One year ago, Kyle Allen was a backup at Texas A&M wondering how long he might be stashed on A&M’s bench before finally getting his shot to lead the Aggies offense.

At that time, we all figured the answer would be given in terms of years. Instead, it was only a matter of weeks before Allen assumed A&M’s starting job, and barring injury it seems unlikely he’ll be giving up the job anytime soon.

He started the last five games of the Aggies’ season as a true freshman in 2014, coming in cold off the bench to replace Kenny Hill, who began his first year as A&M’s starter in 2014 on a record-breaking pace. After on-field struggles and off-field incidents led to his benching (and ultimately his transfer to TCU this offseason), Allen was thrust into action in the heart of A&M’s SEC schedule with the team’s postseason fate on the line.

He led A&M to a 3-2 record down the stretch, including a win over Auburn and a bowl victory over West Virginia, and in the process proved himself to be the future of the Aggies’ offense in this post-Johnny Manziel era.

Even then, in Allen’s earliest days as a collegian, it was apparent how meaningful he was, is and will be to the A&M offense throughout his career. Most offenses are led by their quarterbacks; A&M’s is carried by it’s signal caller.

After struggling to a narrow victory over Louisiana-Monroe in his first career start — a start in which nerves and lack of familiarity took an obvious toll on Allen and the A&M offense — the freshman’s play began to pick up, and so did A&M’s offensive numbers.

In victories over Auburn and West Virginia, he threw for an average of more than 285 yards per game with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 4-to-1. In losses to Missouri and LSU, however, Allen threw for an average of only 190 yards per game with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 2-to-1. The correlation, albeit in a small sample size, is pretty obvious.

It’s worth noting that no offense in the SEC is as dependent on throwing the ball as Texas A&M’s unit. The Aggies have led the SEC in yards through the air in each of their three seasons in the SEC, and they led the conference in pass attempts twice, finishing second to Ole Miss in 2013 by one pass attempt. Needless to say, without an effective quarterback helping to move the ball, the offense struggles to stay on the field and produce points.

Take a look at Hill’s numbers before his benching: He threw for 349 yards per game with 17 touchdowns against only two interceptions during a 5-0 start; his numbers dropped to 301 yards per game with six touchdowns against six picks during an 0-3 backslide, leading to the change to Allen. When Hill was in rhythm, he looked like the best quarterback in the SEC. When he wasn’t, A&M couldn’t buy a victory.

The same burden then fell onto Allen’s shoulders, and we discussed the correlation between his numbers and A&M’s win total earlier. That correlation will only grow stronger as Allen grows more experienced, and considering the Aggies only lost two of their top-10 pass catchers from a year ago, expectations for A&M’s offense will rise as well.

Last year, in the wake of losing Johnny Manziel, Mike Evans and Jake Matthews all to the top 10 of the NFL draft, the Aggies were granted a rebuilding year with relatively low expectations. They turned to Allen and a few young, explosive receivers, earned a bowl berth then hired John Chavis to rebuild a putrid defense in College Station.

Now, with Allen, his weapons and a defensive mastermind in place, it’s time for the winning to resume, this time with Sumlin’s own players, not the talent he inherited from the Mike Sherman era.

It will be Allen who determines just how good A&M is this fall. The defense will be better, but that overnight improvement won’t be dramatic enough to carry the Aggies so much as it will keep the bottom from falling out on A&M’s 2015 season. Thus, the offense will once again have to score points in bunches to defeat the likes of Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss and others, and that will only happen if Allen continues to play well under center.

He’ll have another year with former junior college transfer Josh Reynolds, who set a new school record for receiving touchdowns a year ago and should serve as one of the best wideouts in the SEC as a junior. While defenses are occupied with slowing him down, rising sophomores Speedy Noil and Ricky Seals-Jones will also be back to pick on single coverage to the benefit of their quarterback.

If Allen can find those three, and others like Ed Pope and Frank Iheanacho, the Aggies will be virtually impossible to slow down. But if Allen can’t command an offense loaded with weapons and a sturdy offensive line, the Aggies don’t have the talent in the run game or on defense to compensate.

Allen won’t make plays like Manziel, but he has a strong arm and proper mechanics, enabling him to make most every throw at the college level. If he can make quick reads, and if he can get the ball out quickly and accurately, A&M will contend for the West in 2015.

If Allen can’t, A&M will struggle, especially because its only other scholarship quarterback is an incoming freshman who may begin a minor league baseball career in lieu of a career in college football. That desperation due to a lack of depth at the position only further intensifies Allen’s meaning to this team and the coming season.

There are no other options. It’s Allen or bust. And that’s why, talent aside, he’s more important to his team than any other quarterback in the SEC in 2015.