What's the big difference? DT

Senior McKinnley Jackson; 27 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 1 fumble recovered; PFF score of 76.8

Sophomore Walter Nolen; 37 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 4 sacks; PFF score of 73

Redshirt junior Isaiah Raikes; 17 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble; PFF score of 72.3

Redshirt sophomore Albert Regis; 15 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 sack; PFF score of 64

True freshman DJ Hicks; 13 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack; PFF score of 68.5

Redshirt freshman Gabe Dindy; 3 tackles, 2.5 TFL, .5 sacks; PFF score of 44.6

True freshman Samu Taumanupepe; no stats in 3 games; PFF score of 50.2

Jackson declared for the NFL Draft

Nolen transferred to Ole Miss

Raikes transferred to USC

A&M signed Rodas Johnson from Wisconsin; 23 tackles, 6 TFL, 1 sack in 2023; PFF score of 67.3

Senior Shemar Turner; 33 tackles, 10.5 TFL, 6 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 blocked kicks in 2023; second-team All-SEC at defensive end; PFF score of 76.6

Redshirt senior Rodas Johnson

Redshirt junior Albert Regis

Sophomore DJ Hicks

Redshirt Gabe Dindy

Redshirt freshman Samu Taumanupepe

True freshman Dealyn Evans

DT: Turner, Hicks

NT: Regis, Johnson, Dindy

Turner, Hicks and Dindy.

Losing Jackson and Nolen is hard to replace. Johnson, on paper, is an improvement over Raikes, but A&M still has to replace two starters. Enter Turner, who moves inside after a second-team All-SEC performance. He's no stranger to playing on the interior and has had success, but this will be the first time he's taken on starting minutes there.

Hicks and Dindy could be really good; they just need to show it consistently. Both were impressive in the Texas Bowl against Oklahoma State, and we're talking about a 5-star (3rd overall) and a high 4-star, so the talent is there. You just don't know what you're going to get until you see for more than a few snaps.