Texas A&M's Aggies Biggest Concerns Post-Spring Football

One has the feeling that Kevin Sumlin is sleeping a little better this week.

Spring practices have already concluded at Texas A&M, which on Saturday held its first Maroon & White Game in three years due to the massive rebuilding of Kyle Field.

It wasn’t perfect—spring games never are—yet it was obvious that the biggest concern from last year has been successfully addressed to the point that Aggies fans can start feeling pretty good about the team’s chances in 2016.

Yes, there is a quarterback in College Station.

In case you missed it, Texas A&M’s 2015 season essentially fell apart after a 5-0 start, with former 5-star quarterbacks Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray both leaving the program.

The departures were seen as giving the Aggies not one black eye but two, and Sumlin’s name subsequently started being mentioned as being on the hot seat.

He has a six-year, $30 million contract and the renovation of Kyle Field cost more than $450 million. Yet the Aggies are coming off back-to-back 8-5 seasons and haven’t been above .500 in Southeastern Conference play since 2012. 

Things weren’t adding up in College Station, and Sumlin had to act quickly to turn them around. 

It began when the school announced that it and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital had “mutually decided to part ways,” and offensive line coach Dave Christensen, who also served as the running game coordinator, was dismissed. 

Two additions started to turn the momentum. Noel Mazzone was lured away from UCLA to be the offensive coordinator, and quarterback Trevor Knight transferred from Oklahoma.

The graduate senior has done nothing but impress during this first three months at Texas A&M, including Saturday. While Jake Hubenak, who started in the Music City Bowl (a 27-21 loss to Louisville), was trying to play while under the weather, Knight was 25-for-36 for 282 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.

Jackson Laizure/Getty Images

More importantly he showed poise, confidence and command. Recognizing he had someone to build the offense around, Sumlin named him the starter on Monday.

That shifted the head coaches’ biggest post-spring concern to making sure that nothing happens to Knight.

With a veteran quarterback running the offense, there’s a lot to like about the Aggies.

The collection of big, talented wide receivers will be a major problem for every opponent. Christian Kirk finished his freshman season with 1,009 receiving yards, and there’s also Ricky Seals-Jones, Damion Ratley, Josh Reynolds and Speedy Noll—if he can curtail his string of off-field issues (Noil was suspended for the Music City Bowl and will miss the opener against UCLA on September 3).

With early enrollee Trayveon Williams having an impressive spring, there’s some depth at running back and players who can be a bigger part of the passing game.

That’ll give Mazzone a lot to play with, and he didn’t give away anything during the final spring scrimmage, as he and Sumlin had the other offensive coaches call the plays.  

“The tempo was not at the point we want it to be, but we were able to change speeds two or three times today,” Sumlin said during the post-scrimmage press conference. “When we’re going to be most effective is being able to dictate the speed of the game, and not just go fast. Be able to change our speeds.”

Meanwhile, the defense is clearly better under second-year year coordinator John Chavis, and the tackling has improved. Led by the likes of Myles Garrett, Daeshon Hall and Daylon Mack, the line should be nothing short of outstanding.

“We’ve all come together, gotten older and had more time to jell,” Garrett said during the presser. “We all know we’re going to get the job done."

“Without a doubt we have more experienced players on defense, and probably a number of NFL players on the defense,” Sumlin said.

That doesn’t mean the Aggies are completely set. A&M will have two new starting cornerbacks, there’s not much depth at linebacker and special teams lost a lot. 

But the season might boil down to the offensive line.

With guard Keaton Sutherland held out due to an injury, Texas A&M had just one returning starter playing during the Maroon & White Game, Avery Gennesy. The coaches are high on right tackle Koda Martin, but check out the overall defensive numbers: six sacks, 14 tackles for a loss, four forced fumbles (one recovered) and two interceptions.

Some of that’s going to happen while facing Garrett and Co., but if the Aggies allow that in the fall, it won’t matter who’s playing quarterback.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.