Notre Dame Opponent Previews | Texas A&M
It wasn’t an ideal year one for Mike Elko as head coach at Texas A&M and it started off with a loss at home to Notre Dame.
However, things looked promising after they rattled off seven straight wins. When they beat LSU and were at the top of the SEC standings, he came out and said this after the game:
"This is a real program. It’s not fake, it’s not a politician running this program talking fast and BS'ing everybody. This is a real program and for all the recruits out there, this is a real place and if you want to be really good at football, this is a really good place to be.”
It sounded like a shot at his former boss Jimbo Fisher and also a statement that read like Elko thought they had arrived and were here to stay It turns out they still had some work to do as they lost four of their last five games to end the season 8-5.
They finished the season ranked 15th in F+ (combined FEI and SP+ rankings) and they have the pieces in place to have a record that better reflects that type of ranking this season. Elko went a lot less transfer portal heavy than he did a year ago because they are bringing a lot of players back from last year’s squad that they hope are better this season.
On paper, they will once again be the most talented team Notre Dame plays this fall.
Key losses
They had only three players selected in the most recent NFL Draft, but those three were absolute studs. DE Shemar Stewart (1st round), DE Nic Scourton (2nd round), and DT Shemar Turner (2nd round) were the players that made A&M different from any other regular season opponent the Irish faced last season.
That’s three players who were capable of being game wreckers who are now out the door and 33 havoc plays are gone with them.
A&M also lost DT Rodas Johnson from their defensive line rotation and also lost a few underachieving former blue-chip recruits who transferred out after the season.
CB BJ Mayes and CB Jaydon Hill played a combined 942 snaps last season, primarily as slot defenders. Both are out of eligibility. Mayes led the team with four interceptions last season.
QB Conner Weigman was hyped in the preseason as a potential first round quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft because of his success in a tiny sample size. The sample got bigger and he struggled (A LOT against Notre Dame). He transferred to Houston.
They lost some depth up front when G/C TJ Shanahan (Penn State) and G Kam Dewberry (Alabama) transferred. Those two split a lot of reps at left guard late in the season.
A&M’s top-five pass catchers are all no longer with the program. Leading receiver Noah Thomas transferred to Georgia. WR Jabre Barber, WR Jahdae Walker, and TE Tre Watson are out of eligibility. WR Cyrus Allen transferred to Cincinnati.
Thomas is the only significant loss of the group, but although he caught eight touchdowns, he didn’t exactly live up to expectations in College Station.
Over a dozen scholarship receivers and tight ends who were on last season’s roster are no longer with the program. They are low on numbers at the receiver position and if there are any injuries during fall camp, that’s going to be something to monitor.
Key additions
One of Texas A&M’s high profile additions didn’t even make it to spring ball. Former 5-star recruit Micah Hudson ended up being removed from the program and is now back at Texas Tech.
They did add a couple of other intriguing Power 4 receivers. WR Kevin Concepcion (NC State) caught 124 passes the last two seasons and was an all-purpose weapon. They found ways to get him the football both as a runner and receiver. He had 1,159 yards (320 rushing and 839 receiving) as a true freshman.
Those numbers dipped considerably as a sophomore (36 and 460) and there was a lot of noise about him not being a great teammate. The talent is there for him to be a weapon if things work out at A&M. His 792 yards after the catch and 16 touchdowns are the second most in the Power 4 the last two seasons.
WR Mario Craver (Mississippi State) showed plenty of promise as a true freshman. He has big time speed and was a deep threat. His average depth of target was 18.6 yards and he averaged 21.6 yards per reception on 17 catches. Both of them are undersized, but should make their offense more explosive.
QB Jacob Zeno (UAB) was brought in as quarterback insurance. He threw for over 3,000 yards at UAB in 2023, his only full season as a starter. He should be a competent backup.
Much like they did last year, they brought in multiple tight ends to have extra bodies there. Micah Riley (Auburn) and Nate Boerkircher (Nebraska) are likely around for blocking purposes. TE Amari Niblack (Texas) wasn’t able to carve out a role last season with a loaded group of receivers at Texas. He caught 20 balls and averaged 16.4 per reception at Alabama in 2023, though. There should be more opportunities for him to get involved at A&M.
On defense, they’re bringing in some experienced corners to compete.
