2020 Team Preview: Can Texas A&M Turn The Corner?

It is impossible to ignore: Jimbo Fisher, who won a national championship in 2013 at Florida State and then made the College Football Playoff with the Seminoles one season later in 2014, has struggled to regain the mark of an elite head football coach since then. Fisher has struggled in the past six years, with the sole exception of a 2016 season in which he won the Orange Bowl at Florida State. For the most part, the last six years have been extremely frustrating for Fisher, and his first few years at Texas A&M have brought no significant improvements to the Aggies. Texas A&M has been searching for a difference-making head coach since the end of R.C. Slocum’s tenure nearly two decades ago. Will this be the year things change in College Station?

Offseason Changes

The Aggies lost a number of skill players, which will make it more difficult for Fisher to get the offense to perform at a supremely high level. Receivers Kendrick Rogers and Quartney Davis are gone, as is running back Jashaun Corbin. A&M doesn’t have the depth it expected to bring into the 2020 season. Corbin was an unlikely departure into the transfer portal, meaning that other, younger players lower on the depth chart will have to step up.

The Aggies Will Succeed If…

Kellen Mond finally figures everything out. Mond is a veteran quarterback and a very good open-field runner with terrific speed. He can be a devastatingly potent dual-threat quarterback… if he can become a better passer. Mond’s running game has been so much better than his passing game, which is not just a compliment about his running skills. He has had problems throwing any passes which require touch. He overthrows receivers on long passes, he can’t fit throws into tight spots, and he also doesn’t hit receivers in stride, which prevents them from being able to run long distances after the catch. They have to slow down to catch his passes, which has denied big gains for A&M’s offense. If Mond can finally develop accuracy and touch on his passes, the Aggies could become a great team. That’s a big “if,” however. Many people think that if Mond hasn’t learned how to throw by now, one more year won’t suddenly enable him to turn the corner.

The Aggies Will Fail If…

Their young skill players don’t step up. Mond is a veteran, but in order for the A&M offense to max out, younger skill players – some pressed into service because of unexpected transfers and player departures – are going to have to make huge contributions during the season. Defenses are going to take away the first options for the Aggies’ passing game, so the backups and slot receivers will have to become credible threats. If not, the A&M offense will get smothered by opposing defenses.

Prediction

Kellen Mond has considerable natural ability, but like a pitcher who just can’t find the strike zone, Mond’s precision has simply been lacking in his collegiate career. If he somehow finds the magic touch, A&M could finish second in the SEC West. However, Mond has to prove he can be a great quarterback. No one is going to assume he will improve. A&M can’t be given the benefit of the doubt.

Prediction: 4th In SEC West