Texas A&M Football: Depth Chart Analysis, Complete 2015 Preview and Predictions

Remember when Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin fielded question after question during the 2012 SEC media days over whether the Aggies could compete in the SEC? All A&M did that year was win 11 games and have a Heisman-winning quarterback in Johnny Manziel.

Since then, however, A&M's win total has declined each year. Entering a pivotal year four, Sumlin finds his team projected to finish next to last in the SEC West by the media. The reality is, in a stacked division in which all the head coaches are paid handsomely, someone is still going to finish (next to) last. A&M just hopes it's not them. 

But, with a high-powered offense and potentially rejuvenated defense, there is room for the Aggies to surge. Given that A&M doesn't even leave the state of Texas—note that this includes two neutral-site games—until the seventh game of the season, the schedule sets up well, too. 

What should you expect from the Aggies in 2015? We take a look in our complete team preview. 

Coaches

Head Coach	Kevin Sumlin
Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks	Jake Spavital
Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers	John Chavis
Special Teams/Tight Ends	Jeff Banks
Offensive Line/Run Game Coordinator	Dave Christensen
Defensive Tackles	Mark Hagen
Secondary	Terry Joseph
Running Backs	Clarence McKinney
Wide Receivers	Aaron Moorehead
Defensive Ends	Terry Price

If you can't beat 'em, hire 'em. 

Easily, one of the biggest assistant coaching hires of the offseason was defensive coordinator John Chavis from LSU. As far as turnaround, Chavis can have a similar impact that co-offensive coordinators Sonny Cumbie and Doug Meacham had with TCU's offense in 2014. 

Not only did Sumlin swipe one of the top defensive minds away from a divisional rival, but Chavis had the magic formula to slowing down the Aggies offense. 

There's never a doubt that A&M's offense will be prolific, but what can Chavis do for the defense right away? This is a group that finished at or near the bottom of the SEC in major categories (points per game allowed, rushing defense, passing defense). Meanwhile, LSU routinely finished near the top of the SEC in points per game allowed under Chavis. 

However, the Aggies do have plenty of young talent, such as defensive end Myles Garrett, for Chavis to work with. 

We could look back six months from now and agree that Chavis was the best assistant coaching hire of the year. 

What to Watch on Offense

Position	1st String	2nd String	3rd String
QB	Kyle Allen	Kyler Murray	Jake Hubenak
RB	Tra Carson	James White	Kendall Bussey
WR	Speedy Noil	Edward Pope	Edward Pope
WR	Christian Kirk	Sabian Holmes	Boone Niederhofer
WR	Josh Reynolds	Damion Ratley	--
WR	Ricky Seals-Jones	Jeremy Tabuyo	--
LT	Avery Gennesey	Koda Martin	Zach Ledwick
LG	Jeremy Stuckey	Keaton Sutherland	Tank Davis
C	Mike Matthews	Jeremy Stuckey	Erik McCoy
RG	Joseph Cheek	Jermaine Eluemunor	Connor Lanfear
RT	Germain Ifedi	J.J. Gustafson	Trevor Elbert
K	Taylor Bertolet	--	--

The heated quarterback battle between Kyle Allen and true freshman Kyler Murray was fun while it lasted. Ultimately, though, experience prevailed for Allen, a sophomore who started the final five games of the 2014 season.  

That doesn't mean Murray, a former 5-star recruit according to 247Sports, won't see the field at some point in the season, as Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports tweets:  

With the quarterback competition settled (for now?), A&M's offense is pretty much set. The wide receivers unit is talented and deep, led by Josh Reynolds, last season's leading receiver, and sophomore sensation Speedy Noil. Ricky Seals-Jones and Christian Kirk round out the starting line, which looks to be among the best in the SEC. 

Behind the starting four is a cluster of players who should see rotational time. Don't let the depth chart—which is unofficial, by the way—fool you; the difference between second and third string here is minimal at best. As Gabe Bock of TexAgs Radio tweets, plenty of guys are competing as backups: 

With leading rusher Tra Carson back for another year and center Mike Matthews anchoring the offensive line, A&M has the pieces in place to get back to the top of the SEC in offense. 

What to Watch on Defense

Position	1st String	2nd String	3rd String
DE	Daeshon Hall	Jarrett Johnson	--
NG	Alonzo Williams	Zaycoven Henderson	Daylon Mack
DT	Julien Obioha	Hardreck Walker	DeShawn Washington
DE	Myles Garrett	Qualen Cunningham	James Lockhart
WLB	A.J. Hilliard	Richard Moore	Riley Garner
MLB	Josh Walker	Claude George	Landis Durham
SLB	Otaro Alaka	Shaan Washington	Dwaine Thomas
CB	De’Vante Harris	Brandon Williams	Tavares Garner
CB	Victor Davis	Nick Harvey	Alex Sezer
S	Armani Watts	Justin Dunning	Larry Pryor
S	Justin Evans	Donovan Wilson	Sam Moeller
P	Drew Kaser	--	--

It starts with Garrett, who in 2014 broke Jadeveon Clowney's SEC freshman sack record with 11.5 sacks. Garrett is still improving on his overall game and should be a beast again, but his freshman effort is certainly a promising sign. 

