For all the superstitious Aggie fans who feel that any expectation-based positivity ahead of Texas A&M’s pivotal 2023 season will doom them again, you can’t hide from this incredibly realistic prediction!
Finishing 5-7 and 2-6 in the SEC, Texas A&M spent most of the 2022 season as the butt of every college football-related joke, while every rival fan base still to this day responds to anything A&M related with “App State,” of course referring to the Aggies memorably ugly home defeat against Appalachian State in Week 2.
However, the tides have turned, and this current Texas A&M squad led by sixth-year Head Coach Jimbo Fisher is equipped with an elite roster from head to toe. At the same time, newly minted offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino’s brilliant offensive mind has everything at his disposal offensively to rebound from a measly five wins and make some serious noise in the SEC and possibly the postseason.
I’m not the only one who’s high on the Maroon and White, as 247Sports writer Carter Bahns recently compiled a list of the Top 10 programs that he believes will turn things around in a big way next season. Coming in at No.1, you guessed it, Texas A&M, for all the reasons I just stated, in addition to Bahn’s belief that Fisher’s recruiting success will finally pay off.
No team has a better recipe for a breakthrough year than Texas A&M, which boasts a No. 4 ranking in the 2023 Blue-Chip Ratio after compiling consecutive highly-ranked recruiting classes and which hired one of the game’s most established offensive minds in Bobby Petrino this offseason. The offense, which scored just 22.8 points per game, was the Aggies’ biggest problem last year and held them out of bowl eligibility despite entering the campaign with College Football Playoff aspirations. Jimbo Fisher proved in year five of his tenure that the floor is a losing season, but Texas A&M has a wide range of possible outcomes in 2023 that includes SEC title contention.
While I understand any attached apathy to Bahn’s prediction, remember that the Aggies are returning the most starters in the SEC with 16 (8 offense, eight defense). At the same time, sophomore quarterback Conner Weigman is poised to start his entire season under center in front of an offensive line returning all five starters from last season. In contrast, Texas A&M’s starting wide receiver unit led by Evan Stewart, Ainias Smith, Moose Muhammad, and Noah Thomas, is slated to be an elite starting lineup.
Defensively, the defensive line led by veteran defensive tackles McKinnley Jackson and Shemar Turner will lead one of the deepest and most talented groups in the country, paired with the return of senior safety Demani Richardson and the versatile hybrid defensive back Bryce Anderson who’s already inching towards a breakout season due after his recently recorded offseason training speed.
Adding future starters like cornerbacks Tony Grimes, Sam McCall, and Josh DeBerry, linebacker Jurriente Davis may be the x-factor in the middle of the defense after attrition and foul play plagued the linebacker unit in 2022. Everything is there for the taking, and remember one thing about Jimbo Fisher’s coaching track record: In 13 seasons as the Head Coach at Florida State and Texas A&M, Fisher only has two losing seasons, and I expect that to remain intact.
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