Texas A&M football fans may have been anticipating seeing a former five-star Aggie take the field for the opposition in this weekend's matchup, but that may not manifest this year.
Aggie fans were given a blast from the past when the news broke this offseason that an erstwhile A&M player in safety Jacoby Mathews had joined up with the Auburn program. Before that point, there had been a lot of questions about where exactly Mathews had gone, as he entered the transfer portal following the 2023 season and there hadn't been a peep since that point.
For whatever reason— on-field or off— Mathews simply took a while to join up with another team and didn't play at an FBS school in 2024. That time off seems to have affected him, however, as despite the expectation that he would play against his former team when Auburn rolls into town this Saturday, he has yet to play a snap for the Tigers.
Revenge game may be put on hold for Aggie-turned-Auburn Tiger Jacoby Mathews
Now, this is pure speculation at this point, because the Tigers are certainly depleted on the back end, especially if Jay Crawford is unable to go for Hugh Freeze and company. Even so, the fact that Mathews has yet to see the field in any capacity seems significant here.
The former five-star safety out of Ponchatoula, Louisiana was a pretty decent player for the Aggies— though a liability in coverage at times, he was a relatively sure tackler. His exit from College Station was not exactly cheered, but he wasn't overly mourned either.
In any case, Mathews seemed like a guy that could contribute at another school, but when you take an entire year off from D1 football, it's hard to get all the way back. Given that he didn't join up with Auburn until later in the offseason, it could have taken him a little longer to get up to speed, too.
He's definitely still on the team, as he's listed on their online roster. This could simply be a case of not getting all the way up to game shape after a long time out of football, but in any case, it looks like his chance for a statement game against his former team will have to wait.