The Texas A&M Football team had one of the best defensive line units in the country in 2020. That’s not an opinion, either. Numbers will back up that claim, as the Aggies had the second-best rush defense in the country by yardage.
Beyond that, the very same team had a top ten defensive unit overall by total yardage.
But a strong defense starts with a defensive line that can stop the run and apply pressure on the quarterback. In the middle of all of this in 2020 was defensive tackle Bobby Brown III, who put together a very strong career during his time in College Station.
In his three-year career, Brown accumulated 57 total tackles, 10.5 of those being for a loss, and 6 sacks. These numbers took a huge jump in his third season, which led to his name being called on draft day.
Brown recently signed his first NFL contract with the Los Angeles Rams after being selected by the team in the 4th round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Texas A&M Football team has a gaping hole on defense with Bobby Brown III’s departure
With Bobby Brown III gone, this means that the Texas A&M defense will be frantically trying to fill a hole left by a player who had a strong season in 2020. It won’t be easy and the Aggies may even see a bit of regression to start the year. That said, it seems pretty clear who their guy will be.
That player is McKinnley Jackson, an extremely talented defensive tackle who has only played a single season in College Station.
Jackson will be a sophomore who is originally from Lucedale, Mississippi. In high school, he was ranked as a 4-star defensive tackle who was considered a top ten player at his position in 247Sports’ composite rankings.
As a freshman, he had an extremely impressive year on very limited snaps, accumulating 13 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and a pair of pass deflections. Jackson could have an even higher ceiling than his predecessor in Bobby Brown III.
That said, there’s not a lot that we can learn about him until he takes the field in the fall. Thus far, it seems like he could be more active in the passing game, as he accumulated more pass deflections in a single season than Brown had in three years.
That said, things will remain a mystery until he steps onto the field.