From his time as a quarterback at Kansas State, Collin Klein knows a lot about having to scramble and think on the move. Those traits have come in handy during his first six games as Texas A&M's offensive coordinator.
Klein saw his offense struggle terribly in the season opener against Notre Dame, then lost his starting quarterback a week later for three games. A&M's starting center, Mark Nabou, was lost for the year against Notre Dame, and his replacement, TJ Shanahan, went down against Florida.
Rueben Owens, who was supposed to be a key part of the running back rotation this year, was lost before the season even began. He got inconsistent receiver play, his tight ends haven't been as much of a factor as expected and backup Marcel Reed struggled with his accuracy.
Still, the No. 15 Aggies have ripped off five wins in a row and, after demolishing then-No.9 Missouri Saturday, feel good about the direction of their offense. Klein said Monday that he believes there is a higher ceiling for A&M as the offense continues to adapt to his scheme.
"I really think we're a work in progress and and have some some of our best games in production ahead of us," he said.
The offensive star of the season so far has been running back Le'Veon Moss, who leads the SEC in rushing with 607 yards and has averaged more than 10 yards a carry in wins over Arkansas and Missouri. Klein said Moss has been outstanding in practice all season, and that has translated onto the field.
"He just he runs so hard, it's like he's chewing through the one more defender after another," Klein said. "I'm just proud of him how he's continued to grow, how he's continued to grow in our offense and allowed us to do different things with him."
Moss' emergence as one of the nation's top backs could not have come at a better time, as the Aggies have already had two quarterbacks start three games apiece. Incumbent Conner Weigman started the first two games before an injury drove him to the sideline, with Marcel Reed starting the first three games of his career before Weigman returned and helped spark the offense Saturday.
Though their styles of play differ and the scheme appeared to be limited as Reed got used to starting at the collegiate level, Klein had praise for both Weigman and Reed for their work off the field.
"I think both have done a tremendous job of sharing, you know, and obviously Conner working extremely hard to get himself back feeling well physically, and Marcel obviously starting to start some games for us, and really doing a nice job," he said. "I think it really comes down to their preparation and their understanding of the game plan and what we're trying to accomplish. I think both of them done a really, really good job of that."
Even though Reed's 3-0 record as a starter has increased the level of competition between and Weigman, Klein said the two quarterbacks have been one another's biggest backers.
"There was not a happier guy a couple weeks ago for Marcel and Conner Weigman and then after this last week, there wasn't any guy with a bigger smile on his face, that gave Conner any bigger bigger hug than Marcel Reed," he said.
A&M's passing game has struggled until last weekend, when Weigman threw for a season-high 276 yards on just 18 completions. There have been signs of life, however, as junior Noah Thomas has had his two best games back-to-back, as has senior Jahdae Walker. With true freshman Terry Bussey now getting opportunities down the field and junior transfer Cyrus Allen averaging 17 yards per catch, there may be reasons for optmism.
"There are certain things (we can do), as we continue to evolve and kind of move forward to strategically ... get certain people in certain spots," Klein said. "Those are very percentage-based estimations, sometimes based on what coverage you're going to see and where the ball is most likely to go."
The tight end was a key position in Klein's offense at Kansas State, but has yet to be a key piece to the puzzle at A&M. Theo Ohrstrom and Tre Watson have a combined 10 catches for 138 yards and three touchdowns, but that's a far cry from what Klein did with the likes of Ben Sinnott (49 catches, 646 yards) at K-State.
Klein said the tight ends would have likely seen more action in recent weeks, but the defensive schemes utilized by A&M's opponents limited their opportunities. Still, Klein said he was pleased with the group's development.
"The tight ends have made some big plays for us and done a nice job in the run game in particular, but then Theo's made some big plays, and Tre's had some big plays on the touchdown against Arkansas at some key time. So I think collectively, I mean as a group, I think we're still a work in progress. For sure, have made some great strides, but it'll be fun to see how we continue to evolve," he said.
Outside of Moss, the unquestioned stars of the offense through six games have been the offensive line. The Aggies are ninth in the nation in rushing offense, eighth in the nation in tackles for loss allowed and have only given up seven sacks in six games -- all a massive improvement over last year's disastrous results.
Klein said the group has come together as a unit and has learned to lead the offense. He pointed to the second quarter of the Florida game, where the Aggies marched 99 yards for a touchdown in the driving rain as the time when the line started to establish itself.
"You're on the road, backed up in your end zone, you got the elements of the rain -- and at that moment in the game, and started pouring -- in difficult conditions to snap, to catch the exchange," he said. "And truly, all of our guys put their hats on and said, 'Hey, let's go.' I think we threw maybe one or two passes and didn't complete them on that drive, but basically, 99 yards on runs alone."
The turnaround of the offensive line under Adam Cushing has been even more remarkable considering the injuries to Nabou and Shanahan, as well as right guard Ar'maj Reed-Adams, who has left two games with injuries. But players like Koli Faaiu and Kam Dewberry have stepped in at center and guard, respectively, with no dropoff. Add in the rotation of Dametrious Crownover and Deuce Fatheree at right tackle and the Aggies have as many as eight offensive lineman playing at a high level.
"I think there's been a couple guys that have really stepped up and responded well when their numbers called," Klein said. "I think it's a credit to again, all those individuals that are that are filling those roles and stepping up and truly having that unselfish, team-first mentality of like, 'Hey, that's a need, I have to kind of step up meet it, and do the best that I possibly can,' and (it's) truly impressive.
