Texas A&M Aggies Will Not Miss Johnny Manziel

Defense

The biggest question about where the Aggies will stand at the end of the year revolves not around the offense or the loss of Manziel, but around the defense. This defense gave up more than 32 points per game last year and was the sole reason this team was 8-4 during the regular season instead of 11-1. But Sumlin has recruited incredibly well here, and there are enough returning starters to hopefully see some improvement.

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A defensive line that was flat out awful last year returns two starters, and luckily, they’re the two better starters. Junior end Julien Obioha is the most experienced player of the group after 5 tackles for a loss last year. On the other side, Daeshon Hall should have a breakout year after 20.5 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, and an interception last year. Both players should be better. Add junior Alonzo Williams as the starter in the middle, who had 2.5 sacks as a backup last year, and the group is looking to be more talented. Finally, after Sumlin brought in a loaded recruiting class on the defensive line, freshman Zaycoven Henderson has stood out over everybody, and the 4-star should be the final starter in the middle. Seniors Ivan Robinson and Tyrell Taylor and sophomores Tyrone Taylor, Jay Arnold, and Hardrick Walker are all players who had experience last year and should provide more depth. But the big story are the rest of the freshmen, which includes three 4-stars and 5-star Myles Garrett. Raw talent beats experience if the experience isn’t good, and the Aggies have a lot of that this year. Expect this unit to be much better than last year by the midpoint of the season, and it is a stud group of players that will only make this line better over each of the next three years.

Unfortunately, despite the major improvement expected on the line, the linebacker position takes a big hit. All three leading tacklers  and major contributors are gone, forcing the Aggies to start fresh. Senior Donnie Baggs should be fine at one position after 20.5 tackles as the backup last year. The other two spots will likely be filled by sophomores Jordan Mastrogiovanni and A.J. Hilliard. Hilliard has no experience with the Aggies after transferring from TCU, but he was good enough to beat out a few other players for a starting spot, so it appears he has potential. Sophomore Shaan Washington will also be a nice contributor when he gets healthy, and senior Tommy Sanders will be in the rotation. Add in redshirt freshman Reggie Chevis and 4-star freshman Otaro Alaka, and all of a sudden you have a unit that has as much or more raw talent than last year, but it’s hard to gauge with the lack of experience, unlike the line. This unit will probably struggle early in the year but match what it did last year by midseason, and fortunately it has a bright future with plenty of freshmen and sophomores on the roster.

Oct 26, 2013; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Howard Matthews (31) returns an interception for a touchdown against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at Kyle Field. Texas A&M won 56-24. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports

The secondary was about as bad as the line last year, giving up 253 yards per game, but the addition of Terry Joseph to coach them after studying under Bo Pelini at Nebraska should help with that. Oh, and the fact that it has added a lot more talent also helps. Senior Howard Matthews is back after 3 interceptions last year at safety, and senior Deshazor Everett is also back at cornerback. Both have lots of NFL potential and should be much more experienced this year. Junior De’Vante Harris is battling injuries right now, but he still could be good after 8 passes broken up last year. In his place could be sophomore Tavares Garner, who was highly recruited last year and saw some action as a freshman, freshman Nick Harvey, who was a 4-star this year, or redshirt freshman Victor Davis if he’s on the field opening night. The other starting safety slot appears as if it will go to freshman Armani Watts, which means he proved himself enough in the fall to be that good to start right away. This is another of Sumlin’s many 4-star recruits that are shoring up his team’s weaknesses. Clay Honeycutt, Floyd Raven, and Noel Ellis all have experience and should provide depth along with Donovan Wilson. Add in three other guys who played last year and junior safety Devonta Burns, who impressed lots of people in Spring Ball, and you once again have a very deep unit with every bit of indication that it should dramatically improve. And like the rest of the team, Sumlin has set it up well for the future.

This is a defense that couldn’t really get much worse last year, and through recruiting and returning starters, there’s no reason to think it can’t be much better. It’s still a very young defense that won’t be great yet, but the raw talent everywhere along with experience at the right spots sets up a group that should be vastly improved and has a bright future. Continue to Next Slide for Special Teams