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Texas A&M Football

The Sunny Side: Why big improvement is in reach for the 2016 Aggies

February 18, 2016
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Since the great “Quandary of Quitting Quarterbacks,” optimism for Texas A&M football has been in short supply.

It’s time to restock.

The Aggies’ 2016 outlook has been as bleak as February weather. But have you noticed how sunny this February has been?

So, as spring football practice — which begins on Feb. 29 — draws closer, I’m here to pump more sunshine.

A&M’s outlook for next season isn’t nearly as dismal as some seem to think.

True, Coach Kevin Sumlin has major issues to address.

The quarterback situation isn’t even the primary area of concern. He must replace a 1,000-yard running back. Improvement is desperately needed in the offensive line. The Aggies are in dire need to upgrade a run defense that has been awful. Both starting cornerbacks must be replaced.

Teams with that many issues typically aren’t expected to have highly successful seasons. A&M is different.

Here’s a breakdown of A&M’s areas of concern and why they figure to be successfully addressed.

Kirby Clarke, TexAgs Jake Hubenak (pictured) returns after a solid start to his starting career and is joined by Trevor Knight, giving A&M two veteran options. {"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"Jake Hubenak (pictured) returns after a solid start to his starting career and is joined by Trevor Knight, giving A\u0026M two veteran options.","MediaItemID":64496}

Quarterback concerns

Jake Hubenak played well in his only collegiate start, throwing for 307 yards and two touchdowns in the Music City Bowl against a pretty good Louisville defense. He should only get better.

That is, if he can beat out Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight, a former starter for the Sooners.

Knight was overhyped as an early Heisman contender in 2014, but was an effective starter at OU before losing the starting job to Baker Mayfield. A dual threat, Knight passed for 2,300 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed for 339 yards as OU’s starter in ’14. He’s best known for his 348-yard, four-touchdown performance in a 2013 Sugar Bowl win over Alabama.

Hubenak and Knight have talent with which to work and new offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone has a knack of getting the most out of his talent.

In his last six seasons (two at Arizona State, four at UCLA) all of Mazzone’s offensive units have ranked among the nation’s top 40 in total offense. Five were ranked among the top 30. All averaged over 32 points per game.

That was accomplished even though Mazzone was frequently working with first-year starters at quarterback — Steven Threet in 2010 and Brock Osweiler in 2011 at Arizona State and Brett Hundley in 2012 and Josh Rosen in 2015 at UCLA. Three of them passed for more than 3,600 yards in their first years as starters. Threet passed for 2,534.

Running game/offensive line

Tra Carson was a hard-running, physical running back who plowed his way to 1,165 rushing yards last season. He was not, however, a big-play threat. His longest run in the regular season was a 30-yard gain against Ball State.

Also, even with Carson’s productivity A&M still struggled to convert short yardage situations into first downs and was ranked only 66th in the nation in rushing offense.

That may change.

Keith Ford, a transfer from Oklahoma, does appear to be a big-play threat. Although he lost the starting running back job in Norman to Samaje Perine (no shame there) he averaged 5.5 yards per carry in 2014. That included a 56-yard run in an overtime victory over Oklahoma State.

However, the primary reason to expect improvement in the running game is the return of Offensive Line Coach Jim Turner, who did impressive work in his first stint at A&M from 2008-2011.

Andrew Kilzer, TexAgs The return of Jim Turner will likely galvanize an offensive line with a great deal of talent on hand. {"Module":"photo","Alignment":"right","Size":"large","Caption":"The return of Jim Turner will likely galvanize an offensive line with a great deal of talent on hand.","MediaItemID":13616}
His first offensive line at A&M was ineffective and void of talent. But in his final season the Aggies were ranked 23rd in the nation in rushing and third in sacks allowed.

Although only two starters return on the line, Turner has good material with which to work. Tackle Avery Gennesy was A&M’s best offensive lineman last season and should be better this year. Guard Keaton Sutherland was good enough to start as a true freshman. He did struggle at times in pass protection, but expect vast improvement in his second year. Look for a couple of players from the group of Koda Martin, Connor Lanfear, Erik McCoy and Jermaine Eluemunor to emerge as high-quality blockers under Turner’s guidance.

Turner will make the Aggies tougher up front, which will solve those short-yardage problems.

Run defense

A&M’s abysmal run defense has been its greatest area of concern for three seasons. The Aggies have ranked 108th or worse in the nation in rushing defense in each of the past three years.

Linebacker play has been a major reason for the futility against the run. Yet, there really is reason to believe the Aggies will be much better at linebacker in 2016.

First, Otaro Alaka, the Aggies’ best linebacker in 2014 as a true freshman, should be back in the lineup after sitting out last season because of injuries.

At the end of last season A&M’s best linebacker was Richard Moore, a freshman who played at 215 pounds. Expect him to be bigger and better.

If Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach John Chavis can find and/or develop a solid run stopper in the middle from a group of A.J. Hilliard, Josh Walker, Riley Garner, Claude George or even freshman Tyrel Dodson, the linebacker problems could get solved quickly.

A wild card might be sophomore Justin Dunning, who came in as a 6-4, 220-pound safety. He looks to have added at least 20 pounds of muscle and could get a look at linebacker.

Also, the defensive tackle production figures to get better, too. As a true freshman defensive tackle Daylon Mack had a knack for making spectacular plays in the backfield. In his second year, look for him to make the routine plays more consistently, too.

Replacing cornerbacks

De’Vante Harris had his best season at A&M in 2015 and Brandon Williams made a successful transition from running back to cornerback. They’re both gone now, but the cornerback position still figures to be in good shape.

