1. When Myles Jones went down and Brian George exhibited frustrating inconsistency, things looked bad at corner — and were against Mississippi State when Jaylon Jones hurt. But with little fanfare, someone is putting together and excellent season at corner: freshman Denver Harris. The Athletic named him a mid-season All-American today and his ProFootballFocus score is at the top of the list for Aggie defenders. I don’t think Jaylon is going anywhere next year, so it may be very tough to throw on the Aggies in 2023 — especially when you add Marquis-Groves Killebrew and Bobby Taylor back into the mix.
2. There are rumors out there, which I cannot confirm and don't really believe at this point, that A&M is down to a single starter on the offensive line. I do know Trey Zuhn hasn't passed the concussion protocol yet, and Layden Robinson has been fighting an ankle injury all year. Bryce Foster hyperextended his knee against Alabama, but came back in after just four plays.
But in the worst case scenario, the Aggies would go with Aki Ogunbiyi at left tackle, Kam Dewberry at left guard, Matthew Wykoff at center, Josh Bankhead at right guard and Deuce Fatheree at right tackle. That would be two players making their first career starts.
You're welcome for this update.
3. The more I look at things, the more I think Andre White’s injury has been the most serious endured by the defense, at any position for any length of time. Chris Russell hasn't been bad, but White has been consistent, has a lot of experience and makes few mistakes. And the biggest problems the linebackers have had is running themselves out of plays and blowing assignments.
4. I’m hoping White and Tunmise Adeleye are back this weekend. They should be getting pretty close to returning, and those are two elements that can slow down an opponent's running game.
5. I think we're starting to get to the point where we may get to see what we were expecting at defensive tackle at the start of the year: a rotation of McKinnley Jackson, Walter Nolen, Shemar Turner and Isaiah Raikes. All that's missing is Turner, who could return this week (but nobody really knows yet). Putting that foursome in a rotation should make it a whole lot more difficult to run up the middle against the Aggies -- when they use a 4-man front, of course.
6. While we're all focusing on football, the Aggie baseball team played some exhibition ball over the weekend and the team introduced its newest weapon: freshman outfielder Jace LaViolette. The highest-rated position player in the 2022 class, LaViolette homered three times in an 8-6 win over Lamar. If A&M adds a consistent power bat to replace Dylan Rock, this team has a shot at being better than last year's group. And yes, I know what they did.
7. A clear sign A&M needs to move the ball better and hold onto it more can be seen in the number of carries taken by the backups. Devon Achane has 97 carries; LJ Johnson has the second most at 9.
8. Some good news from early this week is that Bobby Taylor will be back this week. I don’t know if he’ll play, but having him around is a big positive. I think we’re also getting close to Gabe Dindy being able to give it a go, which would be really interesting.
9. If Haynes King is limited by his foot or ankle injury, whichever it is, I don’t think I’d play him. His ability to run should be a big part of his game (and the gameplan), and if it’s not available, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage. Just my take on it.
10. Two stats from South Carolina that stand out: they’re -6 in turnover margin, having turned the ball over 15 times already. They’re also first in the nation with 5 blocked punts. Special teams have kept them alive so far this year. Sounds like Shane Beamer is taking after his dad when it comes to BeamerBall.
