Texas A&M defense report card at the halfway point shows an improving unit with some big holes
Defensive tackle
The Aggie faithful expected this to be a strength of the team heading into the season, and it has not exactly lived up to expectations. Things have not been abjectly terrible along the interior, but they also haven't been as dominant as the Aggies might have hoped.
Transfer CJ Mims has been much quieter than many anticipated he would be, but he's had a solid stretch of play over the last couple of games. Another transfer in Brandon Davis-Swain stood out in a big way last week against Missouri as he returns from injury, so he's looking like a hit.
The quiet play of DJ Hicks so far has been one of the bigger letdowns— you don't necessarily grab headlines as a defensive tackle, but he just hasn't been as much of a factor as you might have hoped. Landon Rink has been good, and DJ Sanders has also looked like he's growing into a role in the limited snaps he's gotten. Overall, though, they've failed to meet expectations so far.
Grade: B-
Defensive end
It's no secret that the Texas A&M pass rush has left a lot to be desired so far in the season. The Aggies simply have not gotten anywhere near the level of pressure that they had last year— in fact, they're dead last in the conference in sack rate, behind even teams like Arkansas, and 120th in the nation.
They've been a little better in plain TFL rate, where they are 66th in the nation, but that's still just barely outside the bottom quarter of teams in conference. Anto Saka, Marco Jones, TJ Searcy, and company have just not gotten home (though they are 65th in the nation in QB Hurries per game).
Pass rush is not everything a defensive end does, of course, but the fact is that the lack of this aspect of the game has been extremely costly for this A&M defense. There have been some good plays made by the DEs, but it's the omission of the pass rush that has this grade so low relative to expectations.
Grade: C-
Linebacker
The middle of the Aggie defense has honestly looked quite a bit better than last season, and that's due to several reasons. First, and most notably, the emergence of Noah Mikhail has been a massive boon for this unit, as he's been an absolute monster out there.
Ray Coney got a lot of praise in the offseason, and he hasn't quite shown all of what was expected based on that hype, but he's been solid. Daymion Sanford working his way back into the lineup has been helpful as well, though he's just starting to get fully up to speed.
There are still some mental mix-ups at the position that end up in A&M opponents breaking open huge run plays, but much less so than was the case last year. Overall, this is a position that has exceeded expectations so far into this year, even though they're still not outstanding.
Grade: A-
Cornerback
This is a tough position to grade in some ways, because while the Aggies have allowed quite a few explosive plays through the pass game, not all of it is on the corners. A&M has been very zone-heavy in coverage up until this point in the year, and the lack of a pass rush has therefore allowed opponents to work slow-developing routes to take advantage of that coverage.
When Dezz Ricks and Julio Humphrey have manned up on receivers, it's usually been pretty tight coverage. Teams have gotten their wins, but 50/50 balls have been more like 75/25 in favor of the defense in these cases.
The one big disappointment has been Rickey Gibson, who has not panned out at all as he was expected to. He's gotten a lot fewer snaps over the past few weeks, as he was victimized repeatedly in coverage when he was in the game. This unit has been okay, but not quite what was expected.
Grade: B
Safety
A unit that is made up entirely of captains should be one where you are rock-solid, in most cases— however, that is sadly not the fact of the matter when it comes to the Aggie safeties. Dalton Brooks and Marcus Ratcliffe are on the struggle bus this year, to put it mildly, and it's been tough to watch.
Ratcliffe's biggest asset coming into the year was the fact that he rarely ever was lost on a play— but that's all changed this year. Brooks is extremely physically gifted, but he has struggled to stay in the proper coverage or find the right run fits from his position far too often in his career, and there's been no improvement this season.
The bright spot has been Tawfiq Byard, with a dash of hope from Chance Collins. Byard, now healthy, should be getting a majority of snaps on the back end, and as Collins matures, he should be seeing a lot more time as well.
Grade: D+
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