2013 Outlook - Texas A&M

Kevin Sumlin takes over an Aggies squad in the midst of a big transition.  This year the team will leave their log time home, the Big 12, and move into the best conference in the country.  No disrespect to Texas, or Oklahoma but the competition bar was just raised.

In addition to the conference move, this team is also transitioning their offense has they turn over the QB duties from 1 round pick Ryan Tannehill to one of 4 young, talented signal callers.  My expectation is the competition will come down to rFR Johnny Manziel who is the best athlete of the group, or true FR Matt Davis who is the only recruit of the group to be recruited by Sumlin.  Regardless of who is under center, they will have a difficult time matching Tannehill's production, but if they can cut down on some of his turnovers, the team may not take a huge step backwards.  Christine Michael will be given his third chance to lead this team as the featured back. He is very explosive and has good upside, but he cannot seem to stay healthy long enough to make an impact.  The good news for the Aggies though, is they have excellent players at both the wide receiver position, and all across the o-line.  At receiver, both Ryan Swope and Uzoma Nwachukwu are very dangerous weapons, and the talent along the front is amongst the best in the country.  Both JR OTs, Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews are superb and are strong day 1 considerations in next years draft.  SR C Patrick Lewis is another standout, and he too will hear his name called next year dring the draft, although more likely on the second day.

Whereas the offense is in a very good position, the defense could be problematic for the Aggies.  Although experienced, I am not expecting particularly big things from the front seven this year.  The are smaller in the middle at DT, and there is no player in the front seven that projects as an intimidating pass rusher.  The linebackers can tackle, but again, I don't expect to see the penetration the unit had a year ago.  The secondary is another big concern.  The team's four top players from last year have all moved on, and that leaves SR CB Dustin Harris with his 11 starts as the most experienced of the bunch.  Sure, the SEC doesn't throw the ball nearly as much as the Big 12, but I still think this unit can be a liability.

With a talented offense and a young defense, TAMU will need to get good play from the QB position to position themselves to win a few shootouts. If Sumlin can continue to add talent from future recruiting classes though, the Aggies could be a real factor in another year or two.