Texas A&M football spring position preview: Tight end should return to form

Texas A&M football spring position preview: Tight end will benefit greatly from Green’s return and portal work

When it was reported that Texas A&M football would be without Donovan Green after he sustained a knee injury in fall camp last year, I was discouraged but not down-and-out. I felt as though the talent the Aggies had at the position would be enough to make up for his loss.

I was wrong, however. Green was huge for the Aggies in 2022, and though Texas A&M football would get Jake Johnson back from injury in 2023—a guy who was actually higher-rated than Dono—the production would falter.

It was Max Wright who actually led the team in receiving yards at the position with 247. Johnson was right behind him with 235, and freshman Jaden Platt contributed 52 yards on his 2 receptions. Those are bigger totals than what Green had last year (233 yards on 20 receptions), but as a share of the overall receiving yardage, it was down. 

Green’s 233 yards in 2022 was 9% of the total receiving yards gained in 2022. Wright’s was just above 7%. This is also with Green playing in only 10 games and Wright playing in 13.

It doesn’t seem like a huge difference on the surface, but I think with the jump from freshman to sophomore year, Green would have been an even bigger piece of the puzzle in 2023 had he not been injured. With a clean bill of health in 2024, I feel sure that he will remind the Aggie faithful—as well as opposing fans—of his potential sooner rather than later.

The re-addition of Green is a definite reason to be excited. So, too, is the work the Aggies did in the portal at the position. Tre Watson and Garrett Miller are both guys who could contribute right away, and with the way that Collin Klein’s offense works, I’d bet that they do just that.

Watson is more of a pure receiver, while Miller is an all-around guy. That’s not to say that Watson isn’t a willing blocker—quite the opposite—but Miller is a bit more polished in that regard. The versatility offered by both should be a huge boon to this offense, in any case.

Finally, there’s the other returning players: Theo Ohrstrom and Jaden Platt. Ohrstrom was still adjusting to the college level for most of last year, but he is a monster in the making with his size and speed. Once he gets up to speed with the mental side of the game—working in a simpler offense should help here—he will be a force to be reckoned with.

Platt showed something intriguing at the end of last year. Like I mentioned, he only had two receptions, but one was for a touchdown and one was for a huge gain in the bowl game. A heady player (the Aggies flipped him from Stanford), Platt has the physical and mental tools to break out at any time.

It’s a great thing the Aggies go so deep at this position—Klein utilizes them a lot in his system. You could even see a guy like Watson at the H-back role from time to time. I’m excited and intrigued by what the TEs can do this year.