Texas A&M Football: Winners and Losers from the Aggies' 2016 Spring

The Texas A&M Aggies concluded spring practice on Saturday with their annual spring game that saw the Maroon squad defeat the White squad, 42-38.

Oklahoma quarterback transfer Trevor Knight received the majority of playing time for the Aggies and took full advantage of his opportunity. Knight completed 25 of 36 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns, according to Travis Brown of My Aggie Nation.

Fellow quarterback Jake Hubenak played some in the first half before departing with flu-like symptoms, per head coach Kevin Sumlin (via Suzanne Halliburton of the Austin American-Statesman).

With spring practice now complete for the Aggies, let's take a look at some of the winners and losers for A&M this spring.

Winner: Trevor Knight

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Trevor Knight

Knight had plenty of positive moments during his career at Oklahoma. However, Baker Mayfield beat him out for the starting quarterback job in 2015, and the Sooners never looked back.

In the offseason, Knight transferred to the Aggies as a graduate student with one year of eligibility remaining and immediately entered the mix to become A&M's quarterback in 2016.

Knight has picked up new offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone's offense and looked comfortable operating it during the spring game. While Knight looked strong in the pocket, he also made some improvisational skills outside of the pocket. 

Yes, it's too early to say Knight is the starter, but he went a long way toward wrapping up that honor with a strong finish to spring practice. 

Loser: Jake Hubenak

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Jake Hubenak

Saying Hubenak is a loser is not completely fair. He finished the 2015 season strong and was having a good spring for the Aggies. However, Knight continued to get more comfortable and moved ahead of Hubenak in the race to become Texas A&M's starting quarterback in Saturday's spring game.

Hubenak played the first half but didn't look comfortable. He rushed a few throws and checked down on a few others. His best play came on one that was blown dead when he stepped up and hit Boone Niederhofer for a big gain. 

Hubenak is still in the mix and will be throughout fall camp. But the momentum is swinging firmly in the favor of Knight at the end of the spring. 

Winners: Young Running Backs

Credit: 247Sports

Freshman RB Trayveon Williams

Tra Carson is gone for the Aggies, but don't worry: A&M has several talented running backs at its disposal for the 2016 season. 

True freshman Trayveon Williams, an early enrollee out of Houston, was electrifying in the spring game. Williams had several big runs and showed coaches he can also run between the tackles.

Fellow freshman Kendall Bussey and sophomore Kwame Etwi also had solid games. Etwi fumbled in the second half but followed it up with a big touchdown run and led A&M in rushing. 

Mazzone likes to run the ball out of the spread, and he will have plenty of options this fall.

This group stood out and could help take the offense to another level in 2016. 

Losers: Run Defense

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Texas A&M defensive coordinator John Chavis

In defensive coordinator John Chavis' first season in College Station last fall, the Aggies struggled to stop opposing teams from running all over them. A&M finished No. 107 in college football with over 213 yards rushing allowed per game.

The spring game showed some of the same issues that plagued Chavis and the Aggies last fall.

Aggies running backs found numerous holes and ran deep into the secondary on more than one occasion.

While it's unfair to say this unit won't improve in 2016 when everyone is healthy, Sumlin had to be nervous after seeing all of his young running backs run wild against his talented defensive front.

The Aggies were decimated at linebacker heading into the spring game, and that exacerbated some of the issues stopping the run.

Winners: Receivers

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Texas A&M WR Speedy Noil

The Aggies are loaded at wide receiver, but you knew this. Ricky Seals-Jones, Speedy Noil and Christian Kirk could start for just about anyone in the country. All three made an impact this spring.

While Seals-Jones, Noil and Kirk are household names to those who are avid college football fans, it's players like Niederhofer and Jeremy Tabuyo who go unnoticed. 

Neither Niederhofer nor Tabuyo is a game-breaker, but both are good, steady receivers who could start for the Aggies in a pinch, and the offense would never miss a beat. Niederhofer showed this spring he can get deep and catch everything. Tabuyo made an outstanding, contested catch on a throw from Knight in the first half.

Regardless of who starts at quarterback for the Aggies this fall, the program will have arguably the nation's top group of wide receivers at its disposal. 

Loser: Daniel LaCamera

Credit: 247Sports

Kicker Daniel LaCamera

Texas A&M has a hole at kicker and fully expects sophomore Daniel LaCamera to fill that vacancy.

However, after a strong spring, LaCamera had his share of struggles in the spring game. He missed all three field-goal attempts. In LaCamera's defense, all three kicks were over 40 yards. He has proved all spring he has the leg—and accuracy—to be A&M's kicker. 

But will his misses in the spring game cause Sumlin to look at freshman Braden Mann at kicker this summer? LaCamera certainly opened the door for the talented early enrollee.

Coaches may chalk it up to just a bad day for the new kicker, but games are won and lost by the kicker every week. Can Mann—who spent time at punter this spring—convince coaches he's ready to be the team's starting kicker as a true freshman?

LaCamera didn't lose the job due to his performance in the spring game, but he did open the door for a possible competition this summer.