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

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.

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.

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.

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.