CB Julian Humphrey (Georgia) started 10 games at Georgia last season and no one starts there unless they have legit talent. There are some red flags with him, though. He allowed 16.0 yards per reception, had little ball production (four pass breakups), and tackled poorly. This led to him getting benched and he essentially quit the team to enter the transfer portal before the SEC Championship game.
CB Jordan Shaw (Washington) started out at Indiana and transferred to Washington where he became a starting nickel last season. He had 10 havoc plays in 2024 for the Huskies.
They hit big with Scourton in the transfer portal last year. He was a proven pass rusher who led the Big Ten in sacks in 2023. They didn’t add anyone who has kind of production that Scourton had, but it’s a strong group of defensive linemen who will try to replace what they lost.
An injury caused DE Dayon Hayes (Colorado) to redshirt last fall, but he was playing well early last season before that (five pressures and 3.5 tackles for loss in four games). Hayes was very good at Pitt the previous season where he racked up 15.5 havoc plays. He’s a future pro.
DE Samuel M’Pemba (Georgia) was a highly ranked prospect who showed tantalizing potential at IMG Academy. He couldn’t crack the rotation at Georgia and only played 77 snaps in two years. The path to playing time will be more clear. We’ll see if he can take advantage of it.
DE TJ Searcy (Florida) has quite a bit more experience in his two seasons of college football. He was solid for the Gators, but not overly disruptive. He had three games (Miami, Kentucky, and Ole Miss) with three pressures. He had zero or only one pressure in every other game.
DT Tyler Onyedim (Iowa State) should be a 3-tech for A&M and was a multi-year starter in the Big 12. He can play multiple alignments and had 43 pressures the last two years.
There are some dudes in their recruiting class who could push themselves into the mix this fall.
TE Kiotti Armstrong is a freaky athlete. With so much uncertainty at the position, he’ll be one to watch.
WR Jerome Myles broke his ankle and only played four games as a senior. He also won’t arrive on campus until the summer. That might suggest he’ll struggle to find a role, but he’s been back running track this spring and looks healthy. He has elite physical traits and they don't have anyone else who can match his combination of size and speed.
Edge Marco Jones was one of the more underrated edge rusher prospects in the country in my opinion. He turned some heads this spring as an early enrollee.
Top returners and returning production
After the winter transfer portal window (there is no update after the spring portal), they were ranked sixth in returning production (19th on offense and 12th on defense).
The most important thing for them is all the experience they are bringing back on the offensive line. All five starters are back (60 of 65 starts) with a combined 3,629 snaps from last season. It’s led by LT Trey Zuhn, who has been consistently reliable in pass protection. RG Armaj Reed-Adams is one of the better run blockers in the SEC. It should be one of the better offensive lines the Irish go up against this season.
QB Marcel Reed took over the starting job from Weigman with exciting flashes as a dual-threat option. He finished 23rd in ESPN’s QBR and sparked them to a huge win at home against LSU. He had 313 yards rushing when scrambling.
A lot of their passing game will depend on Reed’s improvement. There were 67 Power 4 quarterbacks with 200+ dropbacks last season. Reed finished 59th in adjusted completion percentage. He also threw at least one interception in the final five games of the season when the Aggies went 1-4 with their only win coming against New Mexico State.
RB Le’Veon Moss was having a great season before suffering a knee injury against South Carolina that knocked him out for the season. He had 765 yards (6.3 per attempt) in nine games. He runs very hard and finished fifth in the Power 4 in yards after contact per attempt (4.4).
He was limited in the spring, but is expected to be ready to go for the start of the season. If he’s the same guy he was last season, then he’s going to be a problem.
RB Rueben Owens is returning from a knee injury as well and he has explosive ability. RB Amari Daniels is a solid backup (652, 4.7).
WR Terry Bussey wasn’t ready to be a superstar as a true freshman, but he’s an elite athlete who improved as the season progressed. He was banged up a bit this spring, but there are high expectations for the former 5-star to make a big leap as a sophomore.
The defense had 20 players who played 200+ snaps last season. 13 of them are back in 2025.
One of those is edge Cashius Howell. He’s an impact pass rusher who had 34 pressures and had a top-5 pass rush grade for Power 4 edge rushers last season. A playmaker who racked up 17.5 havoc plays, he could be the top edge rusher Notre Dame faces this fall.
