When Texas A&M landed John Chavis to run its defense, the bar for performance on that side up the ball immediately raised up.

For good reason, too. Chavis was the man behind six consecutive top-25 defenses at LSU, and his defenses were ranked No. 15 or better nationally in his final five years at the school. That earned him a reputation as one of the sharpest defensive coordinators in the game, as well as a salary to match.

While there’s reason for optimism, there should also be some realism sprinkled in; no matter how good Chavis is, it’s going to take some time to get the Aggies up to the level LSU has been at for the last half-decade.

There is room to improve, though, and plenty of it. After the Aggies ranked last in the SEC in total defense the last two seasons (111th and 104th nationally, respectively), there’s really nowhere to go but up.

There will be adjustments made for the defensive players, who have to learn a new defensive scheme, and for Chavis, who must learn how to operate without a ball-control offense. Chavis, though, likes the personnel he has to work with.

“There’s SEC talent here, no question about it,” Chavis said when he met with the media earlier this week. “It’s young. We have to help them get better and that’s what coaching is all about.”

While expecting the Aggies to jump up to the top of the SEC in defense might be wishful thinking, there are some reasonable areas to expect improvements in 2015.

  • Better linebacker play — The Aggies are going to be a bit thin at linebacker, especially after Jordan Mastrogiovanni left the team to focus on academics. With Chavis specifically coaching that group, though, its play should improve. At the very least, expect the linebackers to learn how to play downhill, pushing forward to attack ball carriers at the line instead of having to turn and run to pursue them out wide. Chavis has had a lot of success in his career in teaching linebackers to play that way, and he’ll impart that on the Aggies. There’s certainly talent to work with in Otaro Alaka, A.J. Hilliard and Shaan Washington, but that talent must be molded.
  • A strong defensive line — With the addition of incoming five-star defensive tackle Daylon Mack, Chavis has the piece to get the defense to start clicking. At LSU, Chavis often had a devastating defensive tackle to build around; Bennie Logan, Ego Ferguson and Michael Brockers all starred in the middle of Chavis’ defensive lines. Teamed with Myles Garrett, who has the potential to be an every-down force after setting the SEC’s freshman sacks record in 2014, the Aggies have the basis for a line that could be a problem for offensive coordinators. If Mack, Kingsley KeKe and the rest of the defensive tackles group can make plays in the middle of the line, it’ll make life for the rest of the defense much easier.
  • Competition in the secondary — After last year’s issues at linebacker, the secondary was the next-biggest culprit in A&M’s defensive struggles in 2014. The Aggies lose three starters from the secondary, opening up competition for the young players on the roster. Armani Watts has the makings of a good player at safety, while Nick Harvey is a former four-star recruit who didn’t see the field much in 2014. The 2015 recruiting class will add to the competition, with two four-star safeties, a four-star cornerback and a JUCO transfer at safety. Chavis comes with a reputation for bringing the best out of DBs, and the Aggies will need that kind of performance from their new DC if they want to make a leap.