Texas A&M Aggies Season Preview

Mike Sherman is coming off a solid 9-4 campaign in a season where most people did not expect him to accomplish anything after the way things started out.

Life after Von Miller should be quite intriguing in College Station. The former Aggies All-American and his teammates came out of nowhere to make quite the impact last season, in which they reached heights they have not been accustomed to for over a decade. 

Now leaving the Big 12 after the season and with higher expectations, will they be able to win eleven games and reach a BCS Bowl with a ridiculous eighteen starters intact?  

Aggie Nation on the Rise

Mike Sherman is the offensive coordinator of this team, which speaks volumes since he already has enough responsibilities as the head man. His offense is no longer vanilla, like it has been in the past. For one, he has sure-fire talent that most ranked teams would be jealous of. 

His receiving corps were one of the best out there a year ago, so expect even greater things in 2011. They can stretch the field with speed and make prime catches to open holes for their backs. 

Senior quarterback Jerrod Johnson started out on a bad note, losing three games right off the bat, prompting Sherman to promote Ryan Tannehill.

There was not a hotter quarterback (or team, for that matter) in the second half of the season.

Loaded WR Corps

Tannehill has a ton of questions to answer this season, as well as far higher expectations. Is he an NFL-caliber starter?

Wide receiver Ryan Swope also jumped on the Aggies bandwagon last season. His ability to make plays with yards after the catch and his sure-thing hands were integral to the team's success converting crucial third downs. 

The Aggies' high-octane offense became unstoppable because of the production that the skill players produced in College Station. They wreaked havoc on the Big 12 with an array of studs.

Wide receiver Jeff Fuller gave LSU All-American Patrick Peterson all he could handle in the Cotton Bowl, and I was quite impressed with the way he got out of breaks and came back on the ball on quick button hooks.

Throw in a red zone threat in receiver Uzoma Nwachukwu (6’1”, 194 pounds) who is only a junior, and you have one of the top five receiving units in America.

They have the three ingredients you need to dominate the competition: solid route running, good hands and freakishly athletic speed and size.

The Aggies have it all at their disposal for Tannehill, which is a big-time problem for the new-look Big 12.

Best Backfield in Big 12 and More?

The backfield was and still is loaded with speedsters, which do not usually fall from the sky in College Station.

Christine Michael has speed to kill for, and despite not being able to carry the load by himself, Cyrus Gray certainly has put together a solid career thus far at A&M.

Gray (5’10”, 198 pounds) is a primetime under-the-radar back because nobody looks at any so-called great players coming out of Texas A&M, but the truth is that this Aggies team has the most talent they have had since ’98 (last BCS Bowl appearance). 

Cyrus is expected to become the best back in the Big 12, and should be a unanimous choice for First Team All-Big 12. He runs behind the line that gave the LSU Tigers some issues early on in their Cotton Bowl appearance.

Plenty of Room to Run Behind These Aggies

Luke Joeckel is an up-and-coming future collegiate star for these Aggies.

As a freshman he started in all 13 games the Aggies played, and he had a jumpstart over nearly every other freshmen because he came in right away by graduating from high school early.

Jake Matthews was in the same boat, other than graduating high school early.

He is the son of Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews and was once a quarterback in high school, but now at 6’5”, 295 pounds, I would say that he made the right decision in moving to tackle.

He has exceptional feet and hands for a hog molly, and he is like a wall alongside Joeckel. With the Aggies playing pitch-it-and-catch with two stud tackles, things certainly look bright for this offense. 

Sensational Secondary in Big 12 Country

The secondary was burnt to a crisp by Terrence Toliver of LSU in the Cotton Bowl, but the Aggies put up a fight. Their secondary looks really bright, led by Coryell Judie who is a tremendous athlete with a sick vertical leap.

He can go up and take the ball away from any target in the nation.

He is only 5’11” but is a versatile corner and gives great support in both pass coverage and in coming off the edge on blitzes. 

They also return all six of their players from the secondary a year ago.

Dustin Harris is a solid nickel back and Steven Terrell could start for nearly any team in the Big 12. The other three starters are Terrence Frederick, Steven Campbell and Trent Hunter.

Hunter is a high-impact player who has been laying the wood on opponents the past few years. He is close to an elite safety, who can turn a game around with bone-jarring hits which lead to fumbles and interceptions for the Aggies.

More Aggie Beef Needed

As most experts say, "your secondary is only as good as your front line is.” A&M returns two of their starters up front, and a third who saw significant action.

They had better improve with those returnees, because they were gashed for nearly 300 yards against LSU in their Cotton Bowl obliteration, 41-24.

Jonathan Martin and Tony Jerod-Eddie are back to anchor the interior and exterior of the front four alongside Eddie Brown, Spencer Nealy, and Ben Bass. 

Jerod-Eddie and Eddie Brown are athletic big guys who can enforce their will against most linemen in the Big 12.

However, they still need more of a pass rush off the edge to stay consistent. 

Numbers Lean Towards Improvement

The linebacker corps are solid but nothing more with the loss of All-American Von Miller.

Miller did it all coming off the edge, wreaking havoc on quarterbacks as well as running backs with plenty of tackles for losses. Garrick Williams will attempt to do the same, though he is nowhere near the freak athlete that Miller was.

Sean Porter is another returning starting linebacker who will contribute a lot for these Aggies. Damontre Moore is expected to fill in and replace Miller as he has the most upside of any linebacker on the roster and Jonathan Stewart will do his best to enforce his will on opponents. 

Overall, the Aggies were still a solid 30th in the nation, allowing just 130 rushing yards per game. The pass defense, however, better be as good as I anticipate them to be. They were just 89th in the nation, allowing 234 yards per game.

Drama's Forecast

Everybody is hyping these Aggies to become a lock for the BCS.

Not so fast my friend!

The schedule is favorable, but I question how the defense will perform up front against Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma.

The Aggies have been not this good in a long time, and I truly belive they will be a factor in the Big 12. However, the rest of the conference will be out for blood since they are now moving onto bigger, better things.

It won’t be as easy as everybody thinks, since this offense has never handled pressure that well. This is your classic case of good teams being thrown into the great category.

They need to beat both Arkansas and Oklahoma State to even be mentioned as a top ten team. Their defense has been brutal in primetime games, as they have lost their past four games against SEC competition by a combined total of 76 points!

Returning Starters: 10 Offense/8 Defense

Projected Record: 10-3, 7-1

Projected Finish: Second in Big 12

Projected Bowl: Cotton Bowl