Aggies are loaded on defense

This is the fourth piece of a 12-part series previewing Arkansas' 2016 football opponents.

Texas A&M is coming off an 8-5 year capped by a 27-21 loss to Louisville in the Music City Bowl. The Aggies went 4-4 in SEC play, finishing fifth in the western division.

They were one of two SEC teams to lose their bowl game, with the other being Florida.

2016 outlook

Texas A&M travels to Auburn for its SEC opener the week prior to playing Arkansas at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Sept. 24. The following week, the Aggies travel to South Carolina.

According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, Texas A&M is projected to win 7.5 games. Offshore sportsbook 5Dimes is not too far off from that, making the Aggies’ over/under win total 8 when it released SEC win totals last month.

The FPI also has Texas A&M at No. 14 in the country, which is sixth in the SEC and fourth in the SEC West.

Significant departures

Not one, not two, but three high-profile quarterbacks have left the Texas A&M program over the past two offseasons. Kenny Hill transferred to TCU following the 2014 seasons, while Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray announced their decision to transfer within a week of each other in December.

Last season, Allen and Murray split time under center, combining for 25 total touchdowns and 2,896 passing yards.

The Aggies will also have to replace a trio of players selected in the NFL Draft. The most notable draft pick with offensive lineman Germain Ifedi, a first-round pick by the Seahawks who started 36 games during his career with the Aggies.

Cornerback Brandon Williams, who had 37 tackles and seven pass breakups last season, was a third-round pick by the Cardinals and punter Drew Kaser, an all-American and all-SEC performer at Texas A&M, was a sixth-round pick by the Chargers.

Texas A&M must replace 81.3 percent of its rushing yards, as well. Its leading rusher, Tra Carson (242 car., 1,165 yds., 7 TD), was a senior last year. Along the offensive line, center Mike Matthews (36 career starts) and right guard Joseph Cheek (21 career starts) graduated, while left guard Jeremiah Stuckey (5 career starts) transferred to Cal.

Defensively, the Aggies lost both of their starting cornerbacks in Williams and De’Vante Harris (31 tackles, 8 PBU, 2 int.), who declared early but went undrafted. Also, linebacker A.J. Hilliard (58 tackles, 4 TFL in 9 games) had to retire for medical reasons.

Key returners

The Aggies are loaded on defense.

Myles Garrett (59 tackles, 19.5 TFL, 12.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles) and Daeshon Hall (54 tackles, 14.5 TFL, 7 sacks, 2 forced fumbles) give Texas A&M quite possibly the best 1-2 punch at defensive end in the country. Throw in defensive tackle Daylon Mack, who had 9.5 tackles for loss despite not starting a game as a true freshman last season, and Texas A&M’s defensive line should be a force.

At linebacker, Shaan Washington (81 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 4 PBU) started every game last season, while Otaro Alaka (12 tackles in 3 games) and Claude George (23 tackles in 11 games) each earned multiple starts.

The leader of the secondary is safety Armani Watts, who had a team-high 126 tackles and six tackles for loss, one interception, two pass breakups and two forced fumbles as a sophomore last season. Nickelback Donovan Wilson, who finished third in the SEC with five interceptions, also returns.

Offensively, Texas A&M will lean on its receiving corps. Christian Kirk (80 rec., 1,009 yds., 7 TD) had a stellar freshman season. His best game came against Arkansas, when he caught eight passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning touchdown in overtime.

Josh Reynolds (51 rec., 907 yds, 5 TD) caught a 63-yard pass that set up the Aggies’ game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter against Arkansas, while Ricky Seals-Jones (45 rec., 560 yds., 4 TD) and Speedy Noil (21 rec., 226 yds., 2 TD) give Texas A&M another two talented targets.

Kirk is also a good returner, taking two punts back for touchdowns last year. Noil contributes on kickoff return, as well.

Despite losing three starting offensive linemen, the Aggies’ line will be anchored by left tackle Avery Gennesy, who started all 13 games last season and was named to AL.com’s preseason all-SEC second team. Texas A&M has had an offensive lineman selected in the first round in each of the last four NFL drafts and Gennesy could be next.

The running back with the most experience on Texas A&M’s roster is James White (career: 77 car., 349 yds., 4 TD), who has averaged 4.5 yards per carry in limited action the last two seasons.

Notable additions

Texas A&M’s most notable additions this season are a pair of transfers from Oklahoma – Trevor Knight and Keith Ford – who play positions of need.

Knight, a dual-threat quarterback, is a graduate transfer who went through spring practice with the Aggies. He has already been named the starter.

During his career at Oklahoma, he threw for 3,424 yards, 25 touchdowns and 19 interceptions, rushed for 853 yards and eight touchdowns, and led the Sooners to a Sugar Bowl win over Alabama after the 2013 season.

Ford, a highly touted running back coming out of high school, rushed for only 503 yards and five touchdowns on 86 carries in two seasons with the Sooners, but should help a depleted Aggies backfield after sitting out last year.

Another transfer, defensive back Priest Willis from UCLA, sat out last season because of NCAA transfer rules, but could start in Texas A&M’s secondary this year.

