Better or worse? Previewing Texas A&M’s offense in 2022
The Texas A&M offense struggled at times last season. The Aggies finished 11th in the SEC in total offense, averaging 391.6 yards per game. They were 8th in scoring (29.3). The passing game was not good. Among SEC teams, only Vanderbilt threw for fewer yards.
But that’s somewhat understandable given starting quarterback Haynes King suffered a season-ending injury very early in just the 2nd game. That’s not to say that Zach Calzada didn’t have his moments. He helped upset No. 1 Alabama by throwing for a season-high 285 yards.
However, in 4 games last year, the Aggies were held under 300 total yards and lost 3 of those games. When totaling 300 yards or better, the Aggies were 7-1 with the only loss to Ole Miss (29-19) on the road.
Can Texas A&M produce more yardage on offense this season? Let’s dive in and see what areas of the offense will be better or worse than last year’s.
Personnel: Better
Key losses: TE Jalen Wydermyer, RB Isaiah Spiller, OL Kenyon Green, OL Jahmir Johnson
Key returnees: RB Devon Achane, WR Ainias Smith, QB Haynes King, OL Bryce Foster, OL Kayden Robinson, OL Reuben Fathree.
Potential breakout players: QB Max Johnson (transfer), WR Jalen Preston, WR Evan Stewart, OL Trey Zuhn, OL Jordan Spasojevic-Moko.
If the left side of the offensive line can be solidified with young talent (redshirt freshman) Zuhn and (redshirt sophomore) Moko, the Aggies’ offense could rebound to be among the conference’s best. It’s odd that at Texas A&M, the offense has been up and down since 2016. Last year was the down year, so if the trend holds, it will be a big year for the Aggies’ offense. And with the personnel head coach Jimbo Fisher and 5th-year offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey have to work with, it seems highly likely that it will.
Passing offense: Better
There’s really nowhere to go but up, regardless of who wins the starting job at quarterback. King threw for 292 yards in his only full game last season. In the 11 games that followed, Calzada never threw for that many yards in any one game. His ceiling was the 285 he threw against Alabama.
So, if King wins the job, we know he’ll be an improvement. And if LSU transfer Max Johnson emerges as the starting quarterback, we know from experience that he can put up significant numbers. Last season in Baton Rouge, Johnson threw for 300-plus yards against 5 teams, including 306 (3 TDs, 0 INTs) in a 27-24 victory over the Aggies in the 2021 finale.
Though the consensus future at QB for Texas A&M is Conner Weigman, it may still be a year or two before he’s ready to step into the spotlight. For now, though, either King or Johnson is a step up from what the Aggies had a year ago at that position.
Of course, someone has to be on the other side of those passes. And that’s probably a bigger question mark. Who steps up to take the pressure off Smith? Will it be Preston or Stewart? Are Chase Lane and Moose Muhammad III ready to up their games this season?
And what about tight end? A position that has been so vital to the passing game the past 4 seasons is in question. Is Max Wright the next player to fill that role, or Blake Smith, or one of the many highly-touted incoming freshmen? One of those will need to step up and assume that role.
Running game: Better
Replacing a 1,000-yard rusher like Spiller is never easy. But remember, Achane nearly got there himself. He was 90 yards shy of the mark and had the Aggies played a bowl game, he could have reached it.
Achane is a legit 1,000-yard rusher. The only way he doesn’t reach that milestone in 2022, aside of course injury, is if Fisher decides to keep him fresh with a plethora of quality backs behind him who can fill in and do the job. Amari Daniels and LJ Johnson, Jr. have demonstrated an ability to excel at this level. They may not have as much experience as Achane, but they are certainly capable of filling in and giving the Aggies’ next star enough rest to keep him relatively fresh.
Kicking game: Worse
How can you get any better than old reliable Seth Small? The senior connected on 22-of-27 field goal attempts, including the game-winner over Alabama, and all 37 PAT tries. Over his 4-year career at Texas A&M, Small made a program all-time record 71 field goals (71-of-91) and booted 164-of-165 extra-point kicks.
But enough about that, because the Aggies must now turn the page and look to either redshirt junior Caden Davis, or sophomore Randy Bond to step up. Davis has handled kickoff duties the past 2 seasons, but has yet to make his first college field goal. He missed on his only attempt.
Bond is in a similar boat, having only seen action on kickoffs. He has yet to attempt his first field goal.
As far as kickoff returns go, Achane is certainly capable but you have to hold your breath every time he’s back there to receive, hoping he doesn’t sustain some sort of injury. Achane returned 9 kicks last season, averaging 33.4 yards per return, including a touchdown; the first kickoff return for a TD by an Aggie since 2018.
Watch for Stewart to also have an opportunity to return kicks this season and showcase his talent as well.
Overall: Better
If the left side of the offensive line can jell, this could be a very potent offense. It most definitely has the potential to be better than 11th in the conference and actually could very well become one of the best offenses in the SEC.
An upgrade at quarterback, depth at running back, and a receiving corps that is talented but yet unproven past Smith should all add up to a much improved offense that once again makes the Aggies fun to watch.
