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Texas A&M Football: 6 Players who (Probably) Won’t Be Back in 2024

By Graham Harmon

Sep 23, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies offensive lineman Aki Ogunbiyi (74) reacts during the third quarter against the Auburn Tigers at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 23, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies offensive lineman Aki Ogunbiyi (74) reacts during the third quarter against the Auburn Tigers at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 3, 2022; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies offensive lineman Aki Ogunbiyi (74) in action during the first half against the Sam Houston State Bearkats at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports /

Backup OL Likely to Leave Texas A&M Football

There were certainly high hopes for Akinola Ogunbiyi when he committed to Texas A&M football over the Georgia Bulldogs back in 2020. He was a top-250 player in the country, and one of the higher rated offensive linemen that the Aggies had been able to pull in at that point in Jimbo’s tenure. Coming off a year in 2019 where the offensive line was a major concern (in what we now know as a grim bellwether of things to come), signing high-upside and immediate impact players along the offensive front was seen as a must for this Aggie squad.

Ogunbiyi has had a fair amount of time to develop and contribute in his years here, but he has only been able to do so inconsistently. He did not see any time during the 2020 season, due to the remarkable amount of consistency the Aggies had up front that year—only Layden Robinson was ever forced into duty due to injury—but he began the year as a starter in 2021 at one of the guard spots. Against Colorado, especially, he struggled, and was later replaced after Kenyon Green was shifted back to the guard spot and Rueben Fatheree was inserted along the line.

Since then, it has seemed that Ogunbiyi has been passed up at the guard position. Though he has seen limited time this year, both Kam Dewberry and Mark Nabou from the 2022 class have been rotated in for more time than Ogunbiyi has seen. Perhaps he will stick around to see if there is a change in leadership at the offensive line spot that he likes, but due to the lack of time he’s seen on the field, this is one player who I feel will likely seek the portal in order to get some tape at another spot.