Thorn in the side: Aggies face long line of potential pains in 2018

It was the 20th century philosopher, Poison rocker Bret Michaels, who told us that every rose has its thorn.

Aggies know this all too well. More often than most wish to remember, the rose of a fall afternoon of college football has left Aggies with a painful reminder of Michaels' sage wisdom.

Larry Fitzgerald? He was a big thorn in the Aggies’ side. So were Eric Dickerson, Wes Welker and even ... Todd Blythe.

Todd Blythe? Yes, the Iowa State receiver who racked up 214 yards and four touchdowns at Kyle Field in 2005 may have been the most surprising thorn of them all.

Fingers will be crossed this autumn that A&M can evade all the thorns that could find a way into the Aggies’ sides, but A&M’s 2018 schedule is chock full of good teams with excellent players capable of poisoning a wonderful weekend.

With that in mind, here is a list of perhaps the 10 biggest thorns the Aggies must be wary of this season:

Nick Fitzgerald, QB, Mississippi State: Few have tormented the Aggies like Fitzgerald. In two games against A&M he has rushed for 287 yards and three touchdowns (remember the 74-yarder in 2016?) and has passed for 350 yards and four touchdowns. He’s expected to throw downfield more in new coach Joe Moorhead’s offense, so maybe that will reduce his threat as a rusher. Somehow, the Aggies defense must contain him.

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Tide RB Damien Harris has gone for over 100 yards against A&M two straight seasons.

Damien Harris, RB, Alabama: The Aggies held a lead on Alabama last season … for 13 seconds. One play after the Aggies went ahead 3-0, Harris exploded through the right side of the line and sprinted for a 75-yard touchdown. He finished with 124 rushing yards, and the previous year he rushed for 128 yards against the Aggies. He’s a big-play threat that Alabama too often overlooked. Harris rushed for 1,000 yards last season even though he never got more than 19 carries in a single game. He’s projected to get more work this year, which could pose a problem. The Aggies have learned the hard way that if he breaks into the secondary he’ll likely score.

Clelin Ferrell, DE, Clemson: Frankly, it would be easier just to include the entire Clemson front four as one. The Tigers’ defensive front is arguably the best in the nation, though Ferrell tends to stand out even among teammates Dexter Lawrence, Christian Wilkins and Austin Bryan. A walloping pass rusher at 6-foot-6, 260-pounds, he earned All-American status in 2017 after posting 9.5 sacks and 63 tackles. He was also credited with a dozen quarterback pressures. Both of A&M's tacklkes, Carson Green and Dan Moore, will be full-time starters for the first time in their careers, and Ferrell could be chasing a quarterback with limited mobility in Nick Starkel.

Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina: Samuel is South Carolina’s version of Christian Kirk — a deep threat receiver and explosive kick returner. The Aggies caught a break when Samuel was injured last season and did not play in A&M’s 24-17 win over the Gamecocks. In 2017 he returned two kickoffs for touchdowns even though he only played in three games. He’s averaged 13.9 yards per catch in his career, will be hauling in passes from a pretty good quarterback (Jake Bentley) and will face an A&M secondary that last season allowed 46 completions of 20 yards or more. The only SEC teams to allow more were Missouri and Arkansas.

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The Aggies contained A.J. Brown in 2017, but he is a threat to dominate any given week.

A.J. Brown, WR, Ole Miss: He had seven catches for 70 yards and a 27-yard touchdown grab last season against the Aggies. That can be viewed as a standout performance by the Aggies secondary to prevent Brown from doing more damage, and the Aggies likely hope to be that successful against him this year. Brown is a big, physical receiver who can make tough catches in traffic. He’s also fast enough to beat coverage deep. A&M has big corners, but he won’t be intimidated. He could have a dominant game if A&M’s secondary play isn’t vastly improved. In fact, he could be dominant even if the secondary is better.

Raekwon Davis, Alabama, DE: A massive force at 6-foot-7, 316 pounds, Davis posted 8.5 sacks last season. One of those came in the Tide’s victory over A&M and was one of eight tackles he made. Davis can disrupt the run as well as pressure the passer.

Montez Sweat, DE, Mississippi State: There is a temptation to put Bulldogs DT Jeffery Simmons here, but Sweat is one of the best pass rushers in the SEC. Last season he posted 10.5 sacks to share the conference lead with A&M’s Landis Durham. Two of Sweat’s sacks came against A&M. Simmons creates tons of problems, but as a tackle he may face A&M’s best offensive lineman in Erik McCoy while Sweat will face a first-time starter at tackle.

Devin White, LB, LSU: Coach Jimbo Fisher is adamant about A&M running the football more frequently and successfully. That won’t be easy against White, arguably the best linebacker in college football. He’s big, fast and productive. White led the SEC with 133 tackles a year ago, and thirteen of them came against the Aggies, who rushed for just 55 yards in that 45-21 loss. The Aggies can have rushing success, but only if they get him blocked.

Jarrett Stidham, QB, Auburn: Stidham was on the field for the first time in two seasons last year. He was mediocre at times and excellent at others. He was very good against A&M, completing 20 of 27 passes for three touchdowns and 268 yards, his highest yardage output against an SEC opponent. Stidham figures to be better in his second year in coach Gus Malzahn’s system, and he’s projected to throw much more, too.

Benny Snell, RB, Kentucky: As a sophomore, Snell absolutely abused opponents with porous run defenses. He had three touchdown runs and was well over 100 yards against Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss last season. A&M’s run defense was better than those, but not by a lot. Snell is the top returning rusher in the SEC, and the Wildcats project to rely on him even more this season than last. The Aggies must slow him down or they could be upset victims.