Texas A&M football’s DB class could be one of the speediest in the nation

Texas A&M football is prioritizing speed at defensive back to great effect

I’ve written a lot about how Texas A&M football’s new head coach, Mike Elko, has remade the outlook at defensive back almost entirely since his arrival. Through the transfer portal and closing on a big fish like Terry Bussey, the head man has had his fingerprints all over one of the more impressive immediate transformations of personnel I can remember seeing, especially in College Station.

Far from satisfied, however, Elko is pressing on to the upcoming recruiting cycle with a fury. The Aggies already have four defensive backs committed for the 2025 class, and if you look closely at their measurements, one thing sticks out: these guys are fast.

To that end, Andrew Ivins of 247Sports remarked the other day that the Aggies “might have the fastest DB class so far” in this cycle.

When you read off those 100m and 200m times from guys like Jamar Beal-Goines, Cobey Sellers, Deyjhon Pettaway, and recent addition Adonyss Currie, your eyes are liable to pop out of your head. This is elite speed distributed all over the defensive backfield for the Aggies.

With this kind of elite athleticism on the back end for Texas A&M football, this has the potential to be one of the best pass defenses in the nation. When your guys can reach top speeds like this, the field shrinks; you’re able to play larger zones on the back end with no dropoff in coverage, since the personnel can cover ground quicker. This, in turn, allows for greater flexibility in play design and play calling. That sounds like a recipe for success for one of the best defensive minds in the business.

I can’t overstate how impressed I am with what Elko has done since he’s gotten here from the perspective of identifying and remedying what have been glaring issues in the program. He has addressed these issues with efficiency and aplomb, and it’s giving the Aggies a very bright future.