Coming off a 9-1 season, with their only loss coming to Alabama, 52-24, the second game of the season, a 41-27 Orange Bowl victory and a No.4 final ranking in the AP and Coaches’ polls, the Texas A&M Aggies enter the 2021 season with understandably high hopes for a spot in the 4 team playoff and a shot to win it all.

The Aggies did lose quarterback Kellen Mond, who put together a stellar senior season completing 188-of-297 passes, 63%, for 2,282 yards, 19 TDs and 3 ints. Mond was drafted in the third round by the Minnesota Vikings and has a shot to have a nice career in the National Football League.

Two players are competing for the starting job under center for the Aggies. Redshirt freshman Haynes King and redshirt sophomore Zach Calzada battled it out in the spring and are now battling in fall camp. Jimbo Fisher said Friday afternoon before practice a decision is coming soon. KIng is more of a dual threat quarterback, while Calzada is more of a traditional drop back QB. King is 6’3,” 200, while Calzada is 6’4,” 210. They both played well in the spring game and have had very good fall camps. Fisher said at SEC Media Days that both are NFL caliber quarterbacks. I’m going to go with King as Fisher likes mobility in his quarterbacks and King was a 4 star out of high school while Calzada was a 3 star, and King looks a little better in the spring game.

Fisher brings a 109-33 record overall into his 4th year at A&M and his 12th overall as a head coach. He was at FSU for 8 seasons and compiled an 83-23 mark there which included a 48-16 record in the ACC. He’s 26-10 at A&M and 17-8 in the SEC. He’s 8-2 in the bowls, and won the then BCS National Championship with the sometimes infamous Jameis Winston in 2013. In 2014, he took his team to the inaugural College Football Playoff, only to be hammered by Oregon in the Rose Bowl, 59-20. In 2015 and 2016, his teams finished 10-3. His 2015 team lost in the Peach Bowl to Central Florida when Golden Knights ascended as a national team, but then defeated Michigan the next season in the Orange Bowl. The 2017 season was mixed with controversy and the team finished 5-6 and didn’t make a bowl game. Fisher was hired by A&M after the 2017 season, and has gone 9-4 in 2018, 8-5 in 2019 and last season, he and his program hit their stride, finsihing 9-1. So, a lot of optimism in College Station.

Whoever is the quarterback, King or Calzada, has plenty of weapons to work with. In the backfield, Isaiah Spiller is a returner. He raced for 1,.036 yards and 9 TDs last season. Spiller is 6’1”, 215. Track star Devon Achane is a house call waiting to happen. Achane is 5’9,” 185. He ran for 364 yards and 4 TDs last season, but really came out in the Orange Bowl rushing for 140 yards with 2 TDs, including a 76 yard house call where the defense had no chance of catching him. Looks like a 4.3 guy, maybe even better.

On the perimeter, you have to go right off the O line to the tight end position where junior Jalen Wydermyer looks like an All American this season. The 6’5’, 255 pounder is an elite athlete. He caught 46 passes for 506 yards and 6 TDs last season. He’s backed up and sometimes joined by 6’7,” 245 pound Baylor Cupp. Cupp didn’t have any stats last season, but looked stellar in the spring game. Ainias Smith, a 5’10,” 185 wide receiver, is a game breaker. He caught 43 passes for 564 yards and 6 TDs in 2020. He also plays as a third running back and rushed for 300 yards and 4 TDs. Chase Lane is a 6’0,” 190 wide out who caught 29 passes for 409 yards and 2 TDs and is expected to have a much bigger role in the offense. Hazekiah Jones, 6’0”, 180, and Jalen Preston, 6’2”, 210, are others who will be targets for King or Calzada. Sophomore Devin Price is another. And there is good depth, so it’s a position of strength for the Aggies.

The offensive line lost 4 starters, but Fisher expects this group to be even stronger by midseason, maybe earlier. I know he hopes earlier. Junior left tackle Kenyon Green is the leader. He’s 6’4,” 325. Junior Luke Matthews, 6’4,” 310, is the center. The size is 310-315 across the board with depth.

