Texas A&M football: The 10 most important players from the past 10 seasons
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It’s been somewhat of a rocky marriage for Texas A&M. In the decade since joining the SEC. The Aggies have experienced their share of joy and heartache. They stormed into their new surroundings in 2012 with an 11-win season, the most in 14 years, led by a Heisman winner. They have yet to duplicate or top that mark.
But they haven’t had a losing season since joining the nation’s premier league, and that alone says a lot for the program and the players who have come and gone over that decade. Here’s a look at the 10 most important players who shaped the Texas A&M football program since joining the SEC.
10. K Seth Small (2018-21)
One of the most reliable kickers in Texas A&M history, Small holds the program’s career record for most field goals made (71) and ranks 3rd all-time in field goal percentage (78.0) behind only Randy Bulloch (78.8, between 2008-11) and Josh Lambo (84.0, between 2012-14).
But Small will be most remembered for his 28-yard field goal with no time left that beat No. 1 Alabama, 41-38, at Kyle Field this past season. It was only the 3rd time in program history that the Aggies took down a No. 1 team. The other 2 were on Nov. 10, 2012 at Alabama, and Nov. 9, 2002 vs. Oklahoma.
9. OL Cedric Ogbuehi (2010-14)
Another in the long list of outstanding offensive line in the early years of that decade, Ogbuehi fit the bill. Size, strength and agility made him one of the top offensive linemen in the country. He was another Aggie OL selected in the 1st round of the NFL Draft, taken 21st overall in 2015 by the Cincinnati Bengals.
8. OL Germain Ifedi (2012-15)
A stalwart on the staunch Aggies’ offensive line, Ifedi played in all 13 games in 2013, helping to lead the Aggies’ top 10 offense with Manziel at the controls. He was the 31st player selected overall in the 2016 NFL Draft (Seattle Seahawks).
7. RB Trayveon Williams (2016-18)
Nobody did it better than what Williams in 2018 when he set the Aggies’ all-time single-season rushing record at 1,760 yards. He also set the all-purpose yards record with 2,038. He’s the only player in Texas A&M history to surpass 2,000 all-purpose yards in a season.
Also, during that record-setting season he ran for the 2nd- and 3rd-most yards in a single game, piling up 240 rushing yards against Northwestern State and another 236 yards vs. NC State in the Gator Bowl. The latter performance shattered the Gator Bowl record, which included a spectacular 93-yard TD run, also a Gator Bowl record.
6. OL Luke Joeckel (2010-12)
Joeckel slides into the list because he did play and was outstanding in 2012. He started every game all 3 seasons at Texas A&M and won the 2013 Outland Trophy Award, given to the nation’s top interior lineman. He was also named a consensus All-American.
Joeckel was the No. 2 overall pick (Jacksonville Jaguars) in the 2013 NFL Draft.
5. WR Mike Evans (2012-13)
The duo of Manziel and Evans was practically impossible to stop in the 2 seasons they were together at Texas A&M. Evans came up big in the biggest games. He holds the Aggies’ top 2 all-time single game receiving yards records, both accomplished in the 2013 season. He piled up 287 receiving yards against Auburn and another 279 yards against Alabama.
Evans led the Aggies in receiving both years. He compiled 1,105 yards in 2012 and a single-season program record 1,394 yards (12 TDs) in 2013. His 4 TD catches against Auburn tied the program’s single-game record with Ryan Swope (2011 vs. Baylor).
4. QB Kellen Mond (2017-20)
In 4 seasons, Mond rewrote the record books. He is the Aggies’ all-time leading career passer with 9.661 yards, and holds the team’s career passing touchdowns record with 71.
Mond steadily improved until reaching his peak in the COVID-shortened 2020, where he guided the Aggies to a 9-1 season that included an Orange Bowl victory and an AP No. 4 national ranking, the program’s highest since winning the national championship in 1939.
3. OL Jake Matthews (2010-13)
Matthews was the No. 6 player chosen overall in the 2014 NFL Draft (Atlanta Falcons). He led one of the toughest and strongest offensive lines in the country during his time in College Station, protecting Manziel on his incredible journey to the Heisman Trophy.
Matthews was a 2013 consensus 1st-team All-American. He was named by the College Football Hall of Fame to the 2010’s All-Decade Team.
2. DL Myles Garrett (2014-16)
The All-American reset the standard at Texas A&M for causing havoc in opposing backfields. He led the SEC in sacks (12.5) as a sophomore after recording 11.5 and ranked 2nd in the conference in his freshman season. Following in the footsteps of great Aggies disrupters Jacob Green, Von Miller, Ray Childress and John Roper, Garrett’s aggressive play helped elevate a Texas A&M defense that ranked last in the SEC in both 2013 and 2014.
1. QB Johnny Manziel (2012-13)
The obvious choice at No. 1, Manziel put the Aggies on his back in 2012 and carried them to an 11-2 season that included a No. 5 ranking nationally, a victory over Alabama (29-24) in Tuscaloosa, and a blowout victory (41-13) over Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl.
He scored a single-season school-record 21 rushing touchdowns and shattered the SEC single-season record for offensive production (since broken), with 5,116 total yards, including 3,706 passing and 1,410 rushing. Manziel won the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top quarterback and also became the first (redshirt) freshman to win the Heisman Trophy.
The following year, he set the Aggies’ single-season record with 4,114 passing yards and set the single-season mark with 37 TD passes. In his 2 seasons at Texas A&M, Manziel threw for 7,820 yards and rushed for another 2,169.
Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.
