Ahead of Texas A&M’s 2023 Sept. 2 season opener, six Aggie football players have made the Preseason Coaches All-SEC Team.
Texas A&M’s 2023 Sept. 2 season opener vs. New Mexico is less than two weeks away. After a very successful fall camp with several key storylines coming out of their new luxurious Coolidge Football Performance Center, the quarterback battle between sophomore Conner Weigman and veteran Max Johnson has continued to dominate the headlines, but no worries; an answer is upon us.
Entering the 2023 campaign, the Aggies roster is scattered with elite talent and proven experience, leading to six Texas A&M players being selected to the Preseason Coaches All-SEC Team, including wide receiver Ainias Smith, punter Nik Constantinou, strong safety Demani Richardson, defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson, wide receiver Evan Stewart, and right guard Layden Robinson. Here is each player’s respective team selection
All six players, especially the wide receiver duo of Smith and Stewart, will be depended on to steer the ship late in games ultimately. At the same time, McKinnley Jackson’s vast experience in the defensive trenches and Demani Richardson’s leadership in the defensive backfield will ultimately set the tone for a deep and talented unit looking to take the next step in 2023.
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Ahead of the 2024 East-West Shrine Bowl, twelve Aggie football players will represent the Maroon and White on Feb. 1.
We’re just 42, yes, 42 days away from the end of “talkin’ season” and the start of actual Texas A&M Football being played inside Kyle Field, as the Aggies kick off their crucial 2023 campaign on Saturday, Sept. 2, hosting New Mexico.
Now, taking a sneak peek ahead to February, which is likely a dreaded thought for most, it was announced this week that twelve Aggie football players will represent the program in the 2024 East-West Shrine Bowl, which for the first time in its vast history will take place in my former hometown, Frisco, Texas at the Ford Center at The Star, the NFL’s Dallas Cowboy’s primary practice field.
Texas A&M’s 2023 season may already be marred by several media-obsessed storylines surrounding the program’s 2022 failures and how well Jimbo Fisher and new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino’s “egos” will work in tandem. Still, focusing on the unscathed truths around what truly matters while gauging future success, the Aggies roster is stacked from top to bottom. Every player selected in the East-West Shrine Bowl is some of the best at their respective postion in the county.
Senior Punter, Nic Constantinou
Junior Linebacker, Edgerrin Cooper
Senior Cornerback, Josh DeBerry
Junior Defensive end, Fadil Diggs
Senior Cornerback, Tony Grimes
Senior Defensive Tackle, McKinnley Jackson
Junior Wide receiver, Moose Muhammad III
Senior Safety, Demani Richardson
Senor Offensive guard, Layden Robinson
Senior Linebacker Chris Russell Sr.
Senior Wide receiver (selected as a running back) Ainias Smith
Junior Offensive guard Jordan Spacojevic-Moko
In response to the change of venue, Dallas Cowboys’ Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President, and Director of Player Personnel, Stephen Jones, described his excitement in bringing the game to Frisco and its continued effort in raising the profile for Shriners Children Hospital.
“It is a tremendous honor to host the East-West Shrine Bowl at the Ford Center at The Star next February,” said Stephen Jones “The game is a fixture in college football. We look forward to bringing the best college football players in the country to Frisco in the spirit of helping Shriners Children’s care for young patients around the world.”
Congratulations to all twelve young men for their selection ahead of what is hopefully a memorable 2023 season in College Station.
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Ahead of Texas A&M’s pivotal 2023 CFB season, seven Aggies have made PFF’s 2023 Preseason All-SEC Team.
The countdown to Texas A&M’s pivotal 2023 football season is nearing the 40-day mark, and after Head Coach Jimbo Fisher, who wide receiver Ainias Smith accompanied, defensive end Fadil Diggs, and defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson spoke during the first day of the 2023 SEC Media Days, college football is (kind of) back!
On Monday, PFF writer Anthony Treash released his 2023 Preseason All-SEC Team, as senior LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels unsurprisingly leads the way as the First Team signal caller, seven well-known players for the Maroon and White received First Team, Second Team, and Third Team selections, as the Aggie’s roster is by far one of the more talented and experienced groups in the conference and the country.
Entering his sixth season as the helm, Jimbo Fisher’s polarized relationship with the media has zero effect on how the Aggies perform on the field this season. Still, to echo nearly every fellow writer who covers the program, the trust he has developed with the fanbase will slowly fade away.
However, new OC and (assumed) play-caller Bobby Petrino may be the cure-all to A&M’s offensive shortfalls in 2022, and as these rankings display, he’ll have plenty to work with.
Every Texas A&M player selected in PFF’s 2023 Preseason All-SEC Team is listed below!
Athlon Sports has released their Preseason All-American list for the 2023 season, and four Aggies have deservedly made the list.
Get ready because we are just in the beginning stages of nearly every major sports outlet releasing their preliminary Top 25 rankings and, of course, preseason accolades that, in their most negative sense, may boost the egos of certain players who are then unable to live up to the hype on the field.