On defense, bookend defensive ends DeMarvin Leal, 6’4,” 290, 7 1/ tackles for loss of -28 yards, and 2 1/2 sacks, and Michael Clemons, 6’5,” 270, 4 1/2 TFLs -26 yards, and 4 sacks, lead the way upfront. There is plenty of size and talent. At linebacker, outside backer Aaron Hansford was the second leading tackler on the team with 49 in an abbreviated, 10 game season. Hansford, 6’3,” 240, also had 7 TFLs for -27 yards and 3 sacks. Fisher and defensive coordinator, the veteran and stellar Mike Elko, are high on redshirt freshman inside backer Edgerrin Cooper, 6’3,” 220. In the secondary, safety Leon O’Neal Jr, 2 ints, 52 yards, 48 tackles, and Demani Richardson, 36 tackles lead the back end. Cornerbacks are 6’4”, 190 Myles Jones, 39 tackles and an int, and Jaylon Jones, 6’2,” 205, 27 tackles and an int. O’Neal Jr. is 6’1,” 210, and Richardson is also 6’1”, 210, so very good size in the secondary. Depth looks strong everywhere for this Aggies team.
The kicker is senior Seth Small, who is reliable. Punter is sophomore Nik Constantinou. Ainias Smith and Achane, as would be expected, are the punt returners, and Achane, Chase Lane and Jalen Preston are kick returners.

Schedule

The Aggies open the season at Kyle Field on Saturday, 9-4, vs Kent State. 7 PM CT, ESPNU

Then, in an interesting matchup, they play @ Colorado on Saturday, Sept. 11th. 2:30 PM CT FOX. Not the best day on the calendar, but it’s a Saturday, so there is football to be played.

in game 3,Saturday, 9-18, the Aggies host New Mexico at 11 AM CT on the SEC Network.

Then in game 4, they’ll have an early season SEC test with their traditional rivalry game versus Arkansas at Jerry’s “Alabama Getaway” Place in Arlington. Arkansas looks solid in year 2 under Sam Pittman. This game and the rest have times and TV to be determined.

Then on Saturday, Oct. 2nd, all games are on Saturdays, the Aggies host Mississippi State.

Then a blockbuster in game 6 on October 9th as the Crimson Tide invades College Station. Major implications in the SEC West on the line here as well as national implications. On Oct. 16th, the Aggies are @ Missouri in what will be a tough test after facing a highly physical Crimson Tide team. The Tigers will be strong under Eli Drinkwitz in his second year. On Oct. 23rd, the Aggies host South Carolina, which will be trying to figure themselves out this season under first year coach Shane Beamer. Open date on Oct. 30th, then the Auburn Tigers come to College Station on November 6th. After another highly physical contest against the Tigers, A&M has a highly challenging game @ Lane and Ole Miss on Saturday, Nov. 13th. On Nov. 20th, they host Prairie View A&M in a breather before going to Baton Rouge against what should be a much improved LSU team on Nov. 27th. If they can survive that gauntlet, and that’s a big ask, they’ll play in the SEC Championship on Saturday, Dec. 4th at 3 PM CT on CBS. The Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers will have a big say in that.

Final Analysis

This is a really good football team with a highly challenging schedule. Can they break through and defeat Alabama. That’s tough. They could be 5-0 going into the Crimson Tide game, which would set up for a massive blockbuster on CBS at 2:30 PM CT, Saturday, Oct. 9th. It’ll be monumentally hard against the Crimson Tide, but with that 12th man, you never know. Getting through Missouri the next week will be difficult. @ Ole Miss @ LSU are extreme hurdles as well. Auburn could be a challenge. The Tigers Coach has COVID right now, not sure if he got the vaccine, which is amazing in and of itself. Auburn, if they can stay healthy, will pose a challenge in College Station, but one the Aggies can win. 10-2, 9-3 would be a nice year for the Aggies, but they want more in Fisher’s 4th season. With a new quarterback, King or Calzada, I like KIng, and having their first 5 games as winnable, will really help. But from the Crimson Tide game on Oct. 9th on, it’s an SEC gauntlet, save for Prairie View A&M and South Carolina is rebuilding.

If they can emerge 11-1, even 10-2, with a strong finish, they could possibly have enough for the Playoff.At 10-2, most likely a New Year’s Six Bowl which is still a phenomenal season. Alabama has a tremendous shot to make another playoff, and Clemson, Oklahoma, Georgia and Ohio State do as well. There are other contenders. Oregon and Penn State look to be challengers and LSU is going to be a lot better. So it’ll be a riveting yet demanding schedule for the Aggies in the SEC. But this is a team that is capable of making the playoff, if they can step it up against the Crimson Tide and against the power teams of the SEC, LSU and a very good Ole Miss team. Auburn, too. And that Missouri game on the road the week after the Crimson Tide looks like a trap game. So, that’s what makes college football so spectacular, the matchups like the ones A&M will face. Certainly a team that can be elite.

WT sent this out in his comment. This is S’s response to Fisher’s comment that he was going “to kick Bama’s tail,” in another word that’s spelled with 3 letters.