Texas A&M Football: What You Should & Shouldn't Be Concerned About After Week 2

The Texas A&M football team has started the season with two consecutive wins and rose to No. 7 in the latest AP poll. The Aggies have shown some surprising strengths and a few expected weaknesses during their first two games.

The Aggies feature one of the younger teams in the SEC overall. Head coach Kevin Sumlin has played 14 true freshman during the first two games. With that kind of youth, you expect to see some youthful mistakes.

The Aggies have had their share of mistakes, but they have also had some standout performances from some of their younger players. The future of the program is definitely bright as the Aggies feature a number of young players who are playing significant roles early in their career.

This is a look at some of the strengths and weaknesses of the 2014 Texas A&M football team.   

Concern: Secondary

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The Texas A&M secondary is still unproven as they head into the third game of the season. The 2013 Aggie defense featured multiple busted coverages and poor pass defense overall. 

Against South Carolina, the Aggies had two busted coverages that resulted in a 69-yard touchdown pass and a 46-yard pass. In both cases, one of the Aggies' safeties blew the coverage.

True freshman Armani Watts has been a pleasant surprise at free safety. His ability to break on the ball has been a huge asset to the Aggies in coverage. Watts' play has allowed senior safety Howard Matthews to play closer to the box and concentrate on helping in run defense. 

Freshmen are going to make mistakes. Aggie fans are just going to have to live with Watts making a few mistakes as the season wears on. He currently leads the team with three passes broken up in two games and has grabbed an interception. Other than the blown coverages, Watts play has been nothing short of stellar.

The Aggies have not yet been tested by an accurate quarterback. Until the defense faces a top-notch quarterback, there will be concerns about how the secondary will hold up.

Not a Concern: Pass Rush

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The Aggies had an anemic pass rush in 2013, but that is not the case in 2014. Increased depth on the defensive line has allowed Aggie defensive coordinator Mark Snyder to rotate his players liberally. 

The Aggies have been able to generate a pass rush from their defensive line alone. In order to be effective against the pass, a defender does not have to sack a quarterback, but he does have to consistently harass him.

True freshman defensive end Myles Garrett has lived in the opposing backfield and leads the Aggies with three sacks after two games. To put that in perspective, Gavin Stansbury and Shaan Washington led the Aggies with three sacks each in 13 games in 2013. 

Sophomore defensive end Daeshon Hall did not record a sack in 2013, but he recorded a sack and two tackles for loss in the Aggies' win over Lamar. He and Garrett have combined for six quarterback hurries in the first two games. 

That kind of pressure will generate turnovers and incompletions.

Sophomore defensive tackle Jay Arnold has two quarterback hurries through two games. He was particularly effective against South Carolina where he consistently pushed the opposing offensive lineman into the backfield.

Head coach Kevin Sumlin and his staff have to be happy with the quantum leap forward the Aggies' defensive line has taken when it comes to pressuring the opposing quarterback.  

Concern: Depth and Size at Linebacker

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In 2013, the Aggie linebackers were run over because they lacked experience, talent and size. The linebacker position was hurt before the season even started when expected starter Shaan Washington broke his collarbone.  

Washington is a 6'3", 235-pound sophomore outside linebacker. He is one of the biggest linebackers on the Aggies' roster and would be a physical presence against the run.

The injury issues at linebacker were exacerbated when A.J. Hilliard dislocated his ankle against South Carolina. The 6'2", 230-pound transfer from TCU may miss the entire season.

The Aggies have replaced Washington and Hilliard with Donnie Baggs and Tommy Sanders, though those two are not the physical presences on the field that Washington and Hilliard are. Both Baggs and Sanders started in 2013 and were benched for poor play.

Their inability to hold up physically against SEC blockers was one of the major reasons the Aggie defense struggled against the run in 2013.

Sophomore linebacker Jordan Mastrogiovanni has been solid in the middle for the Aggies. He has exceeded expectations after his poor performance in 2013. As a freshman, Mastrogiovanni failed to correctly diagnose plays and exhibited a lot of wasted movement in his game.

In 2014, Mastrogiovanni has looked like a solid SEC middle linebacker. He is quarterbacking the defense and making the plays that need to be made. The Aggies' linebacker corps is solid in the middle, but there are questions at both outside spots as they head into SEC play.  

Not a Concern: Wide Receiver Depth

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There was some concern about who would step up and be a difference-maker at wide receiver with Mike Evans moving on to the NFL. That question has been answered by a receiving corps that has exceeded expectations through the first two games. 

The Aggies have seven receivers who have caught at least five passes at this early juncture of the season. They have six receivers with over 100 yards receiving through two games, and seven different receivers who have caught touchdowns. 

The Aggies have six receivers averaging over 50 yards per game. They are led by senior wideout Malcome Kennedy whose 17 receptions for 170 yards is setting the pace for the position. 

Ricky Seals-Jones, Josh Reynolds, Edward Pope and Frank Iheanacho give the Aggies size at the receiver position that most NFL teams would covet.

Contrast that with the quickness of Sabian Holmes, Speedy Noil and LaQuvionte Gonzalez and it is apparent that the Aggies have one of the deepest and most talented wide receiver corps in the nation. 

Concern: Adversity

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Texas A&M is 2-0, and it will likely be 4-0 before they dive into conference play again. Upcoming games with Rice and SMU will not provide much of a challenge before they have to travel to Arlington, Texas to take on Arkansas. 

The Aggies are averaging 62.5 points a game right now and everything is coming up roses. The question is, how will they react when they face adversity? With such a young team, there has to be some concern about where the leadership will come from when things go south. 

In the last two years, the team has been able to rely on Johnny Manziel to do something magical to pull their feet out of the fire. How will the team react if Kenny Hill is off and the offense is sputtering? 

That is a question that cannot be answered until the players face adversity on the field.