O'Gara analyzes areas of growth A&M can make in Elko's second year

On Tuesday's edition of TexAgs Live, Saturday Down South’s Connor O’Gara joined to speak about all things 2025 SEC football. As Texas A&M enters another year with a new Week 1 starter at quarterback, O'Gara discusses QB1s around the conference and who could emerge.

Key notes from Connor O'Gara interview

• I think we all have blinders on. I think it is the downfield passing of Marcel Reed. That is the one thing that I don't know is going to get better. You may still be able to work around it. I ranked it as the fifth-best offense in the SEC, especially if Le'Veon Moss returns. In this conference, it becomes easy to defend if you can't throw it downfield. You can't play only one style of the game.
   
• KC Concepcion is going to be a huge part of this. There are high hopes that he can be that guy because Reed needs it. I don't know that the Amari Niblack thing is going to work out. He struggled at Texas last year. There is the hope that Concepcion can stretch the field and do things after the catch that make it easier for a quarterback to dump it off to this guy. A&M didn't have that guy last year. Noah Thomas is going to do things at Georgia that they will miss, but they didn’t have that separator. It's hard to run a successful offense without that option.
   
• How much of that is overvaluing what true freshmen do? If you look at Mario Craver’s production last year, a lot of it came against non-SEC teams. A&M’s passing game will depend on guys having bounce-back years and natural progression. He's someone they have high hopes for.
   
• I still have my Conner Weigman stock, and I still have my Haynes King stock. I was going to sell high after the Georgia game. Obviously, the job he has done at Georgia Tech has been fun to watch. I think Reed being Kellen Mond-ish would be a win for A&M. That 2020 A&M team worked because you had a quarterback who was healthy, and there was stability on the offensive line. That is on the table for A&M this year. They had a great defense, and if this group doesn't have this, that could be troublesome. That year, 2020, is the last time A&M didn't have multiple quarterbacks starting multiple games.
   
• Moss returning healthy would be huge. One of the most underrated moments is taking that hit on the left sideline. I understand that A&M dug itself too many holes down the stretch and the struggles with zone coverage, but that Moss injury was pivotal. Getting Rueben Owens back was really important, and Amari Daniels showed a lot of promise. They struggled with depth last year. In theory, that shouldn’t be an issue this year. They won't have to thrust Moss back.
   
• DJ Lagway, I'll bang the drum for if he's healthy and can throw. You see some of the throws he can make and just say, "Woah." That's why he's a five-star guy. Lagway is different from Reed, but it is a game of inches. This play here, this drop here. Obviously, a lot of teams can point to those moments, but A&M is just so defined. Even if A&M wins the bowl game, one defensive stop down the stretch, how different is the conversation?
   
• You have to include the Duke stuff with Mike Elko. A lot of people will say that it's just an eight-win season at A&M, but I still think you have to factor in what he did at Duke. A place with zero expectations, and he is getting College GameDay to go there because they are relevant. To have a 24-14 mark through three seasons, I think that matters. I don’t think he can be considered a top-seven coach yet, but I think he has done a solid job.
   
• I have always banged the drum for Mark Stoops. I have to document the rankings, and he was left for dead. Let's call it what it is. They finally see this bowl streak come to an end in this disastrous year. Winningest coach in school history, he has elevated the floor of Kentucky. He feels like someone who is past their prime, but it feels like he is trending in the wrong direction.
   
• I don't think Georgia misses the semifinals for three straight years. I think Kirby Smart is too good for that. There are questions about this team. I had blinders on about their pass catchers. It ends up being a team that has more drops than anyone else in college football. I don’t think he likes being preseason No. 1. This year, Georgia being in the 5-6 range is the right preamble with Gunner Stockton, who feels more like Stetson Bennett than Carson Beck. I do think they are a team that people are going to go in wondering if they are going to fall off.
   
• Explaining the LSU thing to A&M is hard after watching Reed cook that guy. Look, I'm not going to push back against any A&M fans who refute this take. Garrett Nussmeier improved after the A&M vs. LSU game, and he is as good as anyone in the country at picking a defense apart. He can make every throw with the gunslinger way. He is not a perfect quarterback, but I love the weapons they put around him. Man, Nussmeier is going to put up massive numbers if they figure out the offensive tackle situation.
   
• Fortunately for LSU, the interior offensive line is quite good. Nussmeier isn’t going to scramble. What can you do to work around it? They should be a top-10, top-five offense with him coming back. LSU is in a different conversation if they win that game at A&M.
   
• It is put up or shut up time. I don't think Brian Kelly gets fired if he doesn't make the playoffs. His floor has been a nine-win season. Now, at LSU, there is an understanding to win national titles. There is the expectation that Kelly would yield a national title. Now's the time with the returning talent. They have more pieces in place. If LSU misses the playoffs, people who defend Kelly are not going to have a leg to stand on.
   
• Arch Manning is the real deal. It doesn't mean he is going to be perfect or win a Heisman. It does mean that people who think it's a last name thing are going to be quiet. You can do everything on a football field with him. He has size, he can run, and he can locate. He needs to improve his mental clock with a new look offensive line. I am a believer. I don’t think he is going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting with the Texas defense. The takeaway is that Manning is a stud. I think he comes back in 2026 and doesn't go to the NFL.