The Texas A&M Aggies reeled in the number one recruiting class in the whole country this offseason. The new realities of recruiting in an age of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals have given A&M the ability to attract a higher caliber of athlete. This is what head coach Jimbo Fisher has been banking on ever since he came to College Station to coach the Aggies. He knows the school will invest its resources into football. He knows the program will be given every chance to succeed. Last year, Texas A&M was one of only two schools to defeat Alabama, the other one being national champion Georgia. There is certainly a sense that Texas A&M can eventually go all the way and win the national championship, but there is also a pervasive feeling that it won\u2019t happen this year, and that Nick Saban needs to have an unlucky year (much like 2019, when Tua Tagovailoa got injured) in order for that to happen. Let\u2019s see what Texas A&M is capable of in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key Personnel Lost<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Aggies lose offensive guard Kenyon Green, a top-15 NFL draft pick, part of a four-member NFL draft class. Obviously, Fisher and the coaching staff are relying on their stellar recruiting class to make up a portion of the difference. What you are likely to see with Texas A&M in 2022 is for the freshmen recruits to not start in Week 1 but get snaps and repetitions as backups and become integrated into the lineup as the season progresses. Maybe one or two of those new recruits will become starters, but the prevailing reality is that they will be second-stringers before first-stringers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Possibly the biggest loss for the Aggies is the departure of former defensive coordinator Mike Elko, who took the open head coaching job at Duke. Elko was previously defensive coordinator at Wake Forest, so he knows the ACC and found the Duke head coaching job too irresistible to pass up. D.J. Durkin, who previously worked at Ole Miss, will be the new defensive coordinator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Important Incoming Freshmen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Walter Nolan is a physical specimen at 6-4 and over 300 pounds. He has size and heft but is light on his feet and gives the Aggies a dynamic force in the trenches, which will be needed against Alabama\u2019s offensive line. Nolan will become one of several important pieces for Texas A&M this season, serving as a reminder that quality is less about one guy and more about building depth and balance. Being able to withstand one injury comes into play for a lot of football teams. One piece doesn\u2019t solve that, but a collection of pieces is the true answer. Nolan is part of that puzzle at A&M.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evan Stewart wide receiver is a skill-position player who will try to add upside and explosiveness to the offense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Key Position Battles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The A&M offensive line has to be great for this program to meet its hopes and expectations. If the A&M offensive line thrives, the potent Alabama offense can stay off the field and the Aggies can control the clock. With Kenyon Green gone, the Aggies have to find a significant high-end replacement for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Biggest Offseason Goal(s)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Aggies need to be stronger and more overwhelming up front, especially given the loss of an elite offensive lineman (Green) and a quality defensive coordinator (Elko). Trench warriors will increase this team\u2019s margin for error. That\u2019s where the program must get stronger.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Texas A&M Aggies reeled in the number one recruiting class in the whole country this offseason. The new realities…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":13145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[133],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ncaaf"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22655"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22670,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22655\/revisions\/22670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}