{"id":99728,"date":"2025-12-24T14:54:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T14:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/99728\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T14:54:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T14:54:12","slug":"how-aggies-graded-out-in-2025-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/99728\/","title":{"rendered":"How Aggies graded out in 2025 season"},"content":{"rendered":"

COLLEGE STATION \u2014 After watching an 11-0 start to the season turn into an 11-2 finish ending with losses to bitter rival Texas and a\u00a0first-round exit in the College Football Playoff<\/a> without scoring a touchdown, any feel-good talk may fall on deaf ears for Texas A&M football<\/a> fans.<\/p>\n

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Still, looking at the body of work the Aggies put together in 2025, the growth is undeniable. It wasn’t always smooth sailing, but an 11-2 season and being contenders for an SEC title-game appearance in back-to-back years is nothing for this program to sneeze at.<\/p>\n

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MORE AGGIES: Takeaways from A&M’s loss to Miami in CFP<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Identifying areas for improvement amid turnover across the roster and within the coaching staff will be crucial. A&M, in both 2024 and 2025, lost to its top rival and then dropped its postseason game. Continued growth for quarterback\u00a0Marcel Reed<\/a> and surrounding him with talent will be paramount.<\/p>\n

After Saturday’s season-ending loss to Miami, let’s grade how the Aggies did in the 2025 season:<\/p>\n

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\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas A&M linebacker Taurean York (21) and Texas A&M defensive end Cashius Howell (9) celebrate a sack of Miami quarterback Carson Beck (11) during the round one College Football Playoff game at Kyle Field on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025 in College Station, Texas.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

Texas A&M football 2025 season grades<\/p>\n

Quarterbacks: B-<\/p>\n

Marcel Reed’s improvement was undeniable. His mechanics as a passer were cleaner, and his leadership in his first full season as a starter shined in tough wins against Notre Dame and LSU. He finished the year with 3,169 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and a 62.1% completion rate, all career highs.<\/p>\n

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He threw 12 interceptions and committed eight of his 14 turnovers over the final three games against FBS competition. Before fading down the stretch, Reed had inserted himself into the Heisman Trophy conversation well into November, starting the season with 23 touchdowns and just six interceptions during an 8-0 start.<\/p>\n

This offseason could focus on his comfort in the pocket and ball placement on tight-window throws, but it’s easy to see why head coach Mike Elko and the staff liked what they saw from Reed this season.<\/p>\n

“You saw some strides this year. He’s a great kid and a hard-worker,” Elko said following the CFP loss. “He’ll go to work in this offseason, and you’ll see a better kid next year with another year of development.”<\/p>\n

Running backs: C+<\/p>\n

Despite finishing sixth in the SEC in rushing with 184.6 yards per game and being ranked top 25 in the nation before facing Miami, the running game never amounted to its full potential. The loss of starting running back Le’Veon Moss<\/a> in October put stress on the group, with\u00a0Rueben Owens II<\/a> taking over..<\/p>\n

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That stress on the position group was evident in the final two games, with Reed being the team’s leading rusher against Texas and Miami. Owens and the fellow backs mustered just two touchdowns (both by EJ Smith) over the final three games against FBS competition. Moss scored in four of his six regular-season games before leaving the Miami game early.<\/p>\n

At 1,704 yards and 19 touchdowns, it was a solid \u2014 if not exactly spectacular \u2014 season for the\u00a0Aggies’ ball carriers.<\/p>\n

Receivers: A+<\/p>\n

Without a doubt, the highlight of A&M’s season came from the wide receivers room. Elko and Co. entered last offseason knowing they had a deficiency at the position, finishing 13th in passing offense in the SEC. They flipped the script completely in 2025.<\/p>\n

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The additions of KC Concepcion<\/a> and Mario Craver<\/a>, along with the development of redshirt freshman Ashton Bethel-Roman<\/a>, helped the Aggies finish sixth in the conference in passing offense, averaging 259.8 yards per game.<\/p>\n

Concepcion finished the season as a consensus All-American, tallying 919 yards and nine touchdowns on 61 receptions. Craver, named All-SEC, wasn’t far behind with 917 yards and four touchdowns on 59 receptions. Bethel-Roman was a big-play machine, averaging 21 yards over his 24 receptions.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion (7) misses a catch during the round one College Football Playoff game against Miami at Kyle Field on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025 in College Station, Texas.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0How Aggies’ main flaw forced them out of the College Football Playoff<\/a><\/p>\n

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Tight ends: C+<\/p>\n

The Aggies added three tight ends last offseason; however, only one truly made a statistical impact.<\/p>\n

Nebraska transfer\u00a0Nate Boerkircher<\/a> became a starter and a crucial piece of the offense, finishing with 19 receptions, 198 yards and three touchdowns. Neither Amari Niblack nor Micah Riley had a score; Niblack had five receptions.<\/p>\n

Theo Melin Ohstrom continued to develop, finishing with one touchdown on 19 receptions and 168 yards. He figures to be the leader of the group heading into next season, barring any transfer additions. Overall, the group was strong at the point of attack in the run game for much of the season. With the emergence of the wide receivers, it was a fine role much of the time.<\/p>\n