For Texas A&M, the 2023 season is filled with enough storylines to fill a novel, starting with new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino’s role in developing former five-star prospect and ascending sophomore quarterback Conner Weigman.
What the Aggies aren’t lacking in the slightest is talent and experience on what has become a loaded roster after recent transfer portal additions have solved several depth issues, while veterans such as wide receiver Ainias Smith and Safety Demani Richardson are returning for their final season in Aggieland, looking to do whatever they can to aid in the program’s substantial rebound after the 5-7 (2-6 SEC) 2022 season has plagued many fans expectations.
Due to their importance and expected impact next season, Athlon Sports named Smith and Richardson to their Preseason All-American list, including electric sophomore wide receiver Evan Stewart and Punter Nik Constantinou. Here is the complete list per their team designation:
For Texas A&M to achieve their lofty goals in 2023, all four young men listed will need to take a big step forward in their play on the field (excluding Smith’s season-ending injury in 2022), but with all the failure experience last season, the only way to go is up, am I right?
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Nik Constantinou wins SEC special teams player of the week
Texas A&M junior punter, Nik Constantinou, was awarded the Week 3 SEC special teams player of the week for his efforts in Saturday night’s 17-9 victory over, now, No. 25 Miami.
Constantinou punted the ball six times on Saturday night, averaging 44.3 yards per punt, with his long punt of 57 yards. Mostly impressively, however, were his three punts downed inside the Miami 10-yard line – punts downed at the one, eight and nine-yard line. Credit to Constantinou’s leg and the great work of the gunners in pinning Miami’s offense deep in their own territory on multiple occasions. The Aggies undoubtedly won the special teams battle in this prime-time matchup.
No. 20 Texas A&M takes on No. 10 Arkansas on Saturday night, 6:00PM CT, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.
Nik Constantinou makes the Ray Guy Award Watch List
Texas A&M University, also known as Punter U to those who bask in Aggie lore has produced yet another star at the position in redshirt junior Nik Constantinou, who was recently named to the Ray Guy Award Watch List, awarded to the top collegiate punter annually at seasons end.
The Aggies produced possibly the greatest punter in NFL history not named Ray Guy in future NFL Hall of Famer Shane Lechler, while former Aggie punter and 2018 Ray Guy Award winner Braden Mann (2016-2019), now current New York Jet is on his own path to greatness.
In Texas A&M punting history, Constantinou currently sits in 15th place with 88 punts for 3,893 yards and a 44.2 punt yard average. After becoming a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award after the 2020 season, his goal is to finally capture the award and solidify the Aggies at the greatest collegiate punting institute in the country once and for all.
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Texas A&M Player Profile: Punter, Nik Constantinou
Going into the 2022 football season, Aggies Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Texas A&M roster.
Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for Jimbo Fisher this season.
Nik Constantinou is entering his redshirt junior season as the starting punter in Texas A&M’s special teams unit, with eyes on having his best statistical season yet, and getting the attention of NFL scouts in the process. Constantinou joins a long list of internationally based punters who have entered the college ranks yielding immense success and the long list of Texas A&M punters, with the most recent notable name being the 2018 Ray Guy Award winner, and current New York Jet, Braden Mann.
Before making the long trip to College Station, Texas, Constantinou attended the Penleigh & Essendon Grammar School. After multiple conversations with his father regarding the successful transition of Australian football athletes training as punters for American football, he began training at Prokick Australia. This training program has sent 75 players to college programs, 17 of them earning All-American destination, with a number of them making it to the NFL. After a couple of years of continuing to learn the game and participating in multiple tryouts, Constantinou earned a scholarship to Texas A&M as a member of the 2019 recruiting class, redshirting during the 2019 season in order to continue learning and develop behind Braden Mann in his final season with the Aggies, But did make a 57-yard punt against UTSA in his first appearance.
Nik Constantinou is currently projected as the starting punter for Texas A&M, joined by starting kicker, Caden Davis.
From a scouting perspective, he has a large frame at 6-3, 230lbs, paired with one of the strongest legs in all of college football, and is an adequate athlete displaying good balance and body control. with a key understanding of field position from an offensive and defensive standpoint, he has increased his punts landing inside the 20 every season, and a steady increase of 50-plus yard punts as well. Overall, look for Nik Constantinou to maintain as one of the top punters in the country, and a legit NFL draft prospect by mid-season.
Players’ Photo Gallery
Oct 9, 2021; College Station, Texas, USA; Alabama wide receiver Ja’Corey Brooks (7) blocks a punt by Texas A&M punter Nik Constantinou (95) that Alabama recovered in the end zone for a touchdown at Kyle Field. Texas A&M defeated Alabama 41-38 on a field goal as time expired. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY SportsOct 9, 2021; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies punter Nik Constantinou (95) celebrates Texas A&M Aggies place kicker Seth Small (47) 28 yard game game winning field goal against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the fourth quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
