Texas A&M football: Will OT Kenyon Green challenge for starting spot in 2019?

Texas A&M football’s offensive line improved their physicality under Jimbo Fisher and Jim Turner, but are the starting spots guaranteed in 2019?

When Jimbo Fisher was hired, he moved fast on putting together the pieces left behind for the 2018 recruiting class in the wake of Kevin Sumlin’s firing. Once that was taken care of, he went quick to work on his first full class for Texas A&M football, and it paid dividends.

Fisher shot for the moon, quickly gathering up (then) 5-star safety Brian Williams as his first major commitment. Once summer rolled around, he had the Aggies among the best and had gotten 5-star offensive tackle Kenyon Green to verbally commit to the Ags. Green is expected to sign during the early signing period and enroll early.

Is it possible Green is ready to impact this Texas A&M squad from day one?

Fisher and Jim Turner got a lot out of their offensive line this year. A group comprised mostly of 3-star prospects finished No. 33 with 203.8 rushing yards per game. However, they struggled in pass protection all season and couldn’t run the ball effectively against most of the elite defenses they faced.

This group finished No. 112 in sacks per game. Mond had pressure in his face a lot and it’s definitely something the Aggies need to work on going into 2019. Part of the reason guys like Tua Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray are able to carve up opposing defenses is due to playing behind elite offensive lines.

Even though the Aggies did run the ball well for the most part, they managed just 71 yards on 32 attempts against Clemson (33 yards from Mond), 130 yards on 28 attempts against Alabama (98 yardsfrom Mond), and 61 yards on 22 carries against Mississippi State.

Left tackle Dan Moore, left guard Jared Hocker, center Erik McCoy, and right tackle Carson Green were each 3-star recruits. Keaton Sutherland, also the only senior on the unit, was the only 4-star recruit.

That is not to say 3-star recruits can’t turn out to be good players. McCoy is a prime example of this. He could decide to leave after this season and would likely be drafted into the NFL.

The Aggies haven’t had a player of Green’s caliber come through the pipeline in some time. After the crazy run of first round picks from Mike Sherman (and Turner-coached) recruits, it has been a unit that held the offense back in each of the last two to three seasons.

Green is a Top 15 overall recruit. A blue chipper. The kind of player Alabama gets on the regular. He recently won Houston TD Club Offensive Player of the Year.

Maybe the only thing holding Green back from getting playing time as a freshman is the fact the Aggies actually have a few younger 4-star recruits waiting for their shot., guys like 2018 4-stars Colton Blanton and Luke Matthews (brother to Mike and Jake), and 2017 4-star Grayson Reed.

Healthy competition is a good thing, and the Aggies will definitely have it at offensive line in 2019. Expect Green to have an impact on this roster whether he has guys looking over their shoulder or on the field.

Jeff Shull is the Site Expert for the Gig Em Gazette on FanSided. Follow him on Twitter, and be sure to follow the Gig Em Gazette on Facebook and Twitter.