It’s been a tough offseason for Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin.
Not only did the Aggies fall below expectations during the 2015 season with an 8-5 (4-4) record, but he saw quarterbacks Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray transfer, along with a handful of highly-touted recruits de-commit with an assistant coach making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Still, Sumlin remains confident that A&M has what it takes to contend in the all-powerful SEC West this upcoming season, and says his team has great chemistry heading into the summer.
“I think we’ve got a real good chemistry right now as a football team,” said Sumlin on Thursday night, according to The Eagle. “I like where we are. As I’ve said to people before, you tell your team all the time, ‘Hey don’t listen to the noise, don’t listen to this, don’t listen to that. But it’s hard not to hear.’”
But even with a revamped coaching staff and a defense primed for what could be its best season yet under John Chavis, expectations aren’t very high for Texas A&M in 2016.
Athlon Sports‘ preseason rankings debuted without including the Aggies. Fox Sports snuck them in the final slot at No. 25. ESPNs FPI projects somewhere between 7-8 wins with a 2.0 percent chance to win the SEC.
For what it’s worth, we had TAMU at No. 7 in our post-spring SEC power rankings.
“A lot of people don’t think we’re very good,” said Sumlin. “A lot of people think this organization is in disarray, but it’s far from it. As a matter of fact, it’s in pretty good shape. And I like where we are, and I like our attitude. And I like the fact people don’t think we’re worth a damn. That’s all right with me. We’re going to be all right.”
You can read the entire column from The Eagle here.
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).
