Texas A&M football's offensive line seemed almost irreparably broken in 2022 and 2023. Long gone were the days of the the offensive front we saw in 2020, one of the best in the nation. Now, the Aggie OL looked patently incompetent from a technique and coaching standpoint, regularly out of position, looking around as rushers came free from the second level, hapless against opposing defensive coordinators.
The transformation from that ignominious era into what we saw last year was stark. There were issues, for sure— the pass blocking in the LSU game was one such instance— but all of a sudden, A&M looked more than competent. They looked good.
The push they were able to get in the run game, the time they were able to routinely provide whoever was at QB (outside of when TJ Shanahan was in there, I mean— for all his giftedness as a run blocker, he struggled in pass pro quite a bit)— it all was an extremely welcome change for the Aggie faithful.
A physical run game and an impenetrable pass blocking unit will get you far in college football. If you can win the line of scrimmage, you can stay ahead of the chains— and that means you more often than not will control the game.
That is something that A&M had not been able to do a whole heck of a lot over the last two years. But it was something that the Aggies all of a sudden looked extremely capable of this last year.
Part of that— a big part, I think— was coaching. The mental lapses that had characterized the unit over the last few years were, by and large, absent. When you consider how many different lineups were out there thanks to injury, that's an even more impressive feat.
However, the new blood should be given their due as well. The contributions of Ar'maj Reed-Adams and Kolinu'u Faaiu were vital to this team, especially in weathering the aforementioned injuries.
So yes, the Aggie offensive line was good for the first time in far too long last year. But it's about to get even better.
Texas A&M football could see OL as greatest strength in 2025 with all five starters returning
Experience and seniority are two of the most vital aspects of a good offensive line in the collegiate ranks. The Aggies are about to have both of those in spades, along with the considerable talent they've boasted up front for quite some time.
With Trey Zuhn's recent announcement that he is returning to College Station, the Aggies are set to return all five starters— and, for that matter, their top seven rotation players— along the offensive front. Zuhn, Faaiu, Reed-Adams, Dametrious Crownover, Rueben Fatheree, Mark Nabou, and Chase Bisontis are all back in the fold as upperclassmen for the upcoming year.
That will be absolutely vital for the Aggies in 2025. For all the praise we give the line from 2020, we often forget how horrid they were in 2019, allowing 34 sacks on the year.
So what changed? The Aggies got Ryan McCollum back at center from injury, but the cohesion and maturation of every player along that line was the biggest thing. Dan Moore, Jared Hocker, McCollum, Kenyon Green, and Carson Green all got one year older and one year better— and that proved to be what was needed to make this one of the best lines in America.
It is well possible that we see a similar step from the Aggies this next year. Like Layden Robinson did in 2020, too, we could see some young talent get some snaps as well— by all accounts, the Aggie staff is high on the young group of Blake Ivy, Ashton Funk, and Papa Ahfua.
If the Aggie OL takes such a step, the sky is the limit for A&M. It will complete a two-year redemption arc of the highest order: the Aggies' greatest weakness could become their greatest strength.
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