The Aggies’ 2016 signing class was ranked 16th in the country by Rivals and included 10 four-star prospects.

The highest rated signee is offensive lineman Kellen Diesch, who was committed to Arkansas for about four months before flipping to Texas A&M.

A pair of four-star running backs from Houston – Rakeem Boyd and Trayveon Williams – also signed with the Aggies and could compete for early playing time.

Coaching staff

Kevin Sumlin is entering his fifth season as Texas A&M’s coach. He is 36-16 overall and 17-15 in SEC play with the Aggies and if you include four seasons at Houston, he is 71-33 as a head coach. Sumlin is also undefeated against Arkansas, winning all four matchups.

At the coordinator positions, Noel Mazzone is in his first season as offensive coordinator and John Chavis is in his second season as defensive coordinator.

Mazzone came to Texas A&M from UCLA, where he held the same position for four seasons. Last year, he tutored true freshman quarterback Josh Rosen. He has also been an offensive coordinator at Ole Miss, Auburn, Oregon State, North Carolina State and Arizona State.

Chavis was plucked away from LSU before last season and tasked with turning around one of the worst defenses in the country. In 2014, the Aggies allowed 450.8 yards per game, which ranked 102nd nationally. In one year under Chavis, they cut that ranking in half, improving to 51st nationally while allowing 380 yards per game.

Series history

Arkansas has played Texas A&M more times than any of its other 2016 opponents, with 72 all-time matchups. The Razorbacks hold a 41-28-3 series lead, but the Aggies have won four straight.

The last two times the schools played, Arkansas played well, but blew fourth-quarter leads and lost in overtime.

Arkansas ties

There aren’t any Arkansans on Texas A&M’s roster, but the Razorbacks have 19 Texans on theirs. Several of them have connections with the Aggies.

Texas A&M defensive lineman Zaycoven Henderson and Arkansas wide receiver Eric Hawkins were teammates at Longview, Texas, High School.

Arkansas defensive tackle Taiwan Johnson played with Texas A&M offensive lineman Koda Martin at Manvel, Texas, High School.

Defensive backs DJ Dean (Arkansas) and Roney Elam (Texas A&M) played together at Newton, Texas, High School.

A pair of walk-ons – Texas A&M linebacker Matthew Kirchner and Arkansas tight end Anthony Antwine – were teammates at Plano, Texas, Senior High School.

Arkansas defensive lineman Jeremiah Ledbetter played with Texas A&M linebacker Claude George at Hutchinson, Kan., Community College.

Thoughts from a beat writer

To get an even better idea of what Texas A&M will look like in 2016, WholeHogSports reached out to Travis Brown, who covers the Aggies for The Bryan-College Station Eagle. We asked him several questions about Texas A&M. Here are his responses:

WHS: What would you consider reasonable expectations for Texas A&M this season?

TB: With a new quarterback entering the huddle this season, reasonable has a slightly looser definition. This team will win at least seven games and go to a bowl, thanks to SEC scheduling that allows UTSA, Prairie View A&M and New Mexico State to come collect a loss at Kyle Field. If starting quarterback Trevor Knight has not improved since last season when he saw his stating job taken by Baker Mayfield, seven might be the best the Aggies can do. However, if the gunslinger from Norman can rediscover the spark that led the Sooners past Alabama in the 2014 Sugar Bowl, there is no reason why A&M couldn’t collect 10 wins.

WHS: Based on what you've seen, is Trevor Knight the answer to the Aggies' recent quarterback struggles?

TB: If anything, he is certainly the leader the program needed after the double disappointment of losing Kyler Murray and Kyle Allen to offseason transfers. You won’t find a more positive locker room voice in the country. On the field, he has a strong arm and a fair amount of veteran savvy that A&M lacked since the departure of Johnny Manziel, but demonstrates some gun slinging qualities that could get the Aggies in turnover trouble.

WHS: How good is the Aggies' receiving corps?

TB: Superb. The only position group that might better A&M’s wide outs is the defensive line. Knight’s success will be completely on his own shoulders, as he will have plenty of weapons to utilize around him including Ricky Seals-Jones and Christian Kirk.

WHS: Can the Myles Garrett/Daeshon Hall tandem live up to the hype in 2016?

TB: No doubt. Myles Garrett is as NFL ready as any player in the country and is already pulling draft projections in the very early first round. During spring practice, Garrett said his sophomore campaign was a slump because he only recorded 12.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss. I don’t expect that hunger to be tempered through summer workouts.

WHS: How do you think Texas A&M will fair against Arkansas in Week 4?

TB: This is one of the more troublesome games on A&M’s schedule. While the 12th man travels well to Dallas for the neutral-site bout in Jerry World, it isn’t the same kind of home field advantage as Kyle Field. Arkansas features a great ground game, which is something the Aggie defense had little answer for throughout last season. This could be the first true test of the season to see if defensive coordinator John Chavis has shored up the defense’s run-stopping ability. If the defensive front hasn’t made those strides yet, this could be a close win for Arkansas.