After what was a head scratching first 31 minutes of football for Texas A&M, the offense came together to dominate in the second half against UTSA.
The Roadrunners came out exactly like we expected. Physical and ready. Robert Henry Jr. was the Aggies' enemy, and even Mike Elko and Taurean York admitted that they got boat raced on the Roadrunners' ground attack.
While there's still tons to clean up, Pro Football Focus graded various Aggies last night. The numbers don't lie -- despite needing to clean up the run defense, these various Aggies rocked in their respective report cards.
PFF has the Aggies dominant in various areas against UTSA
Mario Craver had about the best debut out of any transfer yesterday. According to Carter Karels of GigEm247, the receiving game is miles better already.
Mario Craver received a team-leading 90.5 offensive grade from PFF, which is the highest for a Texas A&M receiver since Ainias Smith (91.6) vs. Lamar on Sept. 14, 2019.
— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) August 31, 2025
Trey Zuhn III is arguably one of the best at his position, and he made sure to remind everyone of that while Marcel Reed looked about as comfortable as he was in the pocket.
Texas A&M LT Trey Zuhn III posted a clean game vs. UTSA: did not give up a sack, pressure, hurry or QB hit, which is the fifth time he has accomplished that feat over his last 12 games. His 88.8 pass-blocking grade from PFF tied for the eighth best among all OL in Week 1 games.
— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) August 31, 2025
Even the receivers getting new reps had passing grades too, but the run-blocking in particular is why Ashton Bethel-Roman and Terry Bussey will get a shoutout.
In addition to what they showed on this play ... Among Texas A&M players vs. UTSA, Terry Bussey (79.6) and Ashton Bethel-Roman (78.3) received the highest run-blocking grades from PFF. https://t.co/WTlaaHy4s5
— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) August 31, 2025
Albert Regis' stock is already rising for his 2025 campaign. The Aggies' big man showed up in the run defense category while it seemed like most others didn't live up to those expectations.
Texas A&M defensive tackle Albert Regis received the best PFF run-defense grade (82.2) of his career vs. UTSA. It ranked 11th among 304 DTs (minimum of 10 run D snaps) in Week 1 games.
— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) August 31, 2025
This here shows the bad and the ugly, and how the Aggies' run defense has to clean itself up.
Texas A&M missed 13 tackles vs. UTSA, including eight on running plays (per PFF). Of the 203 rushing yards for the Roadrunners, 146 came after contact (more than half on the 75-yard TD). Only one A&M starter finished with a PFF run D grade higher than 70. Five were below 60.
— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) August 31, 2025
The Aggies' pass rusher, Cashius Howell got in on the action too, and was among one of the best in Week 1 in terms of rushing the quarterback.
Texas A&M defensive end Cashius Howell tallied five QB hurries vs. UTSA, which tied for the third most nationally in Week 1 games. Also posted a team-leading 27.3% win rate and 83.7 pass rush grade, per PFF.
— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) August 31, 2025