DT Albert Regis is a solid interior option who can push the pocket. He batted down six passes in 2024.
LB Taurean York led them in tackles, had 14.5 havoc plays, and is a returning captain. Notre Dame fans may recall him whiffing on Jadarian Price’s long touchdown run last season, but that was a rarity for York. He’s led all Power 4 LBs with 59 run-defense stops since 2023.
LB Scooby Williams is also returning after playing well for the Aggies last fall. He was much better than the player he was previously at Florida and had 12.5 havoc plays.
CB Will Lee was A&M’s top outside corner last season after transferring from Kansas State. He had 10 pass breakups and two interceptions, but had one of the lowest PFF run defense grades for Power 4 corners.
S Dalton Brooks and S Marcus Ratcliffe were the second and third leading tacklers on the team. They are aggressive, downhill players. They have a lot of experience returning at the safety position with Bryce Anderson back as well.
Tackling was an issue for the group, though. Anderson had the third highest missed tackle percentage out of any Power 4 safety and the three missed a combined 39 tackles.
CB/nickel Tyreek Chappell has returned after missing most of the ‘24 season. His absence was notable. He’s been a very productive player during his career and allowed only one reception of 10+ yards in 2023.
Three big questions
Will the transfer receivers hit?
Barber and Allen put up numbers before they were at A&M, but couldn’t replicate the production they had at the Group of 5 level. This year Elko and general manager Derek Miller went after P4 talent and the offense needs Concepcion and Craver to be better than Barber and Allen.
We’ll see if Concepcion regains the form he had as a freshman in a much tougher league, but both he and Craver have the ability to make the passing offense much more explosive. A&M finished 88th in receptions of 20+ yards last season.
They’re also hoping that Bussey and redshirt freshman Ashton Bethel-Roman, who had a strong spring, can help with that as well.
Will Reed make a leap as a passer?
He was a first-year starter, so it feels inevitable that he will be better as a passer this year. There’s a big difference between better and good. It’s to be determined whether it’s possible for him to get to being good because he wasn’t close to that last season.
I mentioned the accuracy issues and he also struggled mightily when pressured. He had the seventh worst PFF grade out of all Power 4 quarterbacks when pressured last season and the second worst adjusted completion percentage in those dropbacks. Reed was 99th in 3rd down passer rating as well.
Will the defense be better than good?
The defense had three high picks up front and solid linebacker play, but they finished 105th in PFF’s tackling grades and 98th in coverage grade. The secondary has a lot of guys who were ranked as blue-chip recruits or transfers, but they simply didn’t play very well. They were 82nd in passing plays allowed of 20+ yards last season.
Elko is a safeties coach. I know that’s not his primary focus now, but the play from that group had to have bothered him.
They finished 20th in DF+ and 36th in points per drive. Elko coached a top-four defense in 2021, but he’s never had another defense in the top-10. His next highest ranked defense was at Notre Dame in 2017 (13th).
For someone who has the reputation as a great defensive mind, he’s coached plenty of good defenses. He’s only had one that’s been elite.
The three freak shows on the defensive line are gone. Outside of Howell, there isn’t a player who played close to an elite level for them that’s returning. They need a number of players to make a jump and many of these guys were supposed to last season and didn’t.
Good defense can keep you in games. Elite defense can win games. They won’t be a true College Football Playoff contender without an elite defense and it will be very difficult for them to win at Notre Dame and at Texas if their defense doesn’t improve.
How they’ve recruited
The blue-chip ratio over the last four years is Ohio State/Georgia/Alabama level elite at 79.4%. However, those final two Jimbo Fisher classes are barely there in terms of the roster.
They signed 40 blue-chips in the 2022 and 2023 class. Only 12 are still on the roster. Out of the 18 top-100 players they signed in their top ranked ‘22 class, only two are still with the team.
The majority of the blue-chip talent on the roster is young and it would be huge for them if some of that young talent ended up being factors this fall, specifically at wide receiver and on the defensive line. Bussey was the only player from the 2024 class that played more than 70 snaps last season.
Opening the season with UTSA and Utah State at home may give some younger players more opportunities to play and be ready for when they travel to play Notre Dame. They have top-15 talent on the roster and we’ll see if they are closer to a top-15 program in Elko’s second season.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 23oz. Football Glass
