Grown man. Wow.
Photo by Danny Grant, TexAgs
Click here to view Texas A&M’s Wednesday press conference.
It’s no secret that last football season the strength of Texas A&M’s defense was its pass rush.
The Aggies were fourth in the nation with 43 sacks. Cashius Howell had 11.5 of them. He was the Southeastern Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.
He’s gone to the NFL. Dayon Hayes, who had the Aggies’ second-highest sacks total, has also departed.
In order to avoid A&M’s pass rush becoming a past rush, the Aggies look to transfer Anto Saka, a 6-foot-4, 255-pound athletic marvel.
At that size, Saka has sprinted almost 22 miles an hour. He’s squatted 565 pounds. His muscular frame indicates his upper body is powerful, too.
Saka credits A&M strength and conditioning coach Tommy Moffitt’s program for that.
“It took him a couple of practices in the spring to get going. But once we got to fall camp, he’s playing both sides —the end and the Jack — for us. He can do it all. He’s a really smart kid. Really pleased with his progress.”
“That’s done wonders for me,” Saka said on Wednesday. “All my numbers have skyrocketed, probably on all my major lists, at least 40 pounds.”
The Aggies need Saka’s sack numbers to skyrocket as well.
Despite extraordinary physical attributes, his production at Northwestern last season was quite ordinary. Saka posted just three sacks and was credited with only two quarterback hurries.
That doesn’t look like the numbers of a dominant edge rusher.
However, opponents were aware of Saka’s ability. He often had to fight through double-team blocks. But to Saka, that’s no excuse.
“The mindset I have is I’m going to get to the quarterback by any means necessary,” he said.
A&M figures to help him in that regard. In A&M’s “Jack” position, Saka will line up wider than he did at Northwestern.
A little wrinkle could make a big difference. At least, theoretically, that sets up better rush angles and could take more advantage of Saka’s speed.
Danny Grant, TexAgs
In 41 career games, Anto Saka has been credited with 12 total sacks.
Hey, it worked for Howell. There’s no reason to doubt Saka can flourish in the A&M defense, too.
“I think just the system he played in at Northwestern … the system we’re playing here is completely different for him,” A&M defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill said. “It took him a couple of practices in the spring to get going. But once we got to fall camp, he’s playing both sides —the end and the Jack — for us. He can do it all. He’s a really smart kid. Really pleased with his progress.”
Hemphill added: “He’s a physical kid. He can run fast. He uses his hands. He’s violent.”
That’s quite an endorsement. It’s also a reason to believe he can boost A&M’s pass rush. But he won’t have to do it alone.
Saka indicated he’s been very impressed with the skills of his new teammates.
And he’s eager to see the A&M defense show off.
“The way that everybody is taking a jump … I’m so excited about T.J. Searcy,” Saka said. “I’m also excited about Marco Jones, Landon Rink, DJ Hicks … Just everybody. The way we’ve improved from the winter to this point in our pass rush and our ability to stop the run.
“It’s going to be a show to watch.”
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