Texas A&M Football: 3 hot takes from blowout win over Kent State

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Sep 4, 2021; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Leon O’Neal Jr. (9) celebrates after the call was reversed during the third quarter against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports /

2. The defense will be one of the stronger units in the SEC

The Aggie defense is replacing a couple of big players like Buddy Johnson and Bobby Brown III, but they showed up on Saturday night with some big plays that every Aggie fan should be excited about.

We saw, first and foremost, the real emergence of Leon O’ Neal. He has talked a big talk for a while, but he finally showed out on the field on Saturday night with an endzone interception to end the first half and a pick-six that came right after a play in which he could have been ejected for what was thought to be targeting. I believe that could have rattled O’Neal, but he didn’t allow it to and he made a big-time play that gave the Aggies all of the momentum. That is growth for this senior defensive back.

Look out for true freshman Shemar Turner who finished with 1.5 sacks along with four tackles.

Senior linebacker Aaron Hansford also showed that losing Buddy Johnson doesn’t mean that the linebacking corps isn’t going to be as good as he finished with a team-leading eight tackles and a pass deflection.

Overall, despite allowing 226 rushing yards, I think this defense, by the end of the season, will be one of the stronger units in the SEC. They showed promise on Saturday night and things will just get better for the Aggies.