Texas A&M Football: Holiday Wish List for the Aggies

The Texas A&M Football team had a transitional year in 2014. The Aggies struggled to a 7-5 regular-season record and could use a few gifts under their Christmas tree before they enter 2015.

Texas A&M struggled on defense again in 2014. In 2013, the Aggies ended the season ranked No. 109 in total defense. In 2014, the Aggies ended the regular season ranked No. 102 in the nation in total defense.

They need to improve dramatically on the defensive side of the ball in 2015 in order to compete for a conference title. They also need to add more talent across the board in order to remain competitive in the SEC.

This is a look at a few gifts the Aggies would wish for during this holiday season.

Impact Defensive Coordinator

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The single biggest decision that Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin will make this offseason has to do with whom he chooses to be the next defensive coordinator at A&M. The Aggies need to bring in a defensive coordinator who can have a positive impact on the field and on the recruiting trail. 

If the Aggies want to compete for SEC championships, then they need to get better on defense. They have been adding talent on the defensive side of the ball, but continued failures on the field resulted in the dismissal of Mark Snyder from the defensive coordinator position. 

It does not really matter who Sumlin decides to hire. Whether it is Bud Foster, Greg Mattison, D.J. Durkin or a combination of two of them, the Aggies need to hire someone who can get the defense to consistently tackle in the open field and be tough against the run in 2015.

If the Aggies can play solid, fundamental defense in 2015, then they will compete for an SEC title with the talent they have returning on the offensive side of the ball. Sumlin needs to hire someone who will get recruits excited about coming to A&M to play defense.

Daylon Mack

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Elite defensive-tackle recruit Daylon Mack decommitted from the Aggies on Friday, per E.J. Holland of The Dallas Morning News. He had been a verbal pledge to A&M for nearly two years, but the ongoing uncertainty at defensive coordinator and two seasons in a row of poor defense appear to be enough to have Mack questioning whether A&M is right for him. 

You win games in the SEC by winning the battle at the line of scrimmage. The Aggies need to bring in players of Mack's quality in order to be an elite program in this league. 

Mack is rated as a 5-star recruit by 247sports.com and ranked as the No. 24 overall recruit in the country. He would play immediately at A&M and help improve the Aggies ability to stop the run. 

The Aggies need to bring Mack back into the fold. He would be a great holiday gift to Aggie fans and coaches.

Elite Receiving Recruit

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The Aggies currently have three receivers committed in their 2015 recruiting class. Junior college receiver Damion Ratley has already signed with the Aggies. 

Christian Kirk and Kemah Siverand are verbal pledges. The Aggies need to sign one more elite receiver in order to round out the class. 

The two most likely targets are Damarkus Lodge from Cedar Hill, Texas, and Kirk Merritt from Destrehan, Louisiana. The Aggies would sign an elite receiver class if they land either of the two 4-star prospects.

Texas A&M is known as an offensive powerhouse right now. It needs to continue to stack talent at the offensive skill positions in order to be an elite offensive team. Landing Merritt or Lodge would go a long way toward accomplishing that goal.

Elite Recruiters

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Texas A&M wide-receiver coach David Beaty took the head coaching position at Kansas, and offensive-line coach B.J. Anderson was dismissed from his duties. With those two assistants leaving the program, the Aggies lost their two best recruiters. 

Beaty was a great recruiter who covered the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas for A&M. Anderson covered East Texas for the Aggies. They both excelled at landing elite recruits. 

Sumlin will have to replace them with recruiters who are equally as adept on the recruiting trail. The 2014 season was a disappointment for the Aggies with a 7-5 record. Sumlin has dismissed two coaches from the staff in Anderson and Snyder. 

The coaching hires that Sumlin makes during the next month will go a long way toward defining his legacy at Texas A&M.

A Bowl Win

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The Aggies need to beat West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl and get their eighth win of the season. With the coaching turnover and recruits decommitting, a win would be a nice reminder to fans and the football world that Kevin Sumlin knows that he is doing. 

Nothing cures your ills like winning. A bowl win would give the Aggies some momentum as they head into the offseason. 

A decisive win in a bowl game can affect the rankings for the next season. The media tends to remember teams that blow out their opponents in bowl games. Most bowls are nationally televised, and it never hurts to win on television with recruits watching. 

The Aggies ended the regular season with consecutive losses to Missouri and LSU. A win would be a great holiday gift to all Aggie fans.