How Far Away Is Texas A&M from Contending for the SEC West?

For the first two-plus years in the SEC, Texas A&M has been all sizzle but no steak.

The Aggies have become one of the most high-profile teams in the conference thanks to the emergence of 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, a high-octane offense and a couple of signature wins along the way.

The elephant in the room is an SEC West title—or lack thereof. 

Despite incredible success over the first two seasons in the conference, the Aggies haven't truly contended for the division title. While not out of it in 2014, they're again fighting an uphill battle following the 48-31 loss to co-No. 3 Mississippi State on Saturday.

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Just how far away from contending for the SEC West title is head coach Kevin Sumlin's crew?

The defense is soft and young in the middle, which is a big reason why Arkansas and Mississippi State gashed the Aggies with 574 total rushing yards over the last two games.

Nose guard Hardreck Walker is only a sophomore, defensive tackle Alonzo Williams has experience but has been inconsistent and seven players on the depth chart on the defensive line are underclassmen.

Middle linebacker Jordan Mastrogiovanni has been fighting through an ankle sprain this year, and senior strong-side linebacker Donnie Baggs has been bouncing around from strong- to weak-side while sophomore Shaan Washington recovered from a broken collarbone.

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Washington's return has settled the starters back in their rightful home but hasn't helped the rush defense.

"From a depth issue that’s probably the one area on our football team where we don’t have as many players as we do at every other position," Sumlin said during Tuesday's press conference. "Those guys are playing more plays than anybody and the [ankle] injury to [linebacker] AJ [Hilliard] really pushed things back."

With so much youth on the depth chart in the front seven and a lack of depth at linebacker, this is a problem that's only fixable with time. Had defensive tackle Isaiah Golden not been dismissed from the program this spring, maybe the defense wouldn't be in this position. Unless Sumlin has a flux capacitor, he can't go back in time and get him back.

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The struggles in the middle of the defense are widely known and are overshadowing some positive signs from the Aggie defense. Freshman defensive end Myles Garrett has 6.5 sacks on the season, 1.5 fewer than former South Carolina standout Jadeveon Clowney had when he set the SEC freshman sack record of eight in 2011. He's helped the Aggies lead the conference in sacks (19) and post the third-most tackles for loss (39).

"He's extremely explosive, he's very, very gifted naturally, and he's working on his technique as all young guys do," Sumlin said. "He's starting to see different blocking schemes, which is the greatest compliment."

Add in a back end of the defense—which, while not great, has a solid foundation for the future with freshman free safety Armani Watts—and there are some bright spots.

Ten of Texas A&M's 22 signees in last season's recruiting class—including Garrett—were defensive players with four stars or more, according to 247Sports.com. Five of Texas A&M's 19 commitments in the class of 2015, including 5-star defensive tackle Daylon Mack, are 4-star defenders. 

Help is coming, and the foundation that is being built this season will only lead to depth in the coming seasons.

That's all Texas A&M needs.

Sumlin has proven throughout his career that his offense is going to click regardless of the name on the back of the quarterback's jersey or his strengths and weaknesses. Quarterback Kenny Hill didn't have the best day on Saturday, tossing three picks against Mississippi State, but he is third in the nation with 21 touchdown passes, sixth in yards per game (351.7) and 12th in passer rating (161.80).

Player	Class	Rec.	Yds.	TDs
Josh Reynolds	Sophomore	23	402	7
Malcome Kennedy	Senior	33	378	2
Edward Pope	Sophomore	18	369	4
Ricky Seals-Jones	Freshman	30	293	3
Speedy Noil	Freshman	16	255	3
Boone Niederhofer	Sophomore	20	181	1

Of the Aggies top six receivers, only one—senior Malcome Kennedy—is an upperclassman.

The foundation is there for success at the highest level of the SEC, just not this season.

The potency and potential of Texas A&M's offense gives defensive coordinator Mark Snyder some wiggle room. His defense doesn't have to be great, it just has to be adequate. 

It has shown flashes of that this season, which is progress from last season. Not enough progress to handle Mississippi State's multi-dimensional rushing attack and contend for the division title, but certainly enough to build off of.

Baby steps.

Barrett Sallee is the Lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.