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Once again, Texas A&M’s offense is setting the SEC on fire. Even in defeat, they’re putting up crazy yardage totals. But just as it was last season, the defensive side of the ball is a sore spot that still needs to be addressed.
A year ago, the Texas A&M defense was awful. Not bad in spots, but consistently poor top to bottom. That resulted in them ranking quite near the bottom of most major statistical categories within the SEC in 2013.
Last in rushing yards per game and yards per carry. Twelfth in passing yards per game, 11th in yards per attempt allowed. Dead last in points per game and total points allowed.
Defensive coordinator Mark Snyder has talked about the areas the Aggies needed to improve upon from a year ago, from the offseason up through last week’s loss to Ole Miss.
There have been areas of improvement.
The pass rush, for starters, has improved by leaps and bounds. That can be attributed to Snyder unleashing freshman Myles Garrett on the world. The defensive end is on pace to run right past Jadeveon Clowney’s freshman SEC sacks record, just as he’s gone streaking by offensive tackles all season. Through seven games, the team has 21.0 sacks. In 2013, they had 21.0 sacks for the entire year. Guys like Shaan Washington and Ivan Robinson have both stepped it up to bolster that area.
While the Aggies still give up big chunks of yards, they are getting better. They’re giving up nearly 50 yards fewer per game on the ground, and they’ve dropped their passing yards allowed by more than 30 yards per game. They rank 11th and eighth in those categories, respectively.
There’s been big improvements in other significant places. Aggies opponents are converting just more than 33 percent of their third down tries, down from 41 percent a year ago. That’s a huge drop, and it means a ton for both the offense and defense. Teams love to try to play keep-away from the Aggies offense, and getting those third down stops gets Kevin Sumlin’s Air Raid attack back on the field. It also gives the defense a rest, which they need considering how quickly the offense can score.
The secondary, though, has been a major issue. There’s youth all over the place, and it showed in many aspects. While the pass coverage has been noticeably better, the defensive backs can’t tackle. Armani Watts got embarrassed in the Aggies last few games, whiffing on multiple tackles that led to big plays. Watts was benched against Ole Miss after the way he struggled to defend the run against Arkansas and Mississippi State. Meanwhile, junior De’Vante Harris struggled horribly in pass defense and relegated to reserve duty as well.
The problem in the defensive backfield, as well as at linebacker, is that the team lacks talent. While having young talent would be one thing, just needing experience to catch up, the Aggies don’t start many touted recruits. That’s alarming, considering that Sumlin’s last two recruiting classes were both ranked in the top 10 nationally.
The Aggies have been bringing in more than enough talent all over the field, including on defense, to make them SEC powers from their first day in the conference. For whatever reason, while freshman find the field on offense, the big-time defensive recruits aren’t getting up to speed as quickly.
Once again, A&M will be tested this weekend. Alabama has struggled offensively the last two weeks, facing the nation’s best defense two weeks ago and struggling along the offensive line and in the backfield. The Aggies can make a statement that they truly have improved on defense if they can shut down the Crimson Tide attack like Alabama’s last two SEC opponents have.
If not, and A&M continues to get burned by opposing offenses, it’ll be time to ask some serious questions: Is scheme the problem? Is it the talent?
Sumlin might have to take a hard look at his recruiting, and he might have to take a hard look at his staff. With an offense as talented as the one he runs, the Aggies can’t afford to have their defense lagging behind.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
