Looking back and forward
Just real quick, a glance at what personnel units did well and didn't do so hot this year, then a look forward to what we may be able to expect next year.
Good performance
Defensive ends. Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall ended up being the best duo on the conference. Qualen Cunningham and Jarrett Johnson were very good backups. Looking forward: Everyone returns, and Garrett could have a beastly year. Hall will be looking to establish himself as a top draft pick as well. James Lockhart will also start to push for serious playing time. Things look good here.
Secondary. Brandon Williams, Nick Harvey and Devante Harris performed better at corner than anyone could have expected. Armani Watts and Justin Evans were a solid safety corps, maybe as good as any in the conference. Donovon Wilson had a breakout season and should merit preseason All-SEC consideration (as should Watts and Evans). Looking ahead: Harvey's play has him locked in at one corner spot for next year and the Aggies should have a lot of options to replace Hall. Watts, Wilson, Evans and Noel Ellis all return, along with Justin Dunning and Larry Pryor. This is a good bunch, and could be elite if a couple of freshmen or redshirts step up.
Special teams: Drew Kaser, Taylor Bertolet and Christian Kirk were all-conference at their respective positions. Kaser, statistically, may end up the best in NCAA history and is certainly one of the top 5 to ever play in college. Coverage teams were, by and large, outstanding. Looking forward: Losing Kaser and Bertolet will hurt. But Daniel LaCamera and either Braden Mann or Shane Tripucka should be respectable replacements. A falloff here is inevitable, but hopefully won't be too severe.
Average performers
Defensive tackle. Alonzo Williams was solid, and played really hard, all season long. Still, he was outclassed by better interior linemen. Julien Obioha was banged up a lot and had good performances followed by bad. The ultimate team guy, he never complained and took up some valuable minutes inside. The young guys were the stars of the show: Daylon Mack and Zaycoven Henderson. They made some major mistakes, which you'd expect from a true freshman and a very raw sophomore, but they also showed the ability to make plays on the other side of the football. Looking forward: Mack and Henderson move into the starting lineup on day one. Hardreck Walker and Kingsley Keke are two big guys who can get in there and hold up for a series or more. If A&M gets anything out of Deshawn Washington, T.D. Moton and maybe someone else, they're going to have a lot of depth behind two (potentially) really good starters. They just have to play smart along with playing physical.
Wide receivers. It's frustrating to put this group here, but you can't do more than this. On the plus side, Ricky Seals-Jones and Christian Kirk broke out; Kirk is a huge home run threat and RSJ proved he's not only the best blocking wideout in the SEC (maybe college football), but can be a solid target too. On the minus side, Speedy Noil was a non-factor, Josh Reynolds didn't come close to matching his 2014 numbers and Damion Ratley dropped a ton of critical passes. Moving forward: I don't think you can even factor Noil into the mix next year, with all the troubles he's had on and off the field. It's going to be Kirk, RSJ and Reynolds who will carry the load, with hopefully help from Jeremy Tabuyo and Ed Pope. A&M's suddenly kind of thin at wideout, but maybe Frank Iheanacho and Kemah Siverand can show a few things. Jordan Davis and Irv Smith will almost have to play a bigger role next year.
Running back. Tra Carson stops this from being worse. Unquestionably the offensive MVP, he was seriously underrated by fans and the conference as he just ground out yards behind a lousy offensive line. James White never made an impact as he struggled to recover from a pair of bad injuries; Brice Dolezal was a pleasant surprise and Kwame Etwi showed he can handle some carries against non-conference folk, but much more. Moving forward: things look a lot better for 2016, with a (hopefully) healthy White, transfer Keith Ford, Kendall Bussey, Trayveon Williams and (presumably) Rakeem Boyd -- and Jay Bradford, perhaps? There should be a lot more options to choose from.
Bad
Quarterback. Enough said. Looking forward: Who knows? A lot depends on Jake Hubenak in the bowl game. Trevor Knight should be in this spring too, but the Aggies need at least one more guy. If Hubenak can handle the offense like a Case Keenum, A&M's offense suddenly looks potentially very potent again.
