TTFT, sponsored by Brent Campbell

Sponsored by Brent Campbell, Fighting Texas Aggie Class of 1998. Brent is a Commercial Real Estate Broker, serving all of Central Texas and specializing in sales, leasing & development. He leads a retail acquisition and sales team and was recognized by the Austin Business Journal as a Commercial Real Estate Heavy Hitter in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020 & 2023.

In the last 22 years, he has closed deals with a total transactional value of over $375 million and has leased more than 4.5 million square feet. Brent currently serves as the president of the board of directors for Habitat Homes, Inc. and Pathways Youth and Family Services. He is a former president of the Heart of Round Rock Neighborhood Association and a former member of the Round Rock Zoning Advisory Committee, the Round Rock Business and Retention Committee, and the City of Round Rock Ethics Commission, which has led him to begin developing in Williamson and Travis County.

An Austin native, Brent lives in Round Rock where he and his wife have raised four boys. Brent works for Don Quick and Associates, Inc. in Round Rock, TX and can be reached at brent@donquick.com.

The Aggies are 3-1. If they had played a fairly good game against Notre Dame, they might be 4-0 – and that game wasn’t decided until the final five minutes. But the first third of the year has been frustrating because it’s been so up and down. The Aggies have controlled first halves, only to snooze in the second. They’ve come out at maximum effort once, and crushed Florida. But have they figured out that the effort has to be constant, that the stupid penalties and mental mistakes have to stop? Looking at A&M’s schedule from here on out, Texas is the biggest obstacle for this team – except for themselves. If this team loses games, odds are very heavy that they lost it, not because the other team won it.

Conner Weigman had a terrible opening game, and maybe part of that is because he was both sick and, later, hurt. But he hasn’t been able to go the past two weeks and I doubt that he’ll be ready to go Saturday in Arlington. So Marcel Reed has the job until further notice. Jaylen Henderson will back him up. One area where A&M definitely envied is at quarterback, where the Aggies can go three deep with capable players. Reed hasn’t tapped his potential and Weigman likely hasn’t either, but, like the rest of the team, both have to be more consistent.

On paper, A&M’s defensive front looks like it should be a juggernaut. So far, it’s been good, but not up to expectations – and they know it. The big three of Nic Scourton, Shemar Turner and Shemar Stewart have combined for 31 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. That’s solid, but not dominant. The sack numbers, especially, are a bit of letdown. The sack numbers for the team (5) aren’t good enough, but any surge in the sack and TFL numbers has to start up front.

If the defensive line hasn’t met expectations, the offensive line has exceeded them. They’ve given up a total of three sacks in four games and are eighth nationally in rushing offense. They are the number one team in the country in tackles for loss allowed, with only eight so far on the season. For the sake of comparison, the Aggie defense had seven against Bowling Green alone. They’re not perfect, and had trouble with Notre Dame’s front and didn’t drive Bowling Green off the ball seriously until the fourth quarter, but the group as a whole is so much better than it was the past two seasons. Both Deuce Fatheree and Dametrious Crownover look like very legit SEC tackles, Trey Zuhn is an All-SEC level tackle and Chase Bisontis may be an All-American at guard. Adam Cushing has worked wonders so far.

When Rueben Owens went down with an ankle injury in training camp, there was much screaming and crying and gnashing of teeth. But Le’Veon Moss was still around, and he’s been superb so far. Moss ran for 484 yards last year at 5 yards a rush; this year, he’s already within 130 yards of his 2023 totals in four games. He’s also raised his average per carry to 5.6. He’s playing like a 215-pound running back should, being aggressive and initiating contact.

Collin Klein’s offense hasn’t been what has been expected so far, which could be by design – hopefully, it’s by design. But whether they open things up or not, it’s still shocking to see how little the tight end has been used. Theo Ohrstrom leads the team in touchdown catches with two, but only has one other reception. Tre Watson, who looked like he could put up big numbers in this offense, only has five receptions so far. If this offense is going to work the way it’s supposed to (or seemed like it should), then the tight end has to be more involved. Maybe that requires some adjustments to the scheme, or Weigman and Reed looking for them more. Either way, the Aggies have weapons they’re not utilizing.

It’s a plus anytime you can look at the linebacker group and not cringe in horror. Last year, they were a strength, with Edgerrin Cooper becoming an All-American. This year’s group has been symptomatic of the whole team, playing really good at times and mentally checking out at others.

Scooby Williams has impressed me with his play, with 14 tackles and 1.5 TFL so far. Daymion Sanford has been fine and had his best game last weekend. Solomon DeShields remains limited as he works to grasp the scheme, but he has made a lot of plays in a very limited amount of time.

Taurean York leads the team in tackles with 23, but hasn’t quite been the force that people expected him to be in his second season. York and his fellow linebackers have had some huge mental busts and missed tackles, with the big runs against Notre Dame coming to mind. They weren’t to be found on Bowling Green’s reverse, either. Their blitzing has been mostly ineffective.

Physically, they’re fine. It’s the mental aspect of the game, especially, that has been worrisome.

There’s not a whole lot good to say about the receivers. They’ve been the most inconsistent group on the team, and they’ve been more down than up. Noah Thomas has gotten open; he just hasn’t gotten the ball. Cyrus Allen had a big touchdown catch against Florida, then did nothing against Bowling Green. Jahdae Walker was a non-factor at Florida, then showed up big against Bowling Green. Jabre Barber looks like he’s rounding into form and could help tilt things in the right direction, but so far he’s been exclusively a line of scrimmage receiver. Moose Muhammad got a DNP-CD (did not play - coach’s decision) Saturday because he wasn’t showing consistency in practice. This group has to improve, and significantly, for the Aggies to be a truly effective offense. That starts with finding Thomas and Walker more often – at least, for me. Hopefully, Terry Bussey can become more of a weapon as he gets more comfortable too.

I asked coach Elko about the safeties several times in the summer, and he said he thought it might be the best and deepest group on the team. So far, they’ve played a lot of guys, but I wouldn’t say they’re close to the best group on the team. They’ve been kind of a disappointment so far. Bryce Anderson has made the transition to full-time safety nicely, and Marcus Ratcliffe has probably been the team’s biggest surprise. He is tied for the SEC lead in interceptions with three, and that’s one more than anyone had last year. But Trey Jones hasn’t been the big thumper I was expecting and Dalton Brooks has been tossed enough the great Earl Weaver would probably think he needs to chill. Even though the nickels are technically another group, they’ve been hurt badly by the loss of Tyreek Chappell. Jaydon Hill has been beaten up on in pass coverage, and I think we’ll probably see more of BJ Mayes moving forward.

The biggest problem for the safeties, like the linebackers, has been between the ears. There have been some huge busts in coverage in the last two games that have stung. Against Florida, they were able to handle those mistakes; against Bowling Green, they went for touchdowns. Now that the Aggies are in to serious SEC play, those mental blunders have to stop.

Will Lee hasn’t been an All-SEC level corner yet, but he’s been steady and is much better than any corner the Aggies had last year. Jayvon Thomas is still enduring some on the job training, but he’s been much better than I would have expected. I was close to writing him off after last year’s struggle and the arrival of all the corners, but he’s outplayed most of them – and he’ll put a pop on you. I’m most optimistic about Dezz Ricks, who has improved each week and has had his best two games the last two weeks. If he continues to improve, then A&M can feel confident with the guys they’re putting out there. As it is, at least fans aren’t having to shake in terror anytime the quarterback cranks it up to go deep – at least, so far.