Rueben Owens is one of the most intriguing players on the Texas A&M roster, and he has been for quite some time— though not always for the reasons you might have hoped. The former five-star back out of El Campo was a massive pickup late in the cycle for the Aggies in 2023 after he had been pledged to Louisville for quite some time, but he hasn’t exactly burst onto the scene in a way that matches with that five-star billing.
Owens saw action from his very first season in the maroon and white, but there was just something missing from the snaps that he would see that Aggie fans were picking up on. He looked very natural running the ball, almost gliding down the field when he got in open space, but far too often, he would stumble and fall when running in between the tackles.
Missing most of the 2024 season with injury didn’t help, either, but he got a chance to be the feature back for the Ags in the latter half of 2025, though the deficit between him and Le’Veon Moss was something often discussed by fans. However, with Moss now in the NFL, Owens’ position as the lead back for the Aggies has placed increased responsibility on his shoulders— and based on what he said during yesterday’s time with the media, he’s willing to do whatever’s necessary, even if it’s painful, to live up to that responsibility.
Rueben Owens’ look back at ‘hard’ plays will springboard him to new heights in 2026
After practice yesterday, Owens met with the media, and he was asked about “painful” missed chances from previous years, where he looked like he was about to break out for a huge run before he stumbled and fell. He keyed in on two runs in particular, from the Missouri and the Texas games, acknowledging how hard it is to dwell on those kinds of missed chances, but also that it’s necessary to learn from them to be able to improve his game moving forward.
Texas A&M RB Rueben Owens II identified two plays from last season that still bother him: one against Texas and the other vs. Missouri.
— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) August 6, 2026
He believes he could be a 1,000-yard rusher this fall if those types of plays don't happen. https://t.co/LCUrIQX5WZ pic.twitter.com/O3bVmPrnt7
This shows a couple of things: first, it shows a high level of maturity for the rising fourth-year back. It could be easy to shift blame and point fingers, but Owens took the responsibility on his own shoulders, mentioning what it is that he needs to do rather than what those around him need to do in order for the needed improvement to happen.
Second, it shows that he is determined to fix those issues. These are the kind of plays that can haunt a player for years afterwards, especially when the stakes are high. But you can do one of two things with that: you can be stuck in the past, eternally ruminating on what went wrong and reliving it to rake yourself over the coals again and again, or you can understand that it shows the need for an improvement and begin working towards that.
Owens has clearly taken that second tack— and that’s what all the greats do. You let the disappointments fuel you rather than keep you stuck. If Rueben can live up to his massive potential in this season, it will be hard to unseat him as the Aggies’ lead back— and it will be a scary sight for run defenses across the conference.
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