Linebacker. When your best performers are a guy who played less than half a season as a true freshman and another who will get a medical redshirt, you know it was ugly. And it was. AJ Hilliard made a lot of tackles, but not where he should have in many instances. Josh Walker was hurt and suspended early and never really made an impact. Shaan Washington was really good at the end of the year, but was part of the bunch that made a remarkable number of boneheaded plays that allowed big runs. Looking forward: You know Otaro Alaka and Richard Moore will get a lot of snaps. Washington probably will too. What they do in the middle is a question. They need Walker, Riley Garner, Landis Durham, Dwaine Thomas and incoming guys like Tyrel Dodson and (maybe?) Michael Divinity and Jeffrey McCulloch to be ready from day one. They're getting some numbers to work with...but will that equal sufficient talent?
Offensive line. Just a terrible year. The implementation of Dave Christensen's running game into Jake Spavital's offense was an outright failure, and it turned out the only thing they could do well was run power -- on occasion. Avery Gennesy was ok at left tackle; Keaton Sutherland struggled mightily at a position he's never played as a true freshman. Mike Matthews is a great technician and line leader, but he's no match for guys 320 pounds. Joe Cheek could also get overwhelmed, and Germain Ifedi is a guard playing tackle. Moving forward: Matthews, Cheek and almost certainly Ifedi will be gone. Koda Martin plugs in at right tackle, Erik McCoy at center and then you'll have a fight for the guard spots. Connor Lanfear should go into camp as a starter at one, and Sutherland will probably get first dibs at the other. You have to hope Tank Davis, Trevor Elbert, Colton Prater or the Andersons are ready to go, because otherwise you're down to just Jermaine Eluemunor.
Be on the lookout tonight
I'm going to post the AY Holiday Charity thread for Gig 'em 92 this evening. There will be a link to a Gofundme page. Marco has already fought the good fight and has a long way to go, but the bills are mounting. Let's help this great Ag and his family out. Please feel free to spread the word across all the other boards, twitter, facebook, whatever.
Basketball look and Mailbag tomorrow. Bowl stuff will start over the weekend.
Thanks, Merry Christmas and Gig 'em.
Mark
Just real quick, a glance at what personnel units did well and didn't do so hot this year, then a look forward to what we may be able to expect next year.
Good performance
Defensive ends. Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall ended up being the best duo on the conference. Qualen Cunningham and Jarrett Johnson were very good backups. Looking forward: Everyone returns, and Garrett could have a beastly year. Hall will be looking to establish himself as a top draft pick as well. James Lockhart will also start to push for serious playing time. Things look good here.
Secondary. Brandon Williams, Nick Harvey and Devante Harris performed better at corner than anyone could have expected. Armani Watts and Justin Evans were a solid safety corps, maybe as good as any in the conference. Donovon Wilson had a breakout season and should merit preseason All-SEC consideration (as should Watts and Evans). Looking ahead: Harvey's play has him locked in at one corner spot for next year and the Aggies should have a lot of options to replace Hall. Watts, Wilson, Evans and Noel Ellis all return, along with Justin Dunning and Larry Pryor. This is a good bunch, and could be elite if a couple of freshmen or redshirts step up.
Special teams: Drew Kaser, Taylor Bertolet and Christian Kirk were all-conference at their respective positions. Kaser, statistically, may end up the best in NCAA history and is certainly one of the top 5 to ever play in college. Coverage teams were, by and large, outstanding. Looking forward: Losing Kaser and Bertolet will hurt. But Daniel LaCamera and either Braden Mann or Shane Tripucka should be respectable replacements. A falloff here is inevitable, but hopefully won't be too severe.
Average performers
Defensive tackle. Alonzo Williams was solid, and played really hard, all season long. Still, he was outclassed by better interior linemen. Julien Obioha was banged up a lot and had good performances followed by bad. The ultimate team guy, he never complained and took up some valuable minutes inside. The young guys were the stars of the show: Daylon Mack and Zaycoven Henderson. They made some major mistakes, which you'd expect from a true freshman and a very raw sophomore, but they also showed the ability to make plays on the other side of the football. Looking forward: Mack and Henderson move into the starting lineup on day one. Hardreck Walker and Kingsley Keke are two big guys who can get in there and hold up for a series or more. If A&M gets anything out of Deshawn Washington, T.D. Moton and maybe someone else, they're going to have a lot of depth behind two (potentially) really good starters. They just have to play smart along with playing physical.
