Fear not, Aggie fans, meaningful college football is just around the corner, with the start of the 2023 season under two weeks away! Here at Aggies Wire, we’ll be counting down by looking at each Texas A&M football player that corresponds to the number of days left till the start of the football season.
With 11 days until kickoff, we’re looking at No. 11 for the Maroon and White: sophomore defensive back Deuce Harmon.
Harmon returns to Aggieland after appearing in four games for the Maroon and White last season, logging eight total tackles, one assisted tackle, a forced fumble, and one pass breakup across 112 total snaps. He lined up primarily as an outside corner (76 snaps) while splitting the rest of his time in the slot (19 snaps) and as a box safety (15 snaps).
Coming into College Station the expectation was that he would be best situated as a slot or nickel corner, but his freshman year experience in lining up outside speaks to how defensive coordinator DJ Durkin can leverage his versatility. That being said, Harmon struggled in his minimal playing time before suffering a season-ending injury, having finished with an overall 49.4 defense grade and a 51.5 coverage grade according to Pro Football Focus.
After undergoing surgery before the 2022 season concluded, which forced him to miss time throughout the spring, Harmon will look to take advantage of fall camp to compete for a rotation spot in the secondary. Early rumblings indicate that Tyreek Chappell may have a lock on one of the starting cornerback jobs, while transfer Tony Grimes and freshman Jayvon Thomas are battling it out for the other.
Given that the Aggies will lean heavily on new transfers such as Grimes, Sam McCall, and Josh DeBerry to lead the backend unit, having ample depth behind them will be essential to ensure the injury bug doesn’t throw a wrench in the secondary. That means players such as Harmon will need to be ready if called upon at a moment’s notice, which speaks to how vital he will be for Texas A&M’s defense to see success in the fall.
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