No. 6 Aggies not looking past Kent State, focused on improving each day
The message sent for the first game of the Texas A&M football season was not to look ahead.
That didn’t mean to avoid looking past the Aggies’ season opener against the Kent State Golden Flashes on Saturday at Kyle Field at 7 p.m.
The Aggies weren’t looking past Monday afternoon’s practice.
“We’ve got a standard to what we do here,” outspoken senior safety Leon O’Neal said on Monday. “We apply it every single day. We’ve got to get better. That’s it. We don’t care about Saturday right now. We care about today. That’s going to be the preaching today, tomorrow … and then when Saturday comes, we’re going to handle our business.”
Business has been good in Aggieland.
The Aggies return a ton of experience from a team that finished 9-1 and ranked No. 4 last season. They are ranked No. 6 in national preseason polls.
The Aggies have grandiose aspirations. They’re eager to pursue them.
“We can be as good as we want to,” star junior defensive end DeMarvin Leal said. “(If we) Come out, do our thing, stick to our job and just play the game 100 percent, we can have a great season.
“We’re more determined. We know what our job is. We know what our standard is. Now, it’s just a matter of us doing it. It’s that time. It’s Week One. We’re just ready to get after it.”
Junior receiver Ainias Smith echoed those thoughts.
“We just have a lot of trust in each other … faith that we can win,” Smith said. “There is definitely not any doubt in our minds that we have the ability to make a run and win the championship. We just have all the faith in ourselves.”
Much of that faith is based on a defense that ranked ninth in the nation last season and returns nine starters.
Also, offensive returnees Smith, running backs Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane, tight end Jalen Wydermyer and receivers Caleb Chapman and Chase Lane accounted for 85 percent (35) of A&M’s 41 touchdowns scored in 2020.
However, despite their success last season, the Aggies almost stumbled out of the gate. Though heavily favored, they struggled to subdue Vanderbilt, 17-12, in last year’s opener.
They hope to eliminate the suspense against Kent State.
“We need to get out of the blocks well,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. “At the same time, we’ve had a good (August) camp. I’ve been pleased with our offense, our defense, our special teams. It’s time to go play and do the things we need to do. We have a big challenge ahead of us.”
The challenge isn’t so much overcoming Kent State, which finished 3-1 in the COVID-abbreviated Mid-American Conference race and is projected as the favorite to win the MAC East Division this season.
Rather, A&M’s primary challenge is playing up to the standards the Aggies have set for themselves.
“It’s not that it’s Kent State. It’s not that it’s Alabama. It’s not that it’s Georgia. It’s not that it’s LSU. It’s not that it’s Colorado the next week,” Fisher said. “Each opponent has its own purpose and scheme you have to play against. You have to understand how to do that each and every week; to come and compete and play. The statement is we want to play and play well. We want to play our game.
“We want to do the things we do. And understand the other team is a very good team. They’re going to have their moments. How we withstand the momentum swings. The maturity with which we play. More importantly, the consistency with the way we play. We don’t have self-inflicted wounds. We play a physical brand of ball. We’re able to capitalize with great skill and make plays when we have to. And play a very sound game in all three phases.”
That would enable the Aggies to take a step toward proving they can be legitimate championship contenders.
“Every game is going to be important, whether it’s Kent State or Alabama,” junior safety Demani Richardson said. “We need to go out there, forget about last year, and do what we need to do the whole season.”
Also, unlike last season, they get to play before a capacity crowd at Kyle Field.
A year ago, the state of Texas limited attendance to 25 percent due to COVID-19 concerns. This year, full attendance is allowed.
Kyle Field’s capacity crowd is 102,733.
“I feel like it’s going to be rocking,” Smith said. “The crowd is definitely going to give us a spark we haven’t had in a while. I’m ready.”
NOTES
- Redshirt freshman quarterback Haynes King will make his first collegiate start for the Aggies. He’s thrown four passes thus far in his career with two completions and a touchdown.
- Fisher said he was uncertain of the status of sophomore defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson and “super senior” defensive end Micheal Clemons. They’re under university suspensions following arrests. “They’re dealing with the school things. I can’t speak to about those right now. We’ll keep you updated as we go,” Fisher said.
- All-American Kenyon Green is listed as the starter at right tackle on the depth chart. Tennessee transfer Jahmir Johnson and true freshman Reuben Fatheree are both listed as possible starters at left tackle.
- Sophomore Antonio Johnson is listed as the starter at nickel, ahead of incumbent junior starter Erick Young.
