From starting quarterback to the backup defensive tackles, here’s how the roster shakes out for Texas A&M football entering the 2017 season.
The Aggies have some high-profile players to replace in 2017, none more well known than reigning No. 1 overall pick Myles Garrett. He was one of five NFL draft selections from the 2016 Aggie squad. Seven Aggies transferred and a handful of other players like Ricky Seals-Jones, Speedy Noil and Claude George are trying to make it in the NFL as free agents.
More: Game by game predictions for the 2017 Texas A&M football season
But let’s focus on the guys who are here. The starting 11 on offensive and defense for the Aggies should look a little bit like this.
Defensive Tackles
Starting defensive tackles: Kingsley Keke, Zaycoven Henderson
Backups: Daylon Mack, Justin Madubuike
The interior portion of the defensive line might be the deepest position group on the team. Zaycoven Henderson looked to be off to the NFL before suffering a leg injury in the Texas Bowl. Rather than enter the draft injured, Henderson chose to come back to school. He’ll be paired with Kingsley Keke, a potential upper round draft pick in 2018.
If that wasn’t good enough, those two will have former 5-star tackle Daylon Mack backing them up. Mack is one of those guys with an incredibly high ceiling that hasn’t put it all together yet. He hasn’t found the stamina to be an every down player yet, but given one more year in the weight room he could be making plays like this more often:
Behind Mack are Madubuike and Morton. Both guys are 6-foot 3 and 300 pounds. When they get their turn in the front they’ll hold their own. A unit that has struggled to get pressure inside looks to have enough bodies to improve significantly in 2017.
Defensive End
Starting defensive ends: Jarrett Johnson, Michael Clemons
Backups: Qualen Cunningham, Landis Durham, Tyree Johnson
Texas A&M lost what might have been the most dynamic pass rushing duo in school history, Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall. Let’s cut to the chase: their replacements won’t be first round picks. But that doesn’t mean the Aggies will be starting from scratch.
They’ll plug in JUCO transfer Michael Clemons. The Aggies nabbed the 6-foot 6-inch, 240 pound end from Cisco College. The other spot will be split between seniors Jarrett Johnson and Qualen Cunningham. When Garrett missed playing time last season it was Johnson that earned most of the snaps in his relief. Johnson finished tied with Hall for third on the team in 2016, so he’s no slouch off the end.
Beyond those three there isn’t much depth at the end position. Freshman Tyree Johnson will see some time in rotation as well as Landis Durham. The Aggies have done a good job at keeping a consistent rotation on the defensive line. This position is one of the most thin groups they have, but the backups should still see a good amount of playing time.
Linebacker
Starting outside linebackers: Otaro Alaka, Anthony Hines
Backups: Dwaine Thomas, Justin Dunning
This is the most talented group of linebackers that Kevin Sumlin has had in College Station. Hines is easily the most talented he’s recruited in his time with the Aggies. The true freshman will be starting on Saturdays in the SEC. That’s no small praise for such a young player.
Where he fits into the puzzle has yet to be determined. That depends partly on what personnel that defensive coordinator John Chavis decides to utilize. Last year the Aggies played a good amount of 4-2-5 and formations with only a few linebackers on the field. They just didn’t have the depth and had to rely on Shaan Washington to be an every down player.
That will change this year. A healthy Otaro Alaka will fill one of the outside spots. If he does slide into the middle that would push Hines to the outside. The third spot will be filled by one of a handful of young players. Dwaine Thomas, Mac Labhart and 12th Man Cullen Gllaspia. One of those three will rise to the top after a few weeks, but each of them will see a fair share of snaps next season.
Starting middle linebacker: Tyrel Dodson
Backups: Otaro Alaka, Anthony Hines
Middle linebacker is somewhat of a question mark for the Aggies. It’s not that they don’t have any middle linebackers on the roster, rather it’s dependent on how Chavis decides to use his players. The defense will go through several permutations before a true number one emerges midway through the first half of the year.
