After two year buildup, Texas A&M football's matchup nightmare could be breaking out
Is Theo Melin Ohrstrom finally becoming the matchup nightmare that Texas A&M football fans envisioned?
For as long as I've watched Texas A&M football, one rule I considered hard and fast was this: there are not many big time recruits out of Sweden. It served me well for many years, but it may be time to retire it.
When Theo Melin Ohrstrom committed to the Aggies, he was not a name that many A&M fans were familiar with, for obvious reasons. For all of Jimbo Fisher's recruiting prowess, going transatlantic was literally crossing borders that most of the Aggie faithful had not anticipated.
But it quickly became evident that the Aggies had something special in this guy. As you would expect, he was about as raw as they get in the recruiting rankings—but you can't teach the speed he has at that size. The tools were there for Theo to be a nightmare to defend.
So, every fall camp, there was a running subplot: how is Ohrstrom coming along? After all, he's a guy that's hard to miss out there on the field. Fans were eager for that potential to convert into production.
Ohrstrom saw limited snaps last year, in his redshirt freshman season. Now, though, as a redshirt sophomore, we're beginning to see more and more of him—and Aggie fans are liking what they see.
Big no. 17 is currently the fourth leading receiver on the team for the Aggies. The passing game has admittedly been limited thus far this year; with the Notre Dame debacle in game one and Reed leading a ground-and-pound attack over these last few games, there haven't been a lot of catches to go around so far.
But over the last two games, we've seen some flashes from Ohrstrom that have gotten Aggie fans' blood pumping. Early in the game against both Florida and Bowling Green, Theo found his way into the end zone coming across the middle of the field, giving him the team lead in receiving touchdowns after four games.
It's not just the speed and receiving ability that has Aggie fans elated with Ohrstrom's potential, however. His ability as a blocker has skyrocketed from last year to this year, and his improvement is eminently obvious. Because of that, he's worked his way onto the field quite often, and is making the most of his opportunities.
That said, it is only two catches in two games—even if they were highly consequential. The next step is for Ohrstrom to turn into that four or five catch per game guy that he can be—the chunk plays on second and one, the clutch catches on third and long... he has the potential to be a go-to target in those situations.
Maybe it's getting ahead of ourselves a bit here. This isn't yet a coronation of Theo as the weapon he can one day be. But after these two years of buildup, that potential is beginning to pay off—and it's exciting to see.