As expected, senior offensive lineman Reuben Fatheree is not suited up for the Aggies' game against Notre Dame this evening.
Travis Brown of KBTX reported tonight that Fatheree was not warming up with the team ahead of the game in South Bend this evening. There had been a hope early on in the year that Fatheree would be available for this game, but that hope began to dwindle as the week drew nearer.
Fatheree has yet to play in a game this year after suffering an injury during fall camp. The fifth-year offensive lineman is one of the longest-tenured on the Aggies' roster, and figured to be a big part of the offensive line rotation this year before the injury set him back.
Reuben Fatheree will not play for Texas A&M football against Notre Dame
The good news for the Aggies is that A&M still runs six deep along the offensive front. A&M boasts Trey Zuhn, Koli Faaiu, Ar'maj Reed-Adams, Mark Nabou, Chase Bisontis, and Dametrious Crownover up front, and that is still one of the most experienced groups in the entire nation.
The absence of Fatheree means that they're slightly less deep at tackle than they would be otherwise, but when Trey Zuhn went down with injury against Utah State, redshirt freshman Robert Bourdon stepped into the void and finished as one of the higest-graded Aggie players on the offense.
Now, you don't want to throw a redshirt freshman to the wolves by putting him out there against an experienced and talented Notre Dame front, so you'd want everyone to stay healthy. But those were some encouraging signs from the youngster if the worst were to happen.
Another piece of encouraging news is that nickel Jordan Shaw appears ready and good to go for the Aggies. That's some big news after he missed the first two games and adds a little more depth to the A&M defensive backfield, which they'll need tonight as they will no doubt be looking to make CJ Carr into the main offensive engine for the Irish.