Front of the Line: Dan Moore determined to help lead an O-line resurgence for A&M

Too often, Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond has resembled a piñata.

He has avoided several strikes, but eventually, contact is made. The hits accumulate.

Texas A&M has surrendered 69 sacks over the last two football seasons. Lowly Vanderbilt only allowed 50 over that span. Even lower Arkansas allowed 51.

There have been coverage sacks. Sometimes, Mond has held the ball too long. However, there's no doubt A&M's offensive line must provide better protection in 2020.

Senior Dan Moore — who will enter his third season as a starter — is acutely aware of this. And at the all-important left tackle position, Moore knows — fair or not — much of the blame for A&M's protection issues falls on him.

He even puts it on himself.

"This season, I had to look myself in the mirror and just say I didn't play as good of ball as I wanted to, and I have to improve," Moore said on Friday. "So, this offseason was a challenge to myself to see how good can I be, how far can I push myself. I think I did a good job with that."

Of course, the question is how good a job Moore and his cohorts on the line will do when the Aggies' season begins next month.

There is a school of thought that A&M's potentially explosive offense will only be as good as the line.

As it turns out, Moore is a student of that school.

"This offense will be as good as this offensive line," Moore agreed. "This offensive line is improving every day. We're practicing every day. We're going against a tremendous defensive line. We have great coaches pushing us. A great coaching staff. I guess we'll just have to see on game day."

Aggie fans have seen varying degrees of performance from the line.

Two years ago, Moore and fellow seniors Carson Green and Jared Hocker helped Trayveon Williams lead in the Southeastern Conference in rushing. A&M ranked 21st nationally in rushing offense that season.

That does not occur without an effective offensive line.

However, last season, the Aggies' running game averaged a mediocre 159 rushing yards (68th in the nation), while also allowing 34 sacks. To be fair, national champion LSU and College Football Playoff qualifier Ohio State each allowed 35.

This season, Kellen Mond returns along with leading receiver Jhamon Ausbon and leading rusher Isaiah Spiller. Tight end Jalen Wydermyer could be the most explosive player on the offense. That is unless it's freshman receiver Demond Demas or freshman running back Devon Achane or sophomore running back Ainias Smith. The Aggies have a stable of threats.

"Those guys up front have got to allow the guys — whether it's your receivers and quarterbacks and backs, tight ends — to make plays," A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said earlier this week. "We've got a group of guys that have played a lot of football, that have started."

The point seems clear: A&M's offense could be spectacular if the line doesn't sputter.

Moore, who is graduating in December, is banking on spectacular.

"We've played a lot of ball and a lot of ball together," he said. "We're coming back again for another year with each other. This is our second year under coach (Josh) Henson. We're understanding him, what he wants, what he's asking of us. I think it will be tremendous."

Lia Musgrave, TexAgs

Kenyon Green found playing time early in his A&M career, starting every game as a true freshman in 2019.

Senior center Ryan McCollum is back in the lineup after playing sporadically last season with a back injury. Senior tackle Carson Green played with a bum wrist. Senior guard Jared Hocker is also back along with sophomore guard Kenyon Green, who started every game last year as a true freshman.

"My expectations for this offensive line and our expectations as a whole is a lot greater than what anybody else is thinking for us," Moore said. "Honestly, we just go out to practice and get better every day."

Optimism is gleaned from experience. Yet, much of the optimism up front is attributed to the Aggies' least experienced offensive lineman.

Kenyon Green is the most gifted offensive lineman. As a true freshman, he proved himself in the trenches against powerful SEC defensive tackles.

The 6-foot-4, 325-pound Green figures to be even better this season as he switches from right guard to left. He'll play right next to the 6-foot-5, 315-pound Moore.

"He can be great," Moore said of Green. "I've said that from the first day I saw him do his first rep in one-on-one pass rush when he first got her last year. He's explosive. He's twitchy. He figured it out early, and that's very rare. His body type, his mindset … he prepares like an older guy. It's just exciting to watch him grow."

It'll be more exciting to see how the line grows as a whole. If it grows strong, games could be like touchdown parties for the Aggies offense.

Parties without the piñata, of course.