As of right now the plug-and-play option should be Tyrel Dodson. A Franklin, Tennessee native, Dodson played a reserve role on the Aggie defense last season. He finished with 27 tackles in 10 appearances
Secondary
Starting safeties: Armani Watts, Donovan Wilson
Backups: Larry Pryor, Clifford Chattman
You won’t find many better starting safety duos in the SEC. Armani Watts and Donovan Wilson should both earn some All-SEC team recognition before the season is through. Watts in particular is already appearing as a first round pick in many way too early 2018 mock drafts.
The other safety position is a bit more nebulous. Donovan Wilson is going to be on the field just about every play, the question remains as to what position he’ll play. Wilson spent a good portion of last year as the Aggies’ nickel corner. His presence on the line of scrimmage was extremely disruptive and it’ll be tough for Chavis to play him further back.
Larry Pryor is the next guy up. When Texas A&M is in the nickel he’ll slide into the second safety role behind Wilson. If the Aggies choose to go with a more conventional two deep formation it’s going to be Watts and Wilson. They’ll toggle back and forth between those during games.
Starting corners: Priest Willis, Charles Oliver
Backups: DeShawn Capers-Smith, Roney Elam
Priest Willis has his job locked down. The UCLA transfer battled through injuries in 2016, but was for the most part a good SEC corner. He wasn’t phenomenal, and he wasn’t awful. He was good. The situation on the other end of the field is a bit more fuzzy.
Nick Harvey went down during Friday night lights with what looked to be a fairly serious knee injury. Kevin Sumlin has been pretty consistent with his policy on injuries, namely he only discusses season ending injuries with the media. He’s off the depth chart and all indications point toward a medical redshirt for him this season.
Taking his place is sophomore Charles Oliver who saw his red shirt burned in mid-November when the aforementioned Willis suffered an injury. In three appearances he played well, including a four tackle game against Kansas State in the Texas Bowl.
Offensive Line
Starters: Koda Martin, Colton Prater, Erik McCoy, Connor Lanfear, Keaton Sutherland
Backups: Keelen Diesch, Austin Anderson, Christian Daimler
Texas A&M has to replaced two senior offensive lineman that left for the NFL following last season, both tackles. The offensive tackle position group features some of the more interesting battles on the depth chart. There’s no entrenched starter, but a mix of guys with varying ranges of experience.
Juniors Koda Martin and Keaton Sutherland are the most experience tackles on the roster and they’ll look to take hold of the starting spots right out of camp. Their two most serious challengers are Kellen Diesch and Christian Daimler. Diesch is a red shirt freshman and the type of big body that coach Jim Turner loves to mold. He checks in at 6-foot 5-inches and 2017 pounds. A graduate transfer from Oklahoma, Daimler will be the veteran ready to step in when his number is called.
The interior of the line is more defined. Erik McCoy, who was Texas A&M’s starting center last season, is moving over to left guard. He struggled with snaps last season, so the change in position should give him one less thing to think about. In his place Colton Prater will take over center, providing he’s fully healthy.
Returning starter Connor Lanfear should take over the right guard position. That leaves sophomore Austin Anderson and a handful of big 2017 recruits to fill in the gaps as needed. Ideally Turner would like to redshirt most of the newcomers, but if someone is able to force themselves onto the field he won’t be upset.
Pass Catchers
Starting tight end: Kalvin Cline
Backup: Aaron Hansford, Tanner Schorp
There are rumors that offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone likes to utilize tight ends in his offense. The position has been almost entirely non-existant under Sumlin. He landed Cameron Clear, the nation’s second ranked tight end in 2013, but Clear’s Texas A&M career fizzled.
If the rumblings are indeed true, the Aggie quarterbacks will have a few options at the tight end position. Virginia Tech transfer Kalvin Cline will get the first shot at a starting role, but sophomore Aaron Hansford has had an impressive spring. Tanner Schorp could challenge for playing time if the offense ever decides to utilize any sort of jumbo package.
