Saturday Blitz
Fansided

Texas A&M Football: Speedy Noil suspended for Aggies opener vs UCLA

By Patrick Schmidt

Sep 12, 2015; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Speedy Noil (2) rushes against Ball State Cardinals corner back Marc Walton (23) in the second half at Kyle Field. Aggies won 56 to 23. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 12, 2015; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Speedy Noil (2) rushes against Ball State Cardinals corner back Marc Walton (23) in the second half at Kyle Field. Aggies won 56 to 23. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The up and down career for Speedy Noil at Texas A&M continued on Thursday with Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin announcing the former five-star recruit is suspended for the season opener.

Speedy Noil came to Texas A&M with the hype of a five-star athlete with game-changing ability after a sensational prep career, but he hasn’t lived up to expectations through two years in College Station.

Noil was suspended for the Music City Bowl last year for violating team rules, Kevin Sumlin announced on Thursday that the former five-star recruit will be suspended for the season opener as part of a two-game suspension.

Sumlin says Noil has practiced with the team but the consistency part has been an issue and was something he was moving forward with earlier in the semester. Noil was arrested for driving without a license on April 1.

Noil made an impact as a freshman two seasons ago when he had 46 catches for 583 yards and five touchdowns. He also had 42 combined punt and kick returns on special teams, but his numbers saw a significant decline as a sophomore when he was a popular preseason pick to be a breakout star.

Related Story: 50 Best Big 12 Players of All-Time

Due to injuries, off-the-field issues and overall inconsistent play from him and the quarterbacks, Noil dropped to 21 catches for 226 yards and two touchdowns and finished fourth on the team in receiving. He was vastly outplayed by true freshman Christian Kirk who led the team in receiving and basically did the things that were expected of Noil.

This is a make or break year for Noil, who still can regain the form he showed as a freshman because he’s still the same type of athlete who was such a highly coveted recruit, but if he can’t get out of his own way, he’s going to be the next in a long line of failed five-star prospects.

More saturday blitz: 50 Best SEC Football Players of All-Time

Hopefully, Noil won’t fall in that category and he’ll be able to learn from his latest misstep and be the type of player Sumlin and Texas A&M fans all envisioned when they watched him star as a freshman.

Home/SEC