“Obviously, he's gotten stronger,” Texas A&M defensive line coach Terry Price told Sam Khan Jr. of ESPN. “He's gotten healthier. He has done a better job at the point of attack. One of the biggest things we worked on this spring and this fall is hand placement ... and he’s worked hard at it, and he’s done a better job with his hands.”

However, despite having a pass rush that ranked among the best in the conference, A&M's pass defense left much to be desired. Only two teams—South Carolina and Vanderbilt—allowed more yards per attempt. Only Kentucky and Auburn allowed more passing touchdowns, and the Aggies recorded the fewest interceptions (five) of anyone in the SEC. 

So, theoretically, there's only way to go, right? It certainly can't get much worse. 

The good news is there's an anchor in the secondary despite the losses of Deshazor Everett and Howard Matthews. Armani Watts started from Week 1 as a true freshman and immediately had an impact, leading the team with eight pass breakups. 

The run defense, however, needs serious improvement after giving up five yards per carry and 23 touchdowns last year. As coordinator and linebackers coach, this will be Chavis' biggest area of concern. There's a lot of youth on the depth chart in the middle part of that defense—not to mention there were numerous injuries in the spring. There's a legitimate question over whether the run D will be fixed completely in a year's time. But if Chavis can knock that yards-per-rush average down a full yard—or even close to a yard—it will have been a successful year. ESPN's Khan explains: 

"

If the Aggies are to take a big step forward on defense, the linebackers have to be both healthy and consistently effective. With teams in the SEC West that run the ball effectively, which is almost the entire division, as well as downhill run teams like Alabama, Arkansas and LSU—there's nowhere to hide. 

"

The overall feeling is that if A&M's defense can even be in the middle of the pack in the SEC, the offense is more than capable enough of winning games. 

X-Factor

Sticking with the linebacker unit, Josh Walker gets the nod here. If A&M's defense is going to turn any type of corner this year, it has to be in the run D department. As the middle linebacker, this is where Walker can shine. Walker started four games as a freshman in 2014 and played in 10 games overall before suffering a season-ending foot injury.

The job of the middle linebacker these days is no longer defined by playing in a phone booth. Going sideline to sideline is a big part of defending today's spread offense. That said, performing in run defense is still a major part of the job. With Chavis overseeing linebackers, Walker is going to be working directly under one of the best defensive minds in college football. A breakout year for Walker would be huge for A&M's defensive efforts. 

2015 Schedule

Date	Opponent	Location
Sept. 5	Arizona State	Houston
Sept. 12	Ball State	College Station
Sept. 19	Nevada	College Station
Sept. 26	Arkansas	Arlington
Oct. 3	Mississippi State	College Station
Oct. 17	Alabama	College Station
Oct. 24	Ole Miss	Oxford
Oct. 31	South Carolina	College Station
Nov. 7	Auburn	College Station
Nov. 14	Western Carolina	College Station
Nov. 21	Vanderbilt	Nashville
Nov. 28	LSU	Baton Rouge

Make-or-Break Games

Last year, A&M got off to a hot start by going on the road and beating South Carolina, a team projected to win the SEC East. Once again, the Aggies will be involved in a huge Week 1 game—but this time against an out-of-conference opponent. 

If the season opener against Arizona State in Houston isn't the single biggest game of the weekend, it's right up there. The Sun Devils are a trendy Pac-12 dark horse with, like A&M, a high-powered offense. Since A&M is not ranked in either preseason poll, a win here would be a huge boost to start the season. 

Though the season opener will be one of two neutral site games, the Aggies don't actually leave the state of Texas until Oct. 24 (at Ole Miss). Playing the Rebels on the road will be part of a critical stretch for A&M. In less than a month's time, A&M gets Alabama, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Auburn. 

Finally, the season-ending game at LSU will be huge. A&M is 0-3 versus the Tigers, but two of those losses have been decided by six points or fewer. With Chavis on the other sideline, can A&M finally topple LSU? 

Prediction

A&M won seven regular season games last year while going through a transition at quarterback and fielding an awful defense. With so many returning parts, the big difference is Chavis. What's he worth? One extra win? Two? That sounds reasonable, especially with a West division that could be wide open. 

The matchup against Arkansas could be tough because of how well the Hogs run the ball, and the annual game against Alabama is always huge. But I like the Aggies to pull off at least one win—be it against the Tide, Auburn or Ole Miss—that they're not supposed to. 

The SEC West looks to be ridiculously deep this year, and someone has to finish sixth. I just don't like that to be the Aggies. 

Overall Record: 9-3

Conference Record: 5-3

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.