Alex Parker, TexAgs The voids at cornerback have a likelihood of being filled by options that have already proven capable like Nick Harvey (pictured) and Priest Willis. {"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"The voids at cornerback have a likelihood of being filled by options that have already proven capable like Nick Harvey (pictured) and Priest Willis.","MediaItemID":63941}
Priest Willis, a highly regarded transfer from UCLA, is expected to take over for Harris. There likely won’t be much — if any — drop off there.

Nick Harvey played well in place of Williams, especially late last season. He also could step without much — if any — decline in production.

If either falters, Defensive Backs Coach Terry Joseph seems to have plenty of options available.

Justin Evans could be a candidate to shift from safety to cornerback, a position he played in junior college. Maybe Donovan Wilson could get a look there. Or maybe redshirt freshman Roney Elam will be ready to step in.

No doubt, that’s hoping for a lot of positive results in several areas of concern.

With the combination of coaching, talent available, potential and options, the prospects for major improvement in those areas are … well, shining bright.
Discussion from...

The Sunny Side: Why big improvement is in reach for the 2016 Aggies

17,394 Views | 18 Replies | Last: 8 yr ago by coupland boy
Olin Buchanan
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Staff
S
The Sunny Side: Why big improvement is in reach for the 2016 Aggies
Shooz in Katy
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AG


Just kidding. We're going to win the SEC this year.
Charlie 31
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Picadillo
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I want some of what Olin's having...
Franklin Delano Bluth
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Way too soon....

Signing day was solid, & oline coach addition was brilliant, but everything else that has happened is disturbing....

Talent is there... Time for sumlin to earn his paycheck...

I'm optimistic, but not expecting much more than 6-8 wins......

Anything less than 10 wins is a failure
SEC Champs
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ahlongslide
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AG
I actually felt good about next season until I read this article. I had forgotten about all of the question marks.
Pigeon88
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I just cant believe we are using the word "rebuild" with respect to a season which was supposed to be our year to contend for an NC. Good freakin grief. Will this nightmare never end?
ashley
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I disagree, I believe quarterbacking is our biggest area of concern. I hope it works out ok.
ottman713
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AG
For the first time since Tannenhill left, we will have an upperclassman starting at QB. Let that sink in. Trevor Knight was voted a team captain even after he lost his starting job. The guy knows at the very least how to connect with people and can guarantee he won't be a locker room distraction. Compare that to the dissent that happened last year.
Who did we lose from last year? Two quarterbacks, who honestly may be special one day, but didn't play incredibly well. A RB that it seems like we have a replacement for, same with the CBs.
We upgraded our OC, our at the very least the uncertainty that was everyone's role last year.

It's my opinion that the season will come down to how our LB and OL improve from last year. Can our LBs stay healthy? Can the new OL coach and OC get the OL to mesh? If those two things happen, we can compete for the SEC title.
Even those issues withstanding, I fully believe that next year it will be enjoyable to watch Aggie football again. Maybe we only win 8 or 9 games again, but there will be no 59-0, there will be no midseason collapse.
Waggle 97
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AG

I'm looking forward to next year for the following reasons:

1. We'll have strong leadership at the QB position for the 1st time in 3 years.
2. Chavis will be in his second year. We already saw a big improvement in year 1.
3a. We have a seasoned OC that will run uptempo and has a strong track record of solid production.
3b. Jim Turner
3c. Our offensive staff will be on the same page.
3d. We have 2 QBs that will be capable of executing the full playbook.
4. Garrett, Hall, Mack, Justin Evans
5. Kirk, RSJ, Reynolds
6. New talented running backs chomping a bit to get in the game.
MidTnAg
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quote:
Tackle Avery Gennesy was A&M's best offensive lineman last season.
Is this true? He was better than all three of our two-year starters?

Although he is a red-shirt senior, last year was his first year to play for us.

I doubt very seriously that many people would classify Avery as our best OL last season.

quote:
Trevor Knight was voted a team captain even after he lost his starting job. The guy knows at the very least how to connect with people and can guarantee he won't be a locker room distraction. Compare that to the dissent that happened last year.
Ok. Let's say he is the most impressive locker room player we have ever had. This does NOT mean he will be an effective QB in the SEC. Leadership helps but will not make you a good SEC QB.
quote:
1. We'll have strong leadership at the QB position for the 1st time in 3 years.
You are also implying that getting along well with the other players will make one of our QBs an effective SEC QB. This is definitely not necessarily true.

One of our QB must at least become a very good on-the-field QB before we can compete effectively in the SEC. Then we have to develop an effective offensive line, which will not be easy since we have only two who played much last season.
Rock582
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AG
Who will replace Drew Kaser as punter?
Jarheadagg
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T&P to Chief to help find a solution to our run fits and over pursuit by our ends.

Also sending healing energy to our linebackers. May they find strength and courage in the light of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Also, to the man of the hour, Mr. Trevor, may your mind be open to the teachings of Mazzone as well as to the love and light of the lord. May your throws be true, and may you not be paralyzed by the physical attacks of our enemies.

God bless.
sharpdressedman
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By August, we will be BCS contenders.
ahlongslide
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AG
quote:
By August, we will be BCS contenders.

Nah.
We will be playoff contenders though!
ABATTBQ11
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TexAgs must have a very liberal drug policy
78bc3
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Not sure what difference improved linebackers will make if our ends won't contain the outside run. Auburn proved that when they changed their entire scheme to take advantage of our aggressive rush tendencies. First rule of defense is play your position. I get it they are gifted. They are also very porous.
coupland boy
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Is it early for a season ticket push?
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