I don’t get how simply being a 1000 yard rusher equates to the Aggie run game being better… Not saying they can’t be but this just seems like lazy journalism. Over 50 RBs had 1000 yards. Futhermore, Spiller was a far better RB than his stat line showed.
Are you also saying also the Bama run game may not be any better than it was last season?
Wasn’t saying A&M won’t be better, Im saying Spiller’s replacement simply being a 1000 yard rusher gives no substantive reason for how TAMU’s rushing offense is going to be better. Im critiquing the writer not TAMU.
To answer your question though, I haven’t seen anything to suggest our Running game will be better. Gibbs gets a better OL but goes against far harder comp. No telling how he will transition until he gets into actual game action. Luckily we have a 4 weeks of tune up games for him to adjust. lol
The transfer from Tech is really good. Better than any Bsma back last year imo
Achane has elite speed and explosiveness and ran for 910 yds at a 7 yd avg. per carry with 9 tds. I think the article is just insinuating there is no drop off as far as talent goes.
I have no problem with the claim they will be better. I just think the writer should find a better explanation to how they are going to be better than just, “Ashane will be a 1000 yard rusher”
Yeah I hope teams we go against doubt Caden Davis like you, Glenn. His range and accuracy is off the charts.
Hard to replace a kicker with pinpoint accuracy and range.
The Florida and LSU kickers aren’t easily replaced as good as they were. Same with UGA a couple years ago.
It’s hard to replicate that kind of success, and putting that kind of pressure on a kicker out the gate is setting them up for failure. They can only be as good and accurate as they can be, and to expect them to be who they replaced is dumb.
Honestly
The OL is expected to improve. Green will be missed. But the loss of Johnson is a significant positive. He cannot be considered as a key loss.
Spiller was an excellent running back, but he lacked breakaway speed. Achane is an exceptional running back, averaging over 7 yards a carry. And Daniels is not far behind Achane and has a similar running style. LJ Johnson is talented as well. The running game should be more explosive.
Wydermyer had far too many drops last season and seemed to lack effort at times. Wright is an excellent blocking tight end, but does not have the best hands. Look for Green and Johnson, possibly Smith, to come out strong.
The addition of Stewart and Marshall will boost the receiving corps. Brown will hopefully see more playing time to show his potential. Smith returns. Lane and Hez are reliable possession receivers with good hands, albeit not having breakaway speed. Moose needs to improve his reliability, as does Preston.
Davis will be fine at kicker.
Max Johnson is not the savior some people think. He holds onto the ball too long and takes too many sacks. Too frequently he throws behind the receiving, making yards after catch difficult. Hopefully King will be in good form. If he is given the opportunity to earn playing time (which may not happen with Fisher), Weigman could likely break out as a freshman.
Overall, the offense should improve significantly. The key factors will be the line gelling as a unit and quarterback play.
This comment tops all the articles SDS writers poorly attempt to write about A&M’s future.
Love everything minus Hez and Lane being reliable. Both are not good IMO.
Give it a rest. Receivers have been known to improve when fully healthy, especially with better QB play.
They are bad. I don’t understand the necessity to defend mediocrity.
“King threw for 292 yards in his only full game last season. In the 11 games that followed, Calzada never threw for that many yards in any one game.“
Oh I can do these fun stats too! In King’s one full game (against Kent State!) he threw for 3 interceptions. In the 11 games that followed (including 8 SEC games), Calzada never threw for that many interceptions in any one game.
Also if you’re assuming that every one of these offenses you’re previewing won’t have ANY injuries (which always occur), then yeah a fully healthy off-season offense is almost always going to “seem” to look better than a previous year’s offense that did have to deal with actual injuries. Maybe with King being healthy last year, then 2021 Texas A&M offense>2022 Texas A&M offense. Same can be said for Mizzou, a healthy Bazelak could mean that last year’s offense would be better than this year’s Mizzou offense. This applies to all the other SEC teams that dealt with considerable injuries on the offensive side of the ball as well.
Key returnee: OL Layden Robinson (not Kayden), get it right, he’ll be playing on Sundays.
And Moko is not a lock at that guard spot. We are pretty deep with talented inside guys.
The left guard competition should be fierce. Would like to see a little more depth at tackle.
“As far as kickoff returns go… hoping he doesn’t sustain some sort of injury.” – I don’t get this mentality. Every play is another opportunity for those that truly love the game.
Agree completely.
Funny how often Evan Stewart is mentioned as a “potential breakout player”, yet our other 5 star freshman WR Chris Marshall is rarely noted.
You’re on SDS. I learned to expect the least of the least with the writers here.
Marshall was extremely impressive at the UA game. Thomas looks good as well.
Noah Thomas is undervalued by the star system. He has enormous potential. The basketball background should help him stand out as a WR once he gets a bit of experience. He will most likely not be a breakout player as a Freshman, but by the time he leaves Aggieland, barring injury, I expect he’ll be NFL-ready. He reminds me of Mike Evans at this stage.
Isn’t Thomas faster than Evans?
Agree. I’m really excited to see Chris Marshall play. He plays very mature for an incoming Freshman.