Big 12 Preview: Texas A&M Aggies

July 7th, 2008 by James Lawrence

Following a warm-up scrimmage against Montana State, Texas A&M began their 2007 campaign with an impressive 3OT home victory over Fresno State. Their luck did not hold against the Miami Hurricanes in a 34-17 loss (those Canes who went on to beat Duke in a closer game the following week and finish the season 5-7 despite playing in the weak ACC).

The Aggies did mercilessly destroy Baylor in a display of offensive prowess, and in the end finished the regular season 4-5 against BCS conference opposition. For this, they were awarded an Alamo Bowl bid against Penn State, which the Aggies somehow managed to lose despite getting off to an early 14-0 lead in a 12 second span.

Ding dong, the witch is dead! Dennis Franchione is out, and the Aggies will be bringing in Mike Sherman (above, Icon SMI) from the NFL, a man whose Packers upbringing is more in the mold of what A&M is looking for in terms of character, community, and tradition. Bonus for the fact that he is a former assistant of Aggie-beloved RC Slocum, who coached A&M into BCS Bowl back in 1998. Sherman brings Nolan Cromwell with him from Seattle and Green Bay as the new offensive coordinator, and Joe Kines from Alabama will be the new DC.

As I put numbers with gut feelings about these Big 12 quarterbacks, I’m amazed that they’re all so solid. Stephen McGee is no exception. (then again, I saved the Baylor preview for last in the South, so we’re getting to that…) Though throwing for a modest 2311 yards and 12-8 ratio, McGee was also A&M’s leading rusher in 2007 with 899 yards and 5 TDs.

Mike Sherman figures to implement a pro-style offense in College Station, but the question is how will that work with the personnel they have? McGee is obviously better-suited to run the option, which may force Sherman to either delay the transition to a new offense or to put Jerrod Johnson in as starting QB.

Texas A&M has a fantastic backfield with halfback Mike Goodson and fullback Jorvorskie Lane providing a true double-threat – with QB McGee completing the triple. Lane and Goodson had almost identical numbers in 2007 for carries and yardage (roughly 160 and 750), however Lane was the preferred choice in the red zone with 16 TDs to Goodson’s 4. Goodson was the team’s third-leading receiver, hauling in 361 yards and another 4 TDs through the air. Backup RBs produced minimal numbers in 2007 and that shouldn’t change in 2008.

The lack of a feature back is a problem for fantasy owners, particularly since the QB was already the leading rusher in 2007. However, Lane does get the lion’s share of the touchdowns, which makes him more valuable in fantasy leagues. Another concern is the effect that Sherman’s new offense will have on the players’ totals. Likely Lane moves to FB with Goodson at HB so they can both be on the field at all times – you can bet Sherman is putting an NFL sell to Lane that this fullback is how “The Round Mound of Touchdown” will get paid in the NFL. Regardless, expect Lane to continue to get more TD carries.

Texas A&M’s offense consists entirely of QBs, RBs, and TEs. I think the receivers just block or something – wide tackles? Last season, Kerry Franks led the receiving corps with 27 catches and 15 pancakes. Pierre Brown returns hoping to duplicate his 19 reception, 217 yard performance from 2007. Don’t draft an A&M receiver, please.

Martellus Bennett was one of the most productive TEs nationally, but alas he is gone in 2008 and new starter Jamie McCoy is a converted QB with no stats to speak of. Maybe he will run trick plays? Who knows. Backup Ben Bass is a converted DL, i.e. a blocking tight end.

Opposite of Oklahoma, Texas A&M’s offensive line is worth mentioning because they have just one starter returning! Put this on top of the fact that Sherman will likely make some schematic changes, and A&M starters could see their numbers affected negatively. Again like Oklahoma, I’d use this as a tiebreaker if two players are close on your draft board.

A&M calls their defense the “Wrecking Crew,” and as long as they continue to do so while ranking 49^th nationally in scoring, I have no choice but to make fun of them for it. Every starter from a secondary that ranked 92^nd in ypg allowed returns, and with them one defensive lineman. Despite all the passes they were seeing, this unit picked off just 8 passes in 07, and Marquis Carpenter graduated with his 4 picks.

A&M did not have a return TD last season and used 3 different returners. Kicker Matt Szymanski hit a mere 60% of his field goals, including just 2 of 7 from beyond 40. (in fairness, his touchback percentage was very impressive, but that doesn’t count for fantasy stats). Move along.

Summary

In addition to being Texas A&M, which is something that’s just never going to go away, the Aggies have something else going against them in 2008. They return just 10 starters total – 5 on each side. Getting McGee, Lane, and Goodson back is great, but they’re going to need a lot of help to win games. Fortunately, the Aggies drew Colorado, Iowa State, and Kansas State from the North (missing Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska), but no matter, they’ll lose 4 games in the South.

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