On Tuesday night, Texas A&M’s 2024 football team received the news that star defensive tackle Shemar Turner will return for a final season in College Station, delaying his entry into the NFL Draft. With Turner’s existing return, the Aggies defensive line is borderline elite and deeper than ever.
While A&M, in head coach Jimbo Fisher’s final season, struggled on both sides of the ball, the defensive line finished the season 7th in sacks (42) and 5th in tackles for loss (99), primarily anchored by the consistent player of Shemar Turner was second on the team with six sacks behind linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (8), who will enter the 2024 NFL Draft.
Needing several upgrades after the departures of DT Walter Nolen (transferred to Ole Miss) and EDGE Fadil Diggs (transferred to Syracuse), new head coach Mike Elko quickly utilized the transfer portal, adding veteran defensive line talent including EDGE Cashius Howell (Bowling Green) DT Rodas Johnson (Wisconsin), and most notably, former Purdue EDGE Nic Scourton, a Bryan, Texas native, who lead the Big Ten in sacks (10) during the 2023 season.
With all the new additions paired with the returning talent, here is how the defensive line depth chart currently looks ahead of Elko’s inaugural 2024 season.