Tag: Texas A&M football

Texas A&M’s Las Vegas Bowl D-line starters announced amid departures

Texas A&M HC Mike Elko announced who will step in place of Nic Scourton, Shemar Stewart, and Shemar Turner vs. USC in the Las Vegas Bowl

Texas A&M’s 2024 regular season might be over, but the Aggies still have a chance to win nine games and head into the 2025 offseason with momentum. Coach Mike Elko and his staff will be without 22 players, including 19 who entered the transfer portal and three NFL Draft-bound defenders.

While this was expected, depth across the defensive line is an issue going into next Friday’s Las Vegas Bowl vs. USC, as starting defensive ends Nic Scourton and Shemar Stewart were the first players to declare for the draft. In contrast, senior defensive tackle Shemar Turner announced his intentions on Tuesday.

During Monday’s pre-bowl press conference, Elko discussed the departures while noting the team’s budding culture and the opportunity presented to the younger players, especially on defense, who will play the entire game and gain more experience heading into next season.

“For some of our seniors, there is a chance for them to go out and have a big game against USC. … It’s an individual basis. Our kids trust in the culture here. They trust in the coaches. They trust in what we’re saying.”

Along the defensive line, Elko confirmed that Edge/defensive end Cashius Howell, defensive tackle DJ Hicks, and defensive end Rylan Kennedy will likely play the entire game outside of a handful of snaps.

Howell, a star in the making during his first season with the Aggies, ended the year with 35 tackles and three sacks, earning a 73 defensive grade and a team-high 82.6 pass-rush grade per Pro Football Focus.

Kennedy, who finished the year with 19 tackles and 1.5 sacks, earned the second-highest PFF pass-rush grade (81.0), while DJ Hicks started most of the season next to Shemar Turner, finishing with 14 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Texas A&M will face USC in the Las Vegas Bowl on Friday, Dec. 27. The game will air on ESPN at 9:30 CT.

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Western Kentucky transfer Edge will visit Texas A&M on Thursday

Former Western Kentucky DL Deante McCray is headed to Texas A&M for a visit on Thursday

Texas A&M’s transfer portal additions are mainly focused on offense, especially at wide receiver, after adding Micah Hudson and Mario Craver earlier in the week.

However, after the NFL departures of Nic Scourton, Shemar Stewart, and Shemar Turner, head coach Mike Elko and his defensive staff require defensive line depth, especially at Edge and defensive tackle, as A&M’s run defense struggled at the tail end of SEC play this season.

Following last week’s announcement about Western Kentucky Edge Deante McCray’s upcoming visit to Texas A&M, the date has now been set. The sophomore is scheduled to arrive in College Station on Thursday, after which he will travel to Oklahoma State and Cal Berkeley over the weekend.

While McCray’s 50 tackles and 2.5 sacks are similar to one of the Aggies’ recent Edge visitors, LSU transfer commit Jack Plyburn, the sophomore defender, finished the 2024 season with an impressive 75.8 defensive grade and 77.5 run defense grade per Pro Football Focus.

Texas A&M’s run defense faced challenges against tough running teams such as South Carolina and Georgia, highlighting a need for more dependable edge run stoppers. McCray excelled in this role during his final two seasons with the Hilltoppers.

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Texas A&M football will be featured in a Netflix documentary this summer

The Texas A&M football team will be part of a Netflix docuseries focusing on the 2024 SEC football season

On Wednesday, Netflix announced that they produced an eight-episode docuseries featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the 2024 SEC football season that will air in the Summer of 2025.

While not every team participated in the production, Texas A&M took advantage of the opportunity, and after it airs, we’ll know if it will be a net positive or negative.

In the age of unlimited transfers and unchecked NIL deals, any edge a university can get in recruiting will be explored. Aggie fans already get a glimpse of what goes in the locker room due to their excellent in-season series “The Pulse.”

This series will provide a different perspective and lead to other conferences in future series. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey believes it will be a binge-worthy watch for Netflix subscribers.

“This behind-the-scenes docuseries will bring all the drama and pageantry of Southeastern Conference Football to a worldwide Netflix audience”

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Former 5-star Texas A&M defensive lineman has transferred to SEC rival

Texas A&M DL Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy is headed to join one of the Aggies’ SEC rivals next season

One of Texas A&M’s first transfer portal departures, former five-star prospect and long-armed defensive lineman Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, never found his footing in the D-line rotation under former head coach Jimbo Fisher or his one season under Mike Elko.