Starting wide receivers: Christian Kirk, Jhamon Ausbon, Damion Ratley
Backups: Quartney Davis, Roshauud Paul, Hezekiah Jones
Christian Kirk is a given. Every offensive snap without him on the field is a mistake. The Aggies will line him up all over the field and incorporate some trick plays with the junior All-American, but he’s never leaving the field. Joining him in the starting slots (assuming a tight end) are senior Damion Ratley and true freshman Jhamon Ausbon.
Ratley has been given opportunities to win the starting job for the past two season. Each time he’s failed to deliver what it took to earn the role. He’ll get the first shot again in 2017, but don’t be surprised if he’s surpassed by Quartney Davis or Hezekiah Jones after a game or two.
On the other side it’s going to be Jhamon Ausbon. He looked as good as advertised during Friday Night Lights. Ausbon is going to be a player in the freshman of the year conversation, if not more than that. The 4-star receiver out of the IMG Academy in Florida is going to be a key piece in an Aggie receiving corps that has to replace three starting pass catchers: Speedy Noil, Ricky Seals-Jones and Josh Reynolds.
Running Back
Starting running back: Trayevon Williams
Backup: Keith Ford
Keith Ford is the most experience Aggie running back, but Trayveon Williams is the one to watch. Williams became the first true freshman in Texas A&M history to surpass 1,000 yards rushing. There have been a lot of talented running backs to don maroon and white, but Williams was the first to reach that plateau.
He’s not done yet. Williams was named a Maxwell award finalist before the season, an award given to the player of the year in college football. He’s a long shot to win the award, but being named to the same list as Heisman favorites like Sam Darnold, Derrius Guice and Lamar Jackson gives you an idea of what this young man is capable of doing.
His relief will be Ford, a bruiser that got stronger as the season wore on in 2016. He’s the perfect compliment to the quickness and shiftiness of Williams. Behind those two are Kwame Etwi and Kendall Bussey, talented players, but not likely to see as much of the field if Williams can help it.
Bussey is the sleeper to watch on the running back depth chart. He was limited to 20 carries last season but racked up 172 yards. He’s not going to supplant Williams for the starting role, but when the coaches need a similar runner to spell Williams it will be Bussey that gets called upon.
Quarterback
Starting quarterback: Nick Starkel
Backup: Kellen Mond
Jake Hubenak is quite possibly the most meaningful backup quarterback in school history. When the sky seemed to be falling in the Texas A&M quarterback room it was Hubenak that stayed the course. He started the Music City Bowl following the transfers of Kyler Murray and Kyle Allen. when everyone jumped ship, he was the guy that stayed. He was also the man asked to take over in a pinch when last year’s starter Trevor Knight was injured against Mississippi State.
Hubenak is the consummate team player and the type of guy that every team wants in his locker room. He has earned that praise. However, he doesn’t have the inside track on the starting job. That likely falls to either Nick Starkel or Kellen Mond.
Each of the younger Aggie passers brings a special talent to the field that goes beyond what Hubenak has to offer. Starkel has an elite arm and Mond has a cannon to pair with his legs. Sumlin is in “win-now” mode. He has to balance that with what’s best for the long run for his program. Both of the younger guys has a greater upside than the senior, Hubenak.
Starting a true freshman in the SEC seems crazy. It’s certainly not what Sumlin was planning on doing when he started recruiting Mond. But after he got on campus the buzz of the young hurler continues to grow. Plus, Sumlin’s most successful Aggie quarterback was a first year starter.
Next: Texas A&M Season Preview
A year of tutelage under Knight, Hubenak and Mazzone should give Starkel a slight edge out of the gate, but expect to see both guys see the field against UCLA. The edge going into the season goes to Starkel, but by a razor-thin margin.