Sanford, a sophomore, saw almost no time on defense last year, working instead on special teams. But with the departure of Edgerrin Cooper, the new Aggie coaching staff had an open competition at WILL linebacker this spring and Sanford came out pretty clearly on top. He looks like he's come a long way since last year, utilizing his combination of size, speed and hitting ability to his advantage.

The addition of Solomon DeShields may end up bumping Sanford out of a starting spot, but the future's very bring for him all the same.

A&M brought in three offensive line transfers to compete for starting jobs this spring and only one worked out. But Armaj Reed-Adams looks like he's really worked out. He has moved in at right guard and looks like he's going to stay there. It's good fortune that the Aggies were able to replace Layden Robinson with another veteran right off the bat.

I was one of Brooks' biggest fans when he signed with the Aggies, and he showed his versatility last season as he jumped back and forth between nickel and safety as a true freshman. Now, he's just playing safety and he drew rave reviews from Mike Elko, who called him a "run and hit" type safety. A&M has a lot of talent at the position, but he's going to play more than a lot of people think.

Let's be clear here: the Aggies have their starters very firmly established at defensive end, with Nic Scourton and Shemar Stewart. Cashius Howell is also going to get a lot of work and Josh Celiscar is coming over from UCF to fill out the two-deep. But it won't take long for Williams to be out there too. He's got good size, he's explosive and gives offensive tackles fits. He could have a huge career at A&M.

Ratcliffe, a transfer from San Diego State, took advantage of Trey Jones being out for most of the spring to show what he can do. And, like Brooks, he's positioned himself for a lot more playing time in the fall than most people may expect. With Jones now healthy and De'Rickey Wright arriving this summer, A&M has a ton of talent at safety.

Saunders, a transfer from Cal Poly, has the size (6-foot-3, 185 pounds) that Mike Elko wants in a corner. The question was whether he would be able to make the adjustment from a much lower level to the SEC. So far, the answer sure seems to be yes, and he's looking like he's going to be at worst a rotation guy this fall.

Watson had established himself as a capable college tight end at Fresno State, but he still opened eyes this spring. His size (6-foot-5, 245 pounds) makes him a big target, but his speed was surprising. He has positioned himself as TE1 until Donovan Green gets back, and maybe even then.

Now that he's fully healthy, Shanahan has looked really good at both guard and center this spring. He can definitely pop a defender and get him going backwards. He's probably not going to start this year, but he's positioned himself to be in the two-deep and will be ready to move in in 2025.

Johnson had already made a name for himself at Wisconsin, but he didn't miss a beat in coming over to A&M. He performed as you'd hope from a veteran this spring, and he'll be a two-deep guy in the middle with Shemar Turner, DJ Hicks, Albert Regis and, hopefully, Gabe Dindy.

The punting competition is already over and White has won it. He averaged 47 yards a punt in the spring game and, refreshingly enough, was consistent. Make no mistake, White was expected to win the job, but to come out and put it away in the spring was pretty impressive.