Final preseason depth chart projection for Texas A&M football ahead of game week

Texas A&M football roster predictions - CB: BJ Mayes, Will Lee (Backups: Dezz Ricks, Jayvon Thomas)

I’ve finally settled here on this tandem to start at corner. For a while, I had Mayes and Tyreek Chappell, but once it became clear that the fourth-year cover man out of Philadelphia would be focusing on nickel, I had to reassess.

Let’s start with Mayes. I think he is a star in the making, as I have mentioned several times on this site. I’ve been high on this pickup since he initially committed; just watch the Georgia-UAB game to see how good he is. He’s the only guy on the Blazer defense who looked like he belonged on the field with the Bulldogs.

He looked like a shutdown player in the spring game as well. He had a couple of very impressive deflections and big hits during the course of that afternoon, which only cemented the way I felt about him starting.

Lee was a guy that I had some questions about initially. He certainly is gifted as a cover man, but I was unsure if he played with enough physicality to earn a starting spot for the Ags.

Well, if the rumors are anything to go by, it seems that is a worry that I don’t need to have anymore. Even in the aforementioned spring game, Lee laid the wood more than once on a big hit, and he’s apparently kept up his tough-nosed play into the fall.

Dezz Ricks is a “not if but when” guy when it comes to starting. After missing the spring with an injury, game one may be too quick to have him out there as a starter, but he’ll see significant snaps early on. Jayvon Thomas had a rough 2023, but the skills are for real there as well.