O'Gara: Texas A&M likely won't wreck the SEC in 2024, but Nic Scourton just might
If Nic Scourton had shown up to Kyle Field in sweatpants and a windbreaker to protect himself from the wet conditions surrounding Texas A&M’s spring game on Saturday, I still would’ve banged the drum for him being a force in his new digs.
Unfortunately for the A&M offense, that’s not what the Bryan (Tex.) native/Purdue transfer/game-wrecking defensive end did in his return to the Lone Star State.
No. 11 was a menace on Saturday. He had 7 tackles, 3.5 sacks and he unofficially had 2.5 sacks, but it felt like more. That didn’t include the times he appeared to have a clear path to Conner Weigman but he threw his hands up, nor did those stats include him beating Weigman to the edge and forcing him to bury a throw into the dirt.
By day’s end, it was clear that Mike Elko’s best player on the field was the all-important Scourton, who could soon have Saturdays like that against SEC offenses.
Yeah, it was a spring game. Sure. Anybody can have a big day and then fade into oblivion when the games actually count.
That’s what someone would say if they hadn’t followed Scourton’s career. This isn’t someone who is trying to break out with a new opportunity. This is someone who led the Big Ten in sacks and served as a team captain as a 19-year-old sophomore at Purdue. In 2023, Scourton was a second-team All-Big Ten selection who earned the second-highest PFF pass-rush grade among Power 5 returners.
Did A&M tamper with him to get him to come back to his home state? Even if they did, who cares? Scourton is the type of guy that every team should tamper for. He’s 280 pounds, he lines up off the edge, he harasses quarterbacks AND he’s excellent against the run.
Scourton is going to be a problem. Period. A&M center Mark Nabou called him a “troublemaker,” but in a good way. Well, good for A&M, that is.
The fact that he’s lining up opposite from the returning Shemar Stewart will be a monumental advantage for A&M.
Texas A&M’s Mike Elko:
When you line up Nic Scourton on one side and Shemar Stewart on the other, I think we have the best defensive end combo we’ve had here in a long time.— Brent Zwerneman (@BrentZwerneman) April 20, 2024
That’s saying a lot. Maybe Scourton will deliver the best season from an A&M defensive lineman since a certain Myles Garrett. It’s not out of the realm of possibility in Mike Elko’s defense, which produced NFL defensive linemen like Justin Madubuike, Kingsley Keke, Daylon Mack, Michael Clemons, Bobby Brown III and DeMarvin Leal back when he was A&M’s defensive coordinator.
Scourton will be next up in that group of A&M’s NFL defensive linemen. That’s not really in question. The better question might be if he can become the first A&M defensive player to go in the first round since the aforementioned Garrett back in 2017. Time will tell.
Whether he eventually does that or not, it’s already evident that his presence is going to be a major plus for 2024. It’s telling that the former Purdue captain was the first pick in the spring game draft, as well as the fact that he was 1 of 2 A&M players to address the media afterward.
Scourton shared how crazy it was to have his family and friends in the stands. Even just being in Kyle Field was relatively new to him, despite him being a local (he grew up more of a Baylor fan and admitted “maybe I’m just a hater”). Elko told him that they missed out on him in high school when he was the DC — Scourton speculated that the A&M side was hesitant because they didn’t know he’d become a 280-pound edge guy — but that they didn’t want that to happen again when Scourton had options in the portal.
Yep. No doubt about that.
Elko might have the benefit of the SEC’s most experienced team in terms of percentage of returning production, but what he lacks are answers to a lot of key questions. How will Collin Klein’s Year 1 offense gel with Conner Weigman? Can A&M’s offensive line bounce back after a wildly disappointing year? How will A&M handle a schedule that’s loaded with home headliners? Those could all define how this Year 1 plays out.
But with Scourton, it feels pretty simple. He’s going to have an advantage against virtually every offensive lineman who stands in his way. Maybe that spin move will bring on double teams and free up other guys, or maybe he’ll plow right through multiple guys en route to the quarterback. All feels possible with Scourton.
Well, he does have a couple of adjustments to make. One is that he’s getting used to lining up in a 3-point stance instead of the 2-point stance he had at Purdue.
The other is that he doesn’t have to be a hater anymore. Instead, he can just turn SEC offenses into haters of his.
He really was the star yesterday. Spring games are spring games, but seeing him play that way just sort of confirmed what most expect to see from him in the fall. We’ve lost some talent on the DL, but the bulk of that talented group is still around and will benefit from a return to Elko’s blue collar mentality and Moffit’s S&C program.
The DL will definitely be the strength of the team.
Expect to see a pretty dynamic offense this fall too, although that’s still a work in progress with Klein and will depend on getting the OL stabilized. The OL will be the key to how the season goes, and it still has a long way to go. Luckily, they still have a few months and picked up a pretty goo C in the portal.
Scourton, though – beast.
Please defeat the overrated Domers when they visit College Station in the opener. Not including A+M, for the most part, ND’s 2024 schedule is a joke, including playing Louisville and FSU in South Bend.
With conference champions and runner-ups required to play 13 games, why is Notre Dame allowed to play 12 games including lightweight ACC games?
I hope ND goes down to both ‘bookend’ opponents, A+M and USC.
Come 2026, Gene Sankey and Tony Petitti should pressure ND to join a conference or play 13 games with 10 at least vs. P4 opponents.
In 2024 other than the games vs A+M and USC, and Louisville and FSU at home, ND plays Northern Illinois, Purdue, Miami Ohio, Stanford, Georgia Tech, Navy, Virginia, and Army. Disgraceful.
Why must ND play “at least 10” power 4 teams? Most power 4 teams don’t play 10 power 4 teams. Just looking at the teams you listed, they play 8 power 4 teams. Also Navy, Army and N IL are better than the FCS schools most power 4 teams play.
As for the 13 games requirement, ND completes in the ACC and can qualify for their Title Game last I checked. That would be 13 games just like the other conference winners. I don’t see a problem here.
Notre Dame is not eligible for the ACC CG. Most, if not all P4 champions will play at least 10 P4 opponents. They all play at least 8 conference games and at least 1 P4 OOC opponent, plus their CCG. LSU will play 10 P4 opponents during the regular season alone.
It’s a system where sports writers who can’t even do a push up are trying to tell real athletes , real coaches, and real fans who know how to stay in top physical shape “what programs can play football. Never fails to crack me up every year.
“In 2024 other than the games vs A+M and USC, and Louisville and FSU at home, ND plays Northern Illinois, Purdue, Miami Ohio, Stanford, Georgia Tech, Navy, Virginia, and Army. Disgraceful.”
He’s right, you know. That is NOT an SEC schedule. At some point, the special treatment for ND has to end.
The tough thing about spring games is when someone or a unit dominates then you have to question whether there is a weakness in the opposing offense or defense.
Did A&M tamper with him to get him to come back to his home state? Even if they did, who cares?
Enough said Connor, enough said. The state of college football in two sentences…
It’s not like he’s some unknown having a big spring game. Scourton is a baller. The Aggie DL should be trouble for most teams. For the Aggies, the question is their OL. This should be a very good team.
TAM is going to be a lot more well rounded than they were under Fisher.
He may have played a few snaps against LSU, but I’d have to go watch the game again to know for sure. I know the players that did play against Will Campbell didn’t do squat.
Most teams don’t have our OL, which is a huge advantage for LSU.
Dare I say no one does.