Is change in the air for the Texas A&M Aggies’ football program in 2015? Well, Kevin Sumlin’s squad had another great year of signings encompassing their 2015 recruiting class. Currently, A&M’s class is being ranked in the top-15 nationally — with some of the studs they signed, that number could definitely go up very soon.
After weighing his options at the University of Texas, the No. 1 overall quarterback in the nation according to ESPN’s 300 list, Kyler Murray, stuck with his plans to sign with A&M and play for the Aggies in College Station. The quarterback position is very much up in the air in Aggieland — Kenny Hill asked for a letter of release back in January, and is planning to transfer. Soon to be sophomore QB Kyle Allen looked very good under center for A&M towards the end of the 2014 season, and did not disappoint with a fabulous performance in the Liberty Bowl to finish off a 8-5 year for the Aggies.
Now, how hard will Allen have to fight to retain his starting job with the incoming freshman, Murray? Very hard.
Murray, the dual-threat QB with amazing arm talent and the ability to do it with his feet, may have had the best season in Texas high school football history this past season. His senior stats are mind-boggling, as Murray threw for 4,713 yards and 54 touchdowns. On the ground, he ran for 1,495 and 25 touchdowns — going 42-0 in his career at Allen High School in Allen, TX, Murray was a two-time Gatorade Texas Player of the Year, and received Gatorade National Player of the Year honors during his extraordinary 2014 campaign. The fight for the starting QB position at A&M should be incredible to watch as we begin to get closer to the start of the 2015 college football season.
Either Allen or Murray will be slinging it to a plethora of options at wide receiver. The newest addition to the corps will be 5’11” and 197-pound Christian Kirk from Scottsdale, AZ. Kirk is the No. 4 overall WR on ESPN’s 300, and will give A&M another explosive playmaker on offense.
As for the defensive side of the football which has been the achilles-heel of the Aggies for several seasons, they will see it bolstered by 6’1″, 330-pound defensive tackle Daylon Mack. According to the ESPN 300, the beast from Gladewater High School in Gladewater, TX, is the No. 3 overall DT in America. A&M will add an important piece while trying to shore up their defense, now being led by Mack and the SEC freshman sack leader, defensive end Myles Garrett. In addition, snatching defensive coordinator John Chavis from LSU will help tremendously.
LSU’s defense ranked 9th nationally in 2014, and the Aggies could not manage to stay in the top-100; the A&M defense ranked 102nd in the country last season.
Well, the top-tier recruits for the A&M football program have the potential to be game changers, giving the Aggies a shot in the SEC West in 2015.
*Section Photo credit to Vernon Bryant, Dallas Morning News; Featured Photo (above) credit to Matthew Emmons, USA Today Sports
