The Texas A&M Football team returns a lot of production on the defensive side of the ball. This is good news, as the Aggies’ defense was their best in recent memory and among the top units in the nation.
That said, even on a unit that has minimal changes, there are a couple of players who have departed to the NFL Draft. This will open the door for a couple of position battles to take place.
The offense, on the other hand, will have a lot of moving parts. That said, the spring game is the perfect showcase to see where these positions are at with a few months to go before the beginning of the 2021 football season.
Even though it’s impossible to gauge what the coaches are thinking, this is the best idea we’ll get for a while on where these players are in relation to the guys that they’re competing against.
Texas A&M Football will have a lot of young talent on display
Most importantly, this will be the first glimpse that fans get at young players within certain position battles. While the older guys have already played in multiple spring games, underclassmen could show us that they have game.
Spring games are often where position battles get more interesting from a fan’s perspective. We could go into the late-April spring game expecting a frontrunner at a certain position and leave with an entirely different outlook. That’s the beauty of spring football.
So without further ado, here are three position battles to watching during the Texas A&M spring football game.
The Texas A&M Football team will have a rotating circus of offensive linemen on display
It’s almost hard to call this a position battle, as the offensive line will have four new startings stepping in. That’s right — only a single player remains from last year’s offensive line that was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award, given to the best offensive line unit in the country.
The only remaining player will be Joe Moore, who, for what it’s worth, is arguably the best returning offensive lineman in college football. In 2020, he was a finalist for the Outlander Trophy, given to the best interior offensive lineman in the country. That said, he’ll be moving out to tackle, opening up two guard spots, a center spot, and another tackle position.
This will be somewhat of a free for all in the spring game, with too many new faces to keep track of. Don’t worry, we’ll have a breakdown for you after the game. Here are some players who will be competing for starting spots on this unit in 2021.
- Interior: Smart Chibuzo, Josh Bankhead, Layden Robinson, and Aki Ogunbiyi
- Exterior: Chris Morris, Blake Trainor, and Galen Gallagher
You may not know a lot about offensive linemen, but this will be as interesting of an offseason as you’re going to find for the big men up front.
The Texas A&M Football team will be looking for a backup tight end
This position may come as a surprise to many fans, as the tight-end spot is one of very few secure position groups on this team. With Jalen Wydermyer leading the charge, there won’t be any worries about production from this spot in 2021.
Or maybe there will be.
With Wydermyer out for spring ball, the pool of tight ends sitting behind him on the depth chart will have an opportunity to step up and make their case for the second-string spot.
There are six tight ends on the roster not named Jalen Wydermyer. Here’s what their names are in no particular order.
- Blake Smith
- Max Wright
- Tyler Ondrusek
- William Kuehnle
- Baylor Cupp
- Justin Mellenbruch
Only a single one of these players made a catch in 2021, with Blake Smith recording a single reception for 42 yards. That means that this spot will be wide open during the spring game. We’ll get a better look at who has been standing out to this coaching staff.
One name that stands out is Baylor Cupp, and I’m not just saying that because of how cool the name is. Cupp was the best tight end in the 2019 class, coming in as a 4-star, physically imposing receiving option for the Aggies. Keep an eye out for the 6-7, 240-pound tight end in the spring game on Saturday, April 24th.
Texas A&M will have one of its best quarterback competitions in recent memory
Is there really anything better than a college football quarterback competition? It’s something that can’t happen at the next level, as professional teams are forced into committing to a player and paying them accordingly. Not so much at the college level — at least not openly.
The Aggies’ quarterback competition will be a good one this year, with a three-man battle taking place to find a replacement for Kellen Mond, who gave the Texas A&M Football team three and a half good seasons before heading out to the NFL Draft.
The participants in this quarterback competition are as follows in no particular order.
- Zach Calzada
- Haynes King
- Eli Stowers
All of these players are unique options, each of whom presents his own set of strengths. That said, the frontrunner looks to be Haynes King at the moment, who served as Mond’s backup in 2020.
Zach Calzada, on the other hand, has more experience in the system, serving as Mond’s backup a year prior in 2019. He does, however, have an apparent skill disparity holding him behind King in the coaches’ eyes.
As an incoming freshman, Stowers has the lowest changes of starting for this football team in the fall. That said, you can never say never in a college football quarterback battle. Stowers is a very similar player to Haynes, so if Jimbo Fisher is willing to overlook experience in the system, he could be a threat to both of the older players looking to grab the spot.
That said, the spring game will give us a good idea of how all of these players are doing. For now, all we can do is sit back and see what this team has been cooking up this spring.