Wide receivers. It's frustrating to put this group here, but you can't do more than this. On the plus side, Ricky Seals-Jones and Christian Kirk broke out; Kirk is a huge home run threat and RSJ proved he's not only the best blocking wideout in the SEC (maybe college football), but can be a solid target too. On the minus side, Speedy Noil was a non-factor, Josh Reynolds didn't come close to matching his 2014 numbers and Damion Ratley dropped a ton of critical passes. Moving forward: I don't think you can even factor Noil into the mix next year, with all the troubles he's had on and off the field. It's going to be Kirk, RSJ and Reynolds who will carry the load, with hopefully help from Jeremy Tabuyo and Ed Pope. A&M's suddenly kind of thin at wideout, but maybe Frank Iheanacho and Kemah Siverand can show a few things. Jordan Davis and Irv Smith will almost have to play a bigger role next year.
Running back. Tra Carson stops this from being worse. Unquestionably the offensive MVP, he was seriously underrated by fans and the conference as he just ground out yards behind a lousy offensive line. James White never made an impact as he struggled to recover from a pair of bad injuries; Brice Dolezal was a pleasant surprise and Kwame Etwi showed he can handle some carries against non-conference folk, but much more. Moving forward: things look a lot better for 2016, with a (hopefully) healthy White, transfer Keith Ford, Kendall Bussey, Trayveon Williams and (presumably) Rakeem Boyd -- and Jay Bradford, perhaps? There should be a lot more options to choose from.
Bad
Quarterback. Enough said. Looking forward: Who knows? A lot depends on Jake Hubenak in the bowl game. Trevor Knight should be in this spring too, but the Aggies need at least one more guy. If Hubenak can handle the offense like a Case Keenum, A&M's offense suddenly looks potentially very potent again.
Linebacker. When your best performers are a guy who played less than half a season as a true freshman and another who will get a medical redshirt, you know it was ugly. And it was. AJ Hilliard made a lot of tackles, but not where he should have in many instances. Josh Walker was hurt and suspended early and never really made an impact. Shaan Washington was really good at the end of the year, but was part of the bunch that made a remarkable number of boneheaded plays that allowed big runs. Looking forward: You know Otaro Alaka and Richard Moore will get a lot of snaps. Washington probably will too. What they do in the middle is a question. They need Walker, Riley Garner, Landis Durham, Dwaine Thomas and incoming guys like Tyrel Dodson and (maybe?) Michael Divinity and Jeffrey McCulloch to be ready from day one. They're getting some numbers to work with...but will that equal sufficient talent?
Offensive line. Just a terrible year. The implementation of Dave Christensen's running game into Jake Spavital's offense was an outright failure, and it turned out the only thing they could do well was run power -- on occasion. Avery Gennesy was ok at left tackle; Keaton Sutherland struggled mightily at a position he's never played as a true freshman. Mike Matthews is a great technician and line leader, but he's no match for guys 320 pounds. Joe Cheek could also get overwhelmed, and Germain Ifedi is a guard playing tackle. Moving forward: Matthews, Cheek and almost certainly Ifedi will be gone. Koda Martin plugs in at right tackle, Erik McCoy at center and then you'll have a fight for the guard spots. Connor Lanfear should go into camp as a starter at one, and Sutherland will probably get first dibs at the other. You have to hope Tank Davis, Trevor Elbert, Colton Prater or the Andersons are ready to go, because otherwise you're down to just Jermaine Eluemunor.
Be on the lookout tonight
I'm going to post the AY Holiday Charity thread for Gig 'em 92 this evening. There will be a link to a Gofundme page. Marco has already fought the good fight and has a long way to go, but the bills are mounting. Let's help this great Ag and his family out. Please feel free to spread the word across all the other boards, twitter, facebook, whatever.
Basketball look and Mailbag tomorrow. Bowl stuff will start over the weekend.
Thanks, Merry Christmas and Gig 'em.
Mark