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Offensive line: B+<\/p>\n

The lasting memory for this group will be the seven sacks they allowed in the final game of the season to Miami. But on the whole, it was a strong season for the A&M offensive linemen. They allowed only 12 sacks in the regular season, the best in the SEC.<\/p>\n

A group that had Joe Moore Award aspirations coming into the season didn’t quite make the finalists’ list after being named semifinalists for that honor. However,\u00a0Ar’Maj Reed-Adams<\/a> earned second-team All-American recognition. Trey\u00a0Zuhn II (first team) and Chase\u00a0Bisontis (third team) were named All-SEC.<\/p>\n

\"Miami<\/p>\n

Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney (10) is tackled by Texas A&M linebacker Taurean York (21) and Texas A&M defensive end Cashius Howell (9) during the round one College Football Playoff game at Kyle Field on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025 in College Station, Texas.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

Defensive line: A-<\/p>\n

Led by unanimous All-American Cashius Howell<\/a>, this group was among the nation’s strongest in 2025. Howell finished the season with an SEC-leading 11\u00bd sacks, drawing national attention for his dominant play.<\/p>\n

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As a group, only Oklahoma (45) recorded more sacks than A&M’s 43. Of those, 31\u00bd came from the defensive line, with Pittsburgh transfer\u00a0Dayon Hayes<\/a> second to Howell with 4\u00bd. In total, 10 different defensive linemen recorded a sack for the Aggies.<\/p>\n

The group’s issues were in the run game. The Aggies allowed 175 yards on the ground to Miami, highlighted by 90 yards in the fourth quarter that helped lift the Hurricanes to the CFP quarterfinals. A&M finished the year ninth in the SEC in run defense, allowing 130.7 yards per game.<\/p>\n

Linebackers: B<\/p>\n

The emergence of junior Daymion Sanford<\/a> (57 tackles, 3\u00bd sacks), along with the leadership of captain Taurean York, provided a steadying presence this season \u2014 even when Scooby Williams was injured and missed more than half the season. As a group, the linebackers finished with 181 tackles and 26\u00bd tackles for loss. In the passing game, no opposing tight end gained 100 yards against them this season, and only Texas’ Jack Endries came close with 93 yards.<\/p>\n

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Defensive backs: B+<\/p>\n

Jordan Shaw (Washington) and Julian Humphrey (Georgia) were transfers last offseason and were expected to be major contributors. However, Dezz Ricks and Tyreek Chappell, both second-year Aggies, held off the newcomers. The duo, along with the group’s leader, Will Lee III<\/a>, helped A&M finish third in the SEC in passing defense, allowing just 176.6 yards per game.<\/p>\n

The safeties group was led by Marcus Ratcliffe and Dalton Brooks, both of whom were strong in the run game, finishing with 6\u00bd and three tackles for loss, respectively. Bryce Anderson<\/a> suffered a serious head and neck injury against Notre Dame in Week 3 and missed most of the season as a result.<\/p>\n

It was a considerable improvement from 2024, when the Aggies finished 13th in the conference in pass defense.<\/p>\n

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Special teams: D+<\/p>\n

The biggest letdown of the A&M season came at placekicker. After a solid 2024 campaign, finishing 20-for-24 on field goals, Randy Bond lost his job to Jared Zirkel coming out of fall camp.<\/p>\n

Neither Zirkel nor Bond was consistent. Bond finished 12-for-19 while Zirkel lost the starting role more than once in 2025, going 4-for-7 and missing a 22-yard attempt against Miami.<\/p>\n

The only thing keeping this unit from an F was Concepcion’s play. An all-purpose All-American, Concepcion finished with 426 yards on 25 punt returns and two touchdowns. He routinely flipped the field and was a true special teams weapon.<\/p>\n

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Coaching staff: A<\/p>\n

It’s the second season in a row that the Aggies have faltered down the stretch, including a 1-4 record in the final five games of 2024. But it’s hard not to be encouraged by what Elko’s done since leaving Duke for A&M. The Aggies started 11-0, earned a home playoff game and were in the mix for two straight SEC title game appearances in his first two seasons.<\/p>\n

Capturing a top-10 transfer portal class and helping guide Reed to whispers of a Heisman invitation were clear successes. Elko’s 19-7 start, combined with various coaching vacancies, inspired A&M to\u00a0sign him to a six-year extension<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The next steps for Elko: winning key games (A&M has a much tougher schedule in 2026) and breaking in new coordinators on both sides of the ball.<\/p>\n

Reach Texas A&M beat reporter Tony Catalina via email at Anthony.Catalina@statesman.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COLLEGE STATION \u2014 After watching an 11-0 start to the season turn into an 11-2 finish ending with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99729,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7065,265,261,262,13978,19651,4055,2163,3232,266,27,259,6992,29,28],"class_list":["post-99728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-cashius-howell","tag-cfp","tag-college-football","tag-college-football-playoff","tag-kc-concepcion","tag-le-veon-moss","tag-marcel-reed","tag-mike-elko","tag-sec-conference-football","tag-sec-football","tag-texas","tag-texas-am-aggies-football","tag-texas-am-football","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}