The Texas A&M Football team has had an up-and-down offseason. A couple of weeks ago, Aggie fans learned that one of their starting defensive tackles would be suspended in McKinnley Jackson. A few days later, he was back to playing football.
When the more recent news surfaced that Micheal Clemons was arrested and suspended — many fans assume that this would be a similar situation. Unfortunately, things look a bit more serious this time around.
This came as a big disappointment, as Clemons returned to the Aggies as a 6th-year, 24-year old senior. Clemons’ veteran present was expected to be a big part of Texas A&M’s defense, which was returning most of a dominant defensive line from a season ago.
The Texas A&M Football team will be scrambling with last-second personnel shifts
Unfortunately, his arrest and eventual suspension resulting from a handful of charges came at a terrible time. The Aggies’ season is under a week away, and without their most experienced leaders on defense, the team will be scrambling at the last second to replace him.
Last season, the unfortunate news in the middle of the season was similar to that which we are hearing right now — Clemons would be out. That time, it was due to an injury. Last season, Clemons finished with 4.5 tackles for loss and four sacks.
This means that Jimbo Fisher does have an existing backup plan for Clemons’ absence. Between Tyree Johnson, who played well in Clemons’ absence last season, and DeMarvin Leal, who is an extremely versatile defensive lineman, the Aggies’ will have a handful of options when it comes to replacing their experienced senior.
The Texas A&M Football team’s young players won’t have a leader on the field
The biggest impact of Micheal Clemons’ absence in the immediate future is the fact that this team will not have its primary leader on the field. In four of the five games that he played in during the 2020 season, Clemons was a team captain.
As things stand, it’s unclear how long Clemons will be out. Still, with a handful of new players assimilating themselves into the rotation this season, his value was higher than ever to this Texas A&M Football team.
It won’t be outwardly obvious but this will cause issues for Texas A&M. The team will have a new starter on the defensive line in McKinnley Jackson, the other player on the team who has been arrested in the past couple of weeks. Even though he has a solid amount of experience, it helps to have experienced guys on the edge to help on the field.
Still, this won’t be the worst setback in the world — at worst, we’ll see some early-season disorganization before Clemons’ presumed return.
A position battle might spring about involving Texas A&M Football’s Tyree Johnson
This completely depends on what Texas A&M plans to do to replace Clemons. The two obvious options are as follows:
- Slide DeMarvin Leal to the edge, where he excelled in 2020
- Put Tyree Johnson, Clemons’ backup, into his spot
Either way, somebody will be playing in Clemons’ position before his eventual return. If the defensive line is working, they may elect to stick with whoever fills in.
With more than a handful of talent when it comes to interior linemen, Jimbo Fisher may not hesitate to move DeMarvin Leal out to the edge and keep him there. The interior linemen that could replace him include a pair of highly-touted freshmen in 5-star Shemar Turner and high 4-star Tunmise Adeleye.
Even on the occasion that Tyree Johnson fills in directly for Clemons, it could create a position battle at that spot, as Johnson played extremely well in his place last season. Still, this wasn’t enough to earn him the starting spot. Even so, on-field experience could create a different storyline.
Last season, Johnson had six tackles for loss and four sacks.