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

Texas A&M football roster predictions - Nickel: Tyreek Chappell (Backup: Jaydon Hill)

This is another hotly contested spot on the roster for the Aggies. I had this penciled in to be Jaydon Hill, the Florida transfer, for quite some time: his physicality and ability to help in the run game were factors that I thought would lend themselves well to him contributing here.

However, the news that Chappell would be at nickel had me rethinking things. As Tyreek himself said in his recent press availability, it was under Elko that he had his best year yet in an Aggie uniform, back in 2021, so I felt sure that he would be bound for lofty territory again now that Elko is back.

Chappell, despite his shorter stature, has been one of the best corners that the Aggies have had since joining the SEC. He’s been unafraid to make the big hit in run support, for sure, which could lend itself well to this nickel role. He nearly created a scoop and score in last year’s Auburn game until the referees ruled that the RB he lit up didn’t have control after the toss play.

I think we could still see a decent dose of Hill—as with the rest of the DBs, the depth at these positions mean we could see a healthy rotation. But it’s hard to go against what Chappell has shown us for years on this Aggie roster.