SEC West Preview – Texas A&M Aggies

The Texas A&M Aggies are entering their fourth season in the SEC, and the benefits of belonging in the SEC are coming to fruition, as head coach Kevin Sumlin and his crew now have one of the most talented rosters in the conference.

Moving from the Big 12 to the SEC has done wonders for Texas A&M on the recruiting trail, and now they're set and ready to make a legitimate push to represent the SEC West in the SEC Championship Game.

The only speed bump that still exists for the Aggies is whether or not they can fix their woes on the defensive side of the ball, but with new defensive coordinator John Chavis on board, you'll see some improvement, if only by default.

Offense

Kenny "Trill" Hill was the flash in the pan last season, starting off hot at the quarterback position and making his case to be in the Heisman conversation. And then the Aggies started the meat of SEC play, and he was eventually benched after the 59-0 blasting at the hands of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Kyle Allen took over after that embarrassing loss to the Tide, and he didn't look too terribly bad, going 95-154 with 13 TDs and 5 INTs in their final five games of the season. Fast forward to this year, Hill has left the program, so the position is more or less Allen's to lose. He'll not lack for a supporting cast, that's for sure, so there's almost no excuse for a lackluster performance from whoever takes snaps this year for the Aggies.

One of those weapons is wide receiver Speedy Noil. Noil suffered a knee injury early last season, but it didn't keep him down for long. However, I think it did limit his abilities somewhat, but now that he's completely healthy, he will be one of the most explosive players in the country. Picture former Oregon playmaker De'Anthony Thomas, but with a much more polished game, and you've got Noil. Alongside Noil, last season's leading receiver Josh Reynolds returns, and also sophomore stud Ricky Seals-Jones. Sumlin is going to have some fun with this receiving corps this year.

But it's hard to throw the ball without a respectable running game. This is true no matter the coach or team philosophy, and senior running backs Tra Carson and Brandon Williams look to make teams acknowledge the Aggies' run game. Carson and Williams carried the rock the most for the Aggies last season, averaging 4.55 yards per carry between them both. While that isn't an eye-popping number, it's just dangerous enough to keep an extra man in the box on defense to prevent them from nickel and diming it down the field. Also, watch for the receivers to be involved in the run game as well. While they may not have what we technically call "rushes," they'll throw some quick hitters out in the flats to the wide players, allowing them to get some one-on-one match-ups, this just being an extension of the running game.

On the offensive line, the Aggies return three starters from last season, but lost NFL draft pick at left tackle Chris Ogbuehi to the Cincinnati Bengals. Mike Matthews will most likely continue his role as center, and the entire right side of the line will return for Texas A&M. Joseph Cheek started at right guard last year, and he likely will remain there. Junior Germain Ifedi started at right tackle last season, but could make the move to left tackle, although junior Avery Gennesy may be pegged as the man to protect Allen's blind side. And at left guard, Jermaine Eluemenor seems to be the leader in the clubhouse.

Defense

John Chavis.

That's it for the defense.

Okay, I'll actually break it down like I'm supposed to. On the defensive line, there's really one name you absolutely have to know, and if you don't know it by now, you'll learn it soon. Myles Garrett. The sophomore is a beast. He led the team in sacks last year as a freshman with 11.5 sacks! Maybe that had something to do with him being a freshman, and the fact that not many teams had much film on him, but regardless, the guy can flat play football. Senior Alonzo Williams is a big body at 6'2" 296 lb, and he'll most likely play beside Hardreck Walker, a 6'0" 300 lb junior, to sure up the middle of the defensive line. Senior Julien Obioha will get the nod opposite of Garrett.

The Aggies' linebackers will definitely lack for starting experience, but they played many of their underclassmen last season, so it won't be foreign for the 2015 starters. Jordan Mastrogiovanni, Tommy Sanders, Justin Bass and Donnie Baggs have all graduated, and they played 47 games combined between them. Replacing all this experience will be some solid sophomores who gained valuable experience last season. Otara Alaka, Josh Walker, and A.J. Hilliard are the favorites to start next season against Arizona State (no slouch by any means). They'll need to build some chemistry before conference play starts, and should they all get on the same page, they'll be a serviceable linebacker corps.

It's getting quite repetitive to write about sub-par secondary play. Ranked 83rd last season in pass defense, the A&M secondary needed an upgrade badly. Unfortunately, they lost three of their four starters from the group last season. Senior leader De'Vante Harris will hold down one cornerback position, but it's a huge shakeup on the other side of the field and at both safety positions. Victor Davis should start opposite of Harris, and it looks as if Armani Watts and Justin Evans will hold down the fort at the safety positions. Last season, Noel Ellis was the nickelback, but he may make a push to start in the base defense. But whoever starts back there, they must learn how to cover, or teams will again carve them up at will.

Special Teams

Holding the place kicking duties will be senior Taylor Bertolet. he started in 2012, but was benched as he made only 59.1% of his field goal attempts during the season. He kicked three field goals in 2013, making two of them, but didn't kick at all last season. For the Aggies' sake, he needs to improve drastically, as teams are now needing to score more and more points to win football games, and three points is much better than zero.

Senior Drew Kaser will punt for the Aggies this season yet again. He was solid last season, doing what the team needed him to do, averaging 44.15 yards per punt, and punting 4.8 times per game. If the Aggies can decrease his punts/game and he can increase his punting average, the Aggies could win an extra game just on that stat alone.

McMoney's Prediction

I really like this team, especially with new defensive coordinator John Chavis coaching up that below average defense. However, it takes longer than a season to implement a new defensive mentality. Now, to contradict my point, the offense will be able to bail out the defense most of the time, and that's what will make the Aggies a legitimate SEC team this year. They only have three road games this season (Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, and LSU), so the schedule actually sets up well for them. I'm not sold on Ole Miss, but the game at Oxford will be tough. Alabama should beat the Aggies in College Station, but past that, it's hard for me to see anymore losses. The Auburn game will decide who finishes second in the West, and I think it'll be the home team Aggies.

I've got them at 10-2, and should the cards fall just right, that may be enough to win the West.