Five Aggies that deserve to be on the cover of EA Sports’ NCAA Football game

Ahead of the new NCAA Football video game release this summer, here are five Texas A&M players that deserve to grace the cover.

Thursday morning’s announcement that EA Sports will release the new NCAA Football video game this coming summer led to every college football fan in the country going absolutely bizark on social media.

Why the widespread excitement? EA Sports was forced to stop production on the game after their last released installment in 2013 due to issues stemming from early NIL-related issues, specifically player likeness for players who were reprinted in the name, despite being nameless on each roster.

Since then, Texas A&M has won 86 games game in the last 10 seasons, and while legendary quarterback Johnny Manziel’s Heisman-winning campaign came after the 2012 season, he was still highly productive during his final 2013 campaign, while star wide receiver Mike Evans had his best season as an Aggie yet.

While Manziel and Evans stand out as the Aggie studs of the last decade, several players on offense and defense have placed their names in the Texas A&M record books, and if the game had been released every year since then, several deserved a shot to be on the cover.

With that, here are five Aggies who should be in the running for the newest NCAA Football cover.

Top 15 plays of the Jaguars’ 2023 season

The Jaguars didn’t end up in the playoffs like they hoped, but they still made several impressive plays en route to a winning record.

The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t end up in the playoffs as fans hoped and most expected.

Instead of defending their AFC South title from the season prior, the team lost five of its last six to stumble to a 9-8 finish. That wasn’t enough to beat out the Houston Texans for the division crown and didn’t earn them a wild card berth either.

While the ho-hum ending to the year left a sour taste, Jacksonville’s talented roster still turned out a few impressive plays en route to a winning record in the 2023 season.

Here are the Jaguars’ top 15 plays of the season:

8 moves the Jaguars could make to create cap space in 2024

The Jaguars may need to create cap space if they hope to make moves this offseason.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are projected to enter the 2024 offseason with much more salary cap space than they did when they were over the limit heading into the 2023 offseason.

This time around, the Jaguars have more room to maneuver, but there are also some moves that could eat up that space quickly. For one, the team seems likely to franchise tag Josh Allen, which would guarantee the pass rusher about $22 million for the 2024 season.

If Jacksonville hopes to make that move along with any other additions or extensions in the 2024 offseason, the team simply has to find a way to create more room.

Fortunately for the Jaguars there are ways to make that happen. Some of the decisions will be relatively easy, others will be a much tougher call.

Here are eight ways the Jaguars could cut costs and clear space this offseason:

3 Texas A&M alumni wide receivers combine for 21 touchdowns in 2023-24 NFL regular season

Texas A&M may not have the most alumni playing wide receiver in the NFL but the ones that are in the league certainly produce points and the statistics back that up.

Texas A&M may not have the most alumni playing wide receiver in the NFL but the ones that are in the league certainly produce points and the statistics back that up.

Mike Evans, Josh Reynolds and Christian Kirk combined to total 21 touchdowns during the 2023-24 NFL regular season for their respective teams, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Other universities like LSU (six), The Ohio State University & Alabama (eight) have more total wideouts in the league. However, their production isn’t much more than the Aggies trio. The Crimson Tide led the way with 31 tuddies, the Buckeyes had 23 and the Tigers had 15.

Therefore, when you factor in average scores per player, Texas A&M leads the way with seven TDs. Alabama (3.875), Ohio State (2.875) and LSU (2.5) all trail the Aggies by a lot.

Evans (13) nearly racked up more scores than all of the LSU WRs combined. The list of Tigers alumni includes All-Pro wideouts like Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase and Odell Beckham Jr. It should be noted though that all three of those players dealt with injuries throughout 2023.

In 2023, Evans completed a decade of 1,000-yard seasons. He recorded totals of 79 catches for 1,255 yards and 13 touchdowns. Evans and the Buccaneers will host the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday at 7 p.m. CT to conclude Wild-card weekend.

With the assistance of head coach Dan Campbell, Reynolds earned a $250,000 bonus on Sunday. He finished the regular season with 40 receptions for 608 yards and five tuddies. The Lions will host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at 7:15 p.m. CT.

(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

The Jaguars barely missed out on an AFC South division title and a playoff spot after losing 5 of their last 6 games to conclude the season. Kirk completed the campaign with 57 catches for 787 yards and three scores.

(Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

TAMU may not be WRU when it comes to quantity but the Aggies certainly are when it comes to quality.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

Trevor Lawrence active, Christian Kirk out vs. Titans in Week 18

Trevor Lawrence is set to make his return from a shoulder sprain in Week 18.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and wide receiver Zay Jones will make their respective returns to the lineup Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

Ninety minutes ahead of kickoff of the Week 18 game, the Jaguars released their list of inactives, which included wide receiver Christian Kirk but not Lawrence or Jones.

Last week, Lawrence missed the first a game for the first time in his NFL career due to a shoulder sprain. He returned to practice this week on a limited basis and was listed as questionable.

Jones and Kirk were listed as questionable too, but Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said Friday that he expected Jones would be able to play. While Kirk was activated from the injured reserve Saturday, his chances of playing were still in doubt just a month removed from surgery.

For the Titans, rookie quarterback Will Levis is inactive.

