Ever since Texas A&M caught lightning in a bottle somewhat with former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, everyone has expected the football program to make greater strides that it has been.

I’ve long defined Texas A&M as a sleeping giant in the SEC knowing it’s in one of the country’s most fertile hotbeds for elite prospects and knowing how passionate fans are for the program, not to mention the incredible facilties. Adding Kevin Sumlin to the piece of the puzzle a few years ago certainly helped the intrigue and future optimism.

But right now, Texas A&M probably feels like it’s been dropped out in the middle of the ocean trying to tread the rough waters it’s been faced with. The top two quarterbacks from last season transferred away. The Aggies are just 11-13 in SEC play since the 2013 season.

To make teams afraid, Texas A&M has to perform better against the two most elite programs in the SEC West: Alabama and LSU. Instead, the program is 0-4 against LSU and 1-3 against Alabama. Most teams struggle against those two powerhouses, though. Let’s keep things in perspective.

Defensive coordinator John Chavis recently hopped on TexAgs radio and said people are afraid of A&M making that next step.

“It’s kind of like politics. You can take this swing or that swing,” Chavis said. “There are so many more things going on that are more newsworthy than what we’ve been talking about. But what I see, I see young men that are developing. Why don’t they talk about our graduation rate and how Coach (Kevin) Sumlin has helped these young people not just come to Texas A&M, but leave here better, leave here with a degree, leave here better spiritually? The leadership we have, coaches put in place. He’s put it in place. Our kids are leaving here with degrees, some going to the NFL, and they’re leaving as better men. You don’t get a chance to see that, because you don’t see the inner workings.

“If you want to dig, and there’s enough stuff to pick here and pick there, listen, NCAA violations, you don’t see that. We’re doing things the right way. Coach Sumlin has put that in place. Our football team is getting better. I talk about defense, but I get excited when I talk about our offense and (new offensive coordinator) Noel Mazzone and (new offensive line coach) Jim Turner. You’re talking about two areas where we’re taking a big jump. That’s exciting to watch. There are a lot of things going on.

“Let me say this: He’s got a .700 win percentage, and that’s good. We want to win championships. But people want to find a reason to pick at Texas A&M, because they understand when this program continues to grow and gets to the top with all the facilities and everything, people supporting us… they are afraid of Texas A&M making that next jump. We’re going to make that jump.”

Chavis is right — Texas A&M’s program certainly has all the makings of a program that could make others afraid in the future, but things had better come together sooner rather than later for Chavis to be around and experience the success of that.

Is Kevin Sumlin on the hot-seat? I don’t know if I’m there yet, but if you look around the SEC, there’s not another SEC coach who feels more pressure heading into 2016.

I’d recommend you listen to the entire segment on TexAgs here.