Like many high-ranking prospects, scheme and overall fit can make or break players’ futures, which was the case for Brownlow-Didy. After three seasons with the program, the redshirt sophomore deserves credit for waiting it out, but no one can blame him for making a business decision to save his football career.

Over the past two weeks, Brownlow-Dindy had interest from a long list of Power 5 programs, including North Carolina and South Carolina. After visiting the Gamecocks, the former top 15-ranked high school prospect will join South Carolina for the 2025 season and likely fill a much-needed rotational role in the interior defensive line.

Even though the rivalry has been one-sided over the past couple of years, the Gamecocks are returning most of their 2024 9-3 roster, including quarterback La’Norris Sellers and star defensive end Kyle Kennard.

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Texas A&M defensive lineman Shemar Turner announces future plans

Texas A&M defensive lineman Shemar Turner has announced he will enter the 2025 NFL Draft

Texas A&M mainstay Shemar Turner could have chosen to transfer after Jimbo Fisher was fired and it would have been completely understandable. However, he decided to return to Bryan-College Station under Elko.

On Tuesday Turner announced via his Instagram account that he will forgo his senior season to enter the 2025 NFL Draft. He is in an interesting position, and I believe either choice is the right one for him. His versatility allows him to play anywhere along the line and the size to hold up against NFL talent.

He had a roller coaster of a season sometimes looking like a first-round pick and at other times undisciplined leading to costly personal foul penalties. Even with that throughout his career at A&M, he’s had a key role in one of the better defensive lines’ groups in the SEC.

Turner recorded 115 tackles, 10 sacks, and 22.5 tackles for loss during his four seasons as a Texas A&M Aggie.

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Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed revealed his recruiting pitch for transfer portal visitors

Texas A&M has landed five commitments from the transfer portal, and QB Marcel Reed has been a big part of it

Texas A&M’s transfer portal success now includes five additions, including former Mississippi State wide receiver Mario Craver, who committed to the Aggies on Tuesday morning.

Beating out Alabama for Craver, a native of the state, a big part of Coach Mike Elko’s strategy has been getting current players involved. This isn’t new, as every player is tasked with showing transfer players around campus, “selling” the program and University, and how each transfer can better their playing and educational future, which is the primary goal.

On Tuesday, Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed joined Mike Elko during A&M’s pre-Las Vegas Bowl press conference. The Aggies will face USC on Friday, December 27.

Reed, who will enter the 2025 offseason as the presumed starter, was asked about his involvement in guiding past and current visitors from the portal, revealing his official pitch:

“I would start with Kyle Field. Who wouldn’t you want to play here? You dream about playing in a great atmosphere, and we have the best in the country. Then the relationships that are here at A&M… Finally, Coach Elko. He never tells a lie to you. He is straightforward.”

While Kyle Field is undoubtedly the main draw on Saturdays, Elko and his staff are slowly building a culture that has begun to reap the benefits heading into the core of the offseason, and starting with only three players opting out of the Las Vegas Bowl outside of the 19 players who have departed through the portal.

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Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt provides his idea on how to fix the transfer portal chaos

One thing is clear: The transfer portal needs to be regulated sooner than later

It’s not surprising that the existing college football transfer portal model is wholly unsustainable; however, until new legislation is enacted or even contemplated, only a few programs will keep benefiting. Meanwhile, other programs will need to depend solely on recruiting high school athletes.

For Texas A&M, the Aggies have lost 19 players from the portal while gaining five in return. While the math doesn’t balance out, nearly every portal departure was either backups or rotational players that will likely be replaced by future transfers or incoming freshmen from the 2025 cycle.

However, every one of the five new additions provides immediate benefits next season, especially wide receivers Micah Hudson and Mario Cramer, who will more than likely earn starting or key rotational spots on offense.

While Texas A&M should benefit from the portal, Fox Sports Analyst Joel Klatt joined the chorus of media members and fans upset at the “Wild Wild West” like environment the portal presents, providing his solution in a post on X on Tuesday:

“The easiest fix to this December transfer portal madness is finishing the CFB season prior to the start of the spring semester…We should be crowning a champ near Jan. 1 and then we can have a 8-10 day window after that.”

This “solution” will likely never happen, mainly due to the 12-team College Football Playoff structure that could expand to 14 teams in the coming years, so unless the regular season begins even earlier, the most realistic solution is more oversight on potential tampering and not allowing players to transfer more than twice.