On Friday, Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel announced that Ryan Tannehill would start at quarterback despite Levis being listed as questionable.

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Jaguars activate WR Christian Kirk from IR ahead of Week 18

Christian Kirk is back on the Jaguars’ active roster a month after undergoing core muscle surgery in December.

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk is back on the active roster after a four-week stint on injured reserve, the team announced Saturday.

Kirk, 27, underwent surgery in December after suffering a core muscle injury on the Jaguars’ first offensive play in Week 13. Earlier this week, Kirk revealed he’d been playing through a partial tear of a right abdominal muscle since Week 6 and said he tore his left ab and left adductor muscle “off the bone” in Week 13.

The loss of the veteran receiver — who led the team in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdown receptions in 2022 — has proven costly for the Jaguars. The team struggled with miscommunications between quarterback Trevor Lawrence and his receivers, leading to interceptions and miscues.

While Kirk will be on the active roster Sunday for a game against the Tennessee Titans, he’s expected to be a game-time decision and could still be scratched by the Jaguars ahead of kickoff.

In a corresponding move, the Jaguars moved return specialist and wide receiver Jamal Agnew to the injured reserve. The veteran suffered a broken ankle in the team’s Week 17 win against the Carolina Panthers and will miss the rest of the season, according to coach Doug Pederson.

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Trevor Lawrence, 2 other Jaguars questionable for Week 18 vs. Titans

Trevor Lawrence, Christian Kirk, and Zay Jones are all questionable for a Week 18 game against the Titans.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and wide receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones are all questionable for a Week 18 game against the Tennessee Titans, the team announced Friday.

All three players were limited in all three practices this week, although Jones appears to be the likeliest to play Sunday. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said Friday that he expects Jones will be able to play against the Titans, while Lawrence and Kirk will be closer calls.

The status of Kirk will be revealed Saturday when the Jaguars decide whether or not they’ll activate the veteran receiver from the injured reserve. Pederson said that the decision about Lawrence may not happen until close to kickoff Sunday.

For the Titans, the big injury news Friday is that quarterback Ryan Tannehill will start against the Jaguars, despite the fact that rookie Will Levis hasn’t been ruled out.

Levis is one of five Titans players listed as questionable, while four players have been ruled out.

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Trevor Lawrence, Christian Kirk limited again Thursday

The Jaguars made only one small change to their injury report Thursday with a game against the Titans only days away.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ injury report on Thursday looked almost identical to its Wednesday report ahead of a Week 18 game against the Tennessee Titans.

Once again, no players were absent and quarterback Trevor Lawrence, wide receiver Christian Kirk, and wide receiver Zay Jones were the only ones limited.

The only difference from the Wednesday report is that backup quarterback C.J. Beathard was added with a left shoulder injury, despite practicing fully.

Beathard was forced into starting duties in Week 17 due to the shoulder injury suffered by Lawrence. While he had no injury designation heading into the game, Beathard was listed with the same left shoulder injury in the practice reports leading up to that game against the Carolina Panthers.

On Wednesday, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson spoke positively about the progress made by Lawrence and Kirk, but wasn’t willing to say much about the likelihood that either play Sunday.

Kirk is still on injured reserve, but had his 21-day window to practice ahead of a return opened Wednesday.

For the Titans, the notable news is that Will Levis returned to practice after sitting out Wednesday due to a foot injury.

Also noteworthy is the fact that center Aaron Brewer was added to the report with an ankle injury, making the status of three Titans offensive linemen in doubt.

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Christian Kirk reveals brutal details of injury that led to IR stint

Christian Kirk says he’d been playing with a torn abdominal muscle since Week 6 before suffering more damage last month.

When wide receiver Christian Kirk went down on the first offensive play of the game for the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 13, it wasn’t immediately clear what went wrong.

With no Cincinnati Bengals players around him, Kirk hauled in a 26-yard reception and stayed down on the field.

While the Jaguars initially called it a groin injury for Kirk, head coach Doug Pederson later called it a core muscle injury that required surgery to repair. Four weeks later, Kirk made his return to practice Wednesday and told reporters about the injury that sent him to injured reserve.

“These core muscle injuries, they can kind of have a broad spectrum of severity,” Kirk said, via Demetrius Harvey of the Florida Times-Union. “Mine was my left adductor, left ab off the bone, and then I had a right tear of my abdominal that I’d been playing with since Week 6. So I had been running on an injured groin for a while and the day that it went, it was time for it go.”

Kirk, 27, led the Jaguars in receiving yards at the time of his injury with 787. Last season, he led the team in receptions (84), receiving yards (1,104), and touchdown receptions (eight).

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5 Jaguars players to watch vs the Titans in Week 18

The Jaguars offense is finally starting to get healthy again.

The Jacksonville Jaguars aren’t completely out of the woods, but fans can breathe again. The team ended its four-game losing streak in Week 17, beating the Panthers in a 26-point shutout.

The Jaguars have now guaranteed themselves a winning record, but a win could move the Jaguars to 10-7 and clinch the AFC South title.

Tennessee is in a different place than it was last time the teams met, and a few key Jaguars will need to be at the top of their game to secure another win for Jacksonville.

Here are five Jaguars players to watch against the Titans in Week 18: