Aaron Gregory<\/a>\u200d could make an immediate impact. The nice mix of experience and potential could result in the Aggies\u2019 receivers corps actually being better, but that cannot be taken for granted.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0244574-kedw-854x480.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Mario Craver will be Texas A&M\u2019s No. 1 returning receiver after hauling in 59 passes for 917 yards in 2025.<\/p>\n
Tight ends: Improving
Reason: Look for the tight ends to be more active in the passing game. Last year, Nate Boerkircher and Theo Melin-\u00d6hrstr\u00f6m were solid contributors but combined for just 38 catches for 366 yards and four touchdowns. Fresno State transfer Richie Anderson III had 31 catches for 300 yards and three touchdowns. UTSA transfer Houston Thomas caught 34 passes for 347 yards and two scores.\u00a0The potential of 6-foot-5, 275-pound Kiotti Armstrong is intriguing.<\/p>\n
Offensive line: Declining
Reason: It\u2019s unrealistic to think A&M be as good in the line after losing four starters, including All-SEC selections Trey Zuhn III and Chase Bisontis. The hope is that A&M\u2019s line performance doesn\u2019t decline as drastically as LSU\u2019s did last year after losing four starters from 2024. A&M went heavy in the transfer portal to add SEC veterans Wilkin Formby (Alabama), Tyree Adams and Coen Echols (LSU) and Trovon Baugh (South Carolina) to fortify up front. If holdovers Robert Bourdon, Lamont Rogers, Blake Ivy and Tyler Thomas are ready to play, it\u00a0would further ease the loss of last year\u2019s starters.<\/p>\n
Defensive line: Declining
Reason: The Aggies are in a similar position to this time last year when they had to replace three defensive line starters who were taken in the first, second and third rounds of the NFL Draft. Somehow, the Aggies surprisingly got better. A&M hopes to duplicate that feat in replacing Cashius Howell, Albert Regis and Tyler Onyedim. A&M looks to be in good shape to replenish the front four. DJ Hicks had a good year in 2025. Fingers are crossed that he can evolve into a dominant force inside. Sophomore tackles Landon Rink and DJ Sanders flashed last year. If they\u2019re ready to play, the interior line legitimately could be improved \u2014 or at least just as good \u2014 especially with CJ Mims heading a list of transfer portal additions. Mims had 42 tackles and two sacks last season at North Carolina. The biggest void to fill, of course, is Howell, who led A&M with 11.5 sacks. Maybe Marco Jones, who had 2.5 sacks in a backup role, can be the next Aggie to produce a double-digit sack total. If not, maybe it will be Northwestern transfer Anto Saka.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0239419-abtb-854x480.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Will Huffman, TexAgs<\/p>\n
A true freshman last fall, Marco Jones was listed at 6-foot-5 and 258 pounds.<\/p>\n
Linebackers: Improving
Reason: Does the term \u201cmissed fits\u201d ring a bell? A&M\u2019s frequent failures to fill running holes resulted in opponents amassing 40 running plays of 20 yards or more over the last two seasons. Linebacker play is not the only factor, but it\u2019s a significant issue. The Aggies could get better in that regard because, frankly, they can\u2019t get much worse. A&M has given up more long running plays over the last two seasons than any other team in the SEC. Why expect A&M to improve? Well, Daymion Sanford will be in his second year as a starter. He should benefit from the experience. Also, the addition of Tulsa transfer Ray Coney figures to help. He posted 129 tackles last season, which is just one less than A&M\u2019s two highest-producing linebackers combined. Coney\u2019s athleticism will help ease the loss to Taurean York. Further, sophomore Noah Mikhail looked good while posting 16 tackles as a backup last year. He figures to have a bigger role in \u201926.<\/p>\n
Secondary: Improving
Reason: At first glance, projecting improvement in the secondary might seem too ambitious. After all, the Aggies were third in the SEC in pass defense last year. No opponent passed for 300 yards. So, how do you remove All-SEC cornerback Will Lee III and nickel back Tyreek Chappell and get better? It\u2019s a good question. But all of A&M\u2019s defensive backs combined for a grand total of one interception last season. Perhaps next season they can get at least two. Frankly, there\u2019s no good reason to expect a significant decline without Lee or Chappell. Highly-regarded Tennessee transfer Rickey Gibson III should fill in nicely for Lee. Former transfer Jordan Shaw played well late in the season at nickel. Safeties Dalton Brooks (who got A&M\u2019s lone DB interception), Marcus Ratcliffe, Bryce Anderson and Myles Davis all return. The Aggies also get a boost from transfer Tawfiq Byard, who led Colorado in tackles last season. He even got an interception.<\/p>\n
Kicking game: Improving
Reason: Well, it couldn\u2019t get much worse. A&M\u2019s 61.5 field-goal percentage was last in the SEC and 124th nationally. The Aggies should upgrade dramatically with the addition of Illinois transfer David Olano, who converted 20 of 23 last season. A&M\u2019s punting needs an upgrade, too. Tyler White was ranked seventh in the SEC and had two attempts blocked, resulting in a touchdown and a safety. The return game may suffer without Concepcion, who was third in the nation in punt returns. However, Terry Bussey could be A&M\u2019s next great return specialist. He showed great ability in returning a kickoff for a touchdown vs. Notre Dame, though it was called back by a holding penalty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Not much ever remains the same. Something is typically getting better or worse. That\u2019s especially true in college…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":436825,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[2967,54639,206452,39623,206427,206424,133382,206438,152639,206453,7094,133381,206425,206415,133380,206419,206435,206429,206442,206426,399,152632,206416,206413,206450,206449,206440,7092,206445,206451,206437,206443,34762,7086,206446,206441,7090,206444,206431,398,396,397,206439,155492,206422,206421,206417,206447,206430,99,164089,206420,7088,120318,7084,206434,206432,1092,206428,206414,206433,206436,155489,206418,133379,206423,206448],"class_list":["post-436824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-2967","tag-54639","tag-aaron-gregory-football-recruiting","tag-albert-regis","tag-amari-daniels","tag-anto-saka","tag-ashton-bethel-roman","tag-blake-ivy","tag-bryce-anderson","tag-carsyn-baker-football-recruiting","tag-cashius-howell","tag-chase-bisontis","tag-cj-mims","tag-coen-echols","tag-dalton-brooks","tag-david-olano","tag-daymion-sanford","tag-dj-hicks","tag-dj-sanders","tag-ej-smith","tag-football","tag-holmon-wiggins","tag-houston-thomas","tag-isaiah-horton","tag-jamarion-morrow","tag-jerome-myles","tag-jordan-shaw","tag-kc-concepcion","tag-kiotti-armstrong","tag-kj-edwards-football-recruiting","tag-lamont-rogers","tag-landon-rink","tag-leveon-moss","tag-marcel-reed","tag-marco-jones","tag-marcus-ratcliffe","tag-mario-craver","tag-myles-davis","tag-nate-boerkircher","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-noah-mikhail","tag-olin-buchanan","tag-ray-coney","tag-richie-anderson-iii","tag-rickey-gibson-iii","tag-robert-bourdon","tag-rueben-owens-ii","tag-sports","tag-taurean-york","tag-tawfiq-byard","tag-terry-bussey","tag-texags","tag-texas-am","tag-theo-melin-hrstrm","tag-tiger-riden-jr","tag-transfer-portal","tag-trey-zuhn-iii","tag-trovon-baugh","tag-tyler-onyedim","tag-tyler-thomas","tag-tyler-white","tag-tyree-adams","tag-tyreek-chappell","tag-wilkin-formby","tag-will-lee-iii"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=436824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436824\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/436825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=436824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=436824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0246799-jcpa-854x480.jpg\")
<\/p>\n