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Texas A&M’s 2025 wide receiver room is built on speed and potential

Texas A&M’s 2025 WR room is as deep as it’s been in years

Texas A&M has landed five commitments from the transfer portal, led by the newest addition of former Mississippi State wide receiver Mario Cramer, who is coming off an impressive freshman season with the Bulldogs.

On Sunday, former five-star and Texas Tech wide receiver Micah Hudson announced his commitment to the program, filling out what looks like the best WR room Texas A&M has had under both Jimbo Fisher and Mike Elko, even though both new additions don’t bring in substantial on-field production.

While Hudson and Cramer will immediately compete for starting spots, the return of incoming senior Noah Thomas and sophomore Terry Bussey look like the 1-2 options on paper. At the same time, it’s important to note that five-star freshman WR Jerome Myles will not be present during the spring football season.

However, incoming sophomores Ashton Bethel-Roman and Izaiah Williams are names to watch after briefly showing off their skills during the 38-0 w win over New Mexico State. Speedster Ernest Campbell looks like the forgotten man on the roster after not seeing the field this season.

Lastly, Jerome Myles is joined by two of the faster receivers in the 2025 class. Kelshaun Johnson and TK Norman were risers toward the end of their recruitment, bringing immediate depth to a stacked rotation.

Compared to last season, OC Collin Klein’s focus on creating mismatches in the passing game should see more success with the added speed and athleticism that will pair well with the run game and set up play-action shot-downs field.

Mario Craver continues to be the name to watch. During his freshman season, he averaged 21 yards per catch, including 54, 46, and 72-yard receptions, consistently displaying his deep speed.

Incoming redshirt sophomore quarterback Marcel Reed has a lot of work ahead of him to improve after an up-and-down first season, but with these new additions to the receiving corps, Reed has plenty to work with to improve significantly next season.

Here is the current wide receiver depth chart in his current form:

  1. Noah Thomas (4-star prospect)
  2. Terry Bussey (5-star prospect)
  3. Micah Hudson (5-star prospect)
  4. Mario Craver (4-star prospect)
  5. Jerome Myles (5-star prospect)
  6. Ashton Bethel-Roman (4-star prospect)
  7. Izaiah Williams (4-star prospect)
  8. Kelshaun Johnson (4-star prospect)
  9. Ernest Johnson (4-star prospect)
  10. TK Norman (3-star prospect)

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QB Zach Calzada is on the move again after two years at Incarnate Word

After two seasons at UIW quarterback Zach Calzada is entering the transfer portal

After an emotional and what seemed to be a goodbye to college football, former Texas A&M quarterback Zach Calzada has entered the transfer portal for the third time.

When people hear, “He has eligibility left!?” their next question is often, “How?” The quick answer is that he redshirted his freshman year, and due to the 2020 Covid-affected season, his eligibility didn’t run out.

After transferring to Auburn, he got injured, which allowed him to receive a medical redshirt after not playing in the 2022 season.

Now that it is established that he still has another season left, he hopes to gain some traction for the 2026 NFL Draft. So why did he give the speech as if he would no longer be playing football at this level? There was talk throughout the year that a final season at UIW or entering the 2025 NFL Draft were his primary options.

From this writer’s perspective, Calzada likely feels that he has proven enough at Incarnate Word and shown significant growth while staying healthy throughout the year, making him an intriguing option for many teams looking for a veteran signal-caller.

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Texas A&M will host North Carolina State transfer WR this week

North Carolina State WR Kevin Concepcion is headed to College Station later this week

Texas A&M has landed two playmaking wide receivers from the transfer portal in the last three days, as former five-star and Texas Tech WR Micah Hudson announced his intentions on Sunday, while former Mississippi State freshman wideout Mario Craver announced on Tuesday afternoon.

Yet, Elko and his team are still working on expanding the wide receiver lineup for the 2025 spring roster. On Tuesday, Elko emphasized that the Aggies have no plans to stop adding talent in the coming weeks.

One name to remember is North Carolina State transfer wide receiver Kevin Concepcion, who will reportedly visit Texas A&M and Miami later this week. Earlier this month, Concepcion was scheduled to visit the Aggies before a rescheduling postponed his official visit, but On3’s Pete Nakos has now confirmed that he is headed to College Station.

In two seasons with the Wolfpack, Concepcion recorded 124 receptions, 1,299 yards, and 16 touchdowns, bringing a blend of speed and excellent route running despite dealing with quarterback issues throughout his collegiate career.

While Concepcion is a slight favorite to land with either Alabama or Colorado, this significant development could end in the Aggies landing three of the top wide receivers from the portal in the coming weeks.

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