On Sunday night, news broke that ascending Texas A&M tight end Donovan Green, who was set to enter his sophomore season, reportedly tore his ACL during the Aggies’ Saturday afternoon scrimmage, which Head Coach Jimbo Fisher confirmed on Monday.
Standing at an impressive 6-4 and 245 pounds, Donovan Green led all tight ends last season with 22 receptions for 233 yards and two touchdowns while appearing in 10 games with four starts.
Overall, Green is the complete package at the position due to his blocking ability in tandem with route running and impressive downfield speed. Still, everything we expected to see from the rising star this season will now have to wait until 2024, and if it weren’t for the Aggies’ impressive depth at the position, things would look much worse with less than three weeks before the Sept. 2 season opener.
So, who will lead the way in Green’s absence? To start, the bench is deep, yet senior tight end Max Wright, who is entering his 6th season with the program after switching positions from defensive end, has only 13 catches for 194 yards and two touchdowns in 40 career games.
As a skilled blocker and reliable pass catcher, Wright’s injury history has hindered his consistency in the past two seasons. Still, through a healthy offseason, the hope is that his final season in Aggieland will be his most productive yet.
Second in line, sophomore Jake Johnson, who missed the bulk of last season due to injury, had only one reception for 2 yards. Ranked as the No.3 tight end in A&M’s historic 2022 cycle possesses by far the highest ceiling as a player, standing at an impressive 6-6 and 240 pounds; he has already turned heads with his fluidity and route-running in fall camp. Due to his build and wide receiver-like qualities, I’d expect Fisher and new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino to split him out wide while Max Wright remains the primary inline blocker.
In contrast, sophomores Fernando Garza III and Theo Melin Öhrsrtöm have yet to record a reception and were primarily active in special teams, as Öhrström has reportedly stood out the most this fall according to senior strong safety Demani Richardson:
“He’s getting stronger. He’s already built like Thor. He’s Getting Strong. He’s fast. He’s getting the playbook. He’s learning.”
Lastly, former four-star freshman tight end Jaden Platt might not see the field in large doses this season but has already shown why he was ranked as the No.4 TE prospect in the 2023 cycle after several impressive practices.
All in all, we’ll have to wait to see how things develop this season, but I’ll go ahead and place my trust in tight ends coach James Coley’s ability to get the most out of the talent he has at his disposal. Oh, and expect Donovan Green to be a constant presence in the postion room all season long.
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