Kyle Allen Named Texas A&M Starting QB, Gives Aggies Best Chance to Win SEC West

In what was one of the worst-kept secrets in the world, Texas A&M has found its starting quarterback.

All head coach Kevin Sumlin had to do was look at last season's depth chart to do so.

True sophomore Kyle Allen was named the starting quarterback for the Aggies for their showdown with Arizona State in Houston on Sept. 5, beating out hotshot true freshman and high school legend Kyler Murray in the process.

A shock? Not really.

Allen received virtually all of the first-team snaps all offseason after earning the starting job midway through the 2014 season. He totaled five touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl win over West Virginia. It was the culmination of a tumultuous season for Allen, who was despondent after losing the starting job before the season to former Aggie Kenny Hill.

"When I told him two weeks before the first game, he basically went around the corner and cried," Sumlin said at SEC media days. "To where he came to become MVP of the bowl game when six games ago he wasn't even playing, that says a lot. To go on the road to Auburn and then be the MVP, he's got a lot of confidence right now."

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Confidence in this system, which has been in the top five in the SEC in total offense and yards per play in each of Texas A&M's three seasons in the conference, is gold for Allen.

He has six of his top seven receivers back, the team added another superstar this offseason with the early enrollment of Scottsdale native Christian Kirk and he will be operating within an offense that is going to take some pressure off him by putting a big emphasis on the power-rushing attack.

Add all of those things together, and you have an offense that's capable of being one of the best in the country.

Comp.	Att.	Comp. %	Yds	TDs	INTs	Rating
118	192	61.5	1,322	16	7	139.5

But offense isn't going to get A&M in contention for the SEC West, right? After all, the Aggies haven't been in that discussion in each of the last two seasons despite moving the ball up and down the field with relative ease.

Things have changed, though, thanks to the arrival of defensive coordinator John Chavis.

The former LSU coordinator was lured away from Baton Rouge shortly after bowl season and will bring a much more aggressive approach to a side of the ball that was far too concerned about getting beat under former coordinator Mark Snyder.

"Here's a guy who's got a tremendous track record in the SEC and recently in the SEC West," Sumlin said at media days. "So his knowledge of opponents, his knowledge of the league helps me as a head coach, but it also helps our team and brings confidence right away to a defense that really needed it."

The opinions on Chavis are all over the board. But whether you think he's the best coordinator on the planet or gives up far too many third downs on "3rd-and-Chavis," he's certainly an upgrade over Snyder.

With Allen at the helm, the offense shouldn't miss a beat. Because of that, Chavis' margin for error is massive. That's a recipe for SEC success and should vault the Aggies into West contention.

Plus, it's not like the schedule is overly daunting. Sure, it's an SEC West slate, which is never easy. But the Aggies don't leave the state of Texas until Oct. 24, draw Auburn and Alabama at home, and only have three true SEC road games (the fourth is in Arlington vs. Arkansas).

Stability at quarterback was obvious. Now that Allen's spot atop the depth chart is set in stone, relevance in the division shouldn't be far behind.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports. Statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. 

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.