3 Texas A&M Football Players Who Will Battle For Their Job in Spring Practice

3 Texas A&M Football Players Who Could Get Replaced on the Depth Chart in Spring Practice

One thing that became clear over this past month is that Mike Elko isn't worried about upsetting the established order when it comes to the depth chart for Texas A&M football. There's been a huge influx of new players via the transfer portal, with special concentration at a couple of position groups in particular, showing that he expects everyone on the roster to compete for their job.

There are a few spots where I think we can, absent injury, safely pencil in a starter, of course. No doubt Jahdae Walker will take the field with the first-team offense against Notre Dame. I think it's easy to predict that Taurean York and Shemar Turner will be anchoring the defense. And without a doubt, #15 is this team's day-one signal caller.

Other positions are a bit murkier, however. After two years of underachievement, how will the offensive line look? With the struggles on the back end of the Aggie defense, and all the defensive backs coming in from the transfer ranks, how will the secondary shake out?

Let's be clear here: competition is a good thing. I don't think there was a problem with seniority becoming complacency under Jimbo—if anything, the practices were reportedly too intense, even if the head man knew who he would and wouldn't start already—but as part of the culture Elko is trying to instill, you want to foster an environment where everyone on the team is making everyone else better by constantly pushing for a starting spot.

I think many of the transfers who came in are looking to do just that. Similarly, I think some of the young guys are ready to take the next step. Especially with the former group, though, as spring goes on, I wouldn't be surprised to see a few newcomers hit the portal once more if the pecking order shakes out unfavorably to them.

With all that said, however, where will the tightest battles be? Which newcomers have the best shot at starting against Notre Dame? Let's take a look.