maybe 11 games but it's going to be hard to do that in the SEC that's just plain and simple it's going to be tough now you do avoid Alabama and Georgia so that's really nice but you do get LSU and Texas so I think that you're and Missouri you get tough teams and again it's SEC you're going to find ways to run into tough competition just because of the quality of talent now the the floor is really interesting I think that at worst six and six feels wrong but I think that seven and five probably would be my my floor I think that you have tough games against Notre Dame uh the Missouri games tough LSU is tough Auburn could be tough Texas could be tough South Carolina and Arkansas and Florida probably the the three that I'm not sure about those are games where I I expect Texas A&M to win but you just never never know in this conference you just don't know what's going to happen that being said I'm very optimistic about Texas A&M I think they're going to have a successful year eight plus wins should be the expectation for this team and it'll be fun to see what Mike ELO can do in your one and how he can exceed people's expectations this year