It wasn’t pretty for 60 minutes, but the Texas A&M Football team marched out of Kyle Field with a 1-0 record and a relatively convincing score to go along with it. Still, it was a hard-fought battle all the way through the third quarter before A&M separated itself.
And as things normally go with Week 1 games, Aggie coaches, players, and fans learned a lot about their team. Specifically, everybody got a greater idea of who the stars of this football team will be moving forward, leading me into the topic of the post.
I’m going to be discussing three standout players in Texas A&M’s Week 1 home win against the Kent State Golden Flashes.
Texas A&M Football Week 1 Standout, Honorable Mention: DL Shemar Turner
A few weeks ago, Shemar Turner’s role on this team early in the 2021 season seemed relatively nonexistent. Even though he was a 5-star prospect at the high school level and one of the best defensive linemen in his class, Turner didn’t enroll early and was behind a few talented players on the depth chart.
With the help of a pair of suspensions on the defensive line between McKinnley Jackson and Micheal Clemons, Turner found his way into the rotation quickly and made an immediate impact.
At the time that I’m writing this, the full defensive stats from the game haven’t officially been released, but Turner was a huge impact player on defense. His first career sack was a big one, preventing Kent State from a chance at evening the score early in the game.
Beyond that, Turner made a handful of crucial tackles, even down the stretch. The freshman looked like a 5th-year senior out on the field and fit in immediately.
Texas A&M Football Week 1 Standout No. 3: WR Ainias Smith
On the stat sheet, Ainias Smith had a solid day. His 100 receiving yards and two touchdowns were very impressive, especially as he continues to shift to a more wide receiver-centric role. Still, part of what he did for the Aggies on Saturday won’t be marked down in a stat sheet.
Actually, the best part of Smith’s game was the fact that he didn’t do anything.
What I’m referring to is the fact that Kent State was constantly avoiding kicking the ball toward Smith, which eventually resulted in great field positioning for Texas A&M all night long. The funny thing about this is that Smith only has 265 return yards in his two-year career with the Aggies. Apparently, that was enough to scare Kent State away from landing their kicks and punts near him.
Beyond that, though, Smith had the best game of any Texas A&M wide receiver. He was a nice short option for Haynes King while the first-year starter was settling in. His 100 yards through the air came through eight catches, which is over double the total of the next player down the list.
Smith also reached the endzone twice, giving King both of his touchdown passes. Hopefully, Smith can continue to help guide the young quarterback throughout the season.
Texas A&M Football Week 1 Standout No. 2: RB Devon Achane
Who saw this coming?
I’ll admit it — this website was one of the many media outlets that were expecting Isaiah Spiller to have a great performance against Kent State. The Golden Flashes had a bottom-five rushing defense last season and it seemed like Jimbo Fisher would likely give his work-horse runningback the ball in spades.
To an extent, that held true, as Spiller rushed the ball efficiently 17 times, gaining 113 yards on the ground. Somehow, he was overshadowed by another player though.
That player is Devon Achane.
Anybody who watched the tail end of the 2020 season knows Achane. Even more specifically, Aggie fans will remember Achane for his 76-yard go-ahead touchdown run in the Orange Bowl that all but sealed a Texas A&M victory.
On Saturday, he practically cloned that run. This time, he only went 63 yards. That said, the run was just as glorious and gave Aggie fans a reminder that there are few sweeter sights than seeing Achane outrun everybody on the field. Seriously, it wasn’t even close. The touchdown put A&M up 27-3, really sending this contest out of reach.
This was part of a 12-carry, 124-yard, 2-touchdown night for Achane, which came as a surprise to many fans who were expecting Spiller to stand out. Nobody’s complaining though and both Aggie runningbacks will be sleeping with a smile on their faces.
Texas A&M Football Week 1 Standout No. 1: S Leon O’Neal
Last season, Kent State quarterback Dustin Crum threw 12 touchdown passes and just two interceptions. The year before, he threw 20 touchdown passes and again, two interceptions. He had the same total of picks in each of his last two seasons.
Leon O’Neal took offense to this.
At the end of the first half, Kent State was threatening to even the score of a game that was within reach. With a score of 10-3, the Golden Flashes were on the Aggies’ 22-yard line with a chance to, at the very least, bring the game within four points. Or so everybody thought.
O’Neal would rain on that parade, picking off a Crum pass in the endzone for a touchback and giving Texas A&M some well-needed momentum into halftime. They’d use this momentum, going on a run in the second half.
That said, there would be no run if not for another big play from O’Neal.
After an Aggie drive in the second half that resulted in a field goal, it felt like Texas A&M needed something. O’Neal made that difference. After Kent State got all the way down to Texas A&M’s 22-yard line again, O’Neal snuck in and grabbed another interception, taking this one 85 yards to the house.
This one finally gave A&M the separation they needed, making the score 20-7. The floodgates seemingly opened after this, as that was the closest the game would be for the remainder of regulation.
If you were handing out an MVP trophy for tonight’s game, it would have to go to Leon O’Neal, who had the best game of his career.