Click HERE to view Texas A&M’s Tuesday press conference.
In the darkest of times, any ray of light is reason for celebration.
Junior safety Dalton Brooks was a bright spot among the gloom that was Texas A&M’s defensive performance in a 45-42 victory over Arkansas.
Amid the mishmash of mistakes, missed tackles and missed assignments, Brooks, who appropriately hails from Shiner, had the most productive day of his collegiate career.
He posted a season-high nine tackles, with a 2.5 resulting in lost yardage. That included an 18-yard sack of elusive Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green late in the fourth quarter that stalled a Razorback comeback bid.
Green frequently spun away from the Aggie pass rush to escape pressure. Then, he routinely scrambled for big chunks of yardage or passed to open receivers downfield.
The Aggies were trying to protect a 10-point lead with 1:47 remaining in the game. Arkansas had first down from the A&M 28-yard line when Brooks blitzed off the right edge.
Anticipating Green trying to spin away, Brooks slightly altered the path of his rush to bring down Green.
“I love to tackle,” Brooks said. “I come from a hard-nosed team in Shiner. That’s what we did. We ran the ball. We played man-on-man defense, and we ran and hit. So, that’s what I like to do. Being his this defensive scheme puts me in that position a lot.”
Alas, that was one of the few great A&M defensive plays.
The Aggies allowed season-highs for points (42) and yardage (527). They gave up 19 plays that covered at least 10 yards.
Coach Mike Elko was so frustrated with the effort that he refused to give any defensive player of the week recognition.
“You know, we knew what we did,” Brooks said. “We knew how the game went. It wasn’t our best game.
“Nobody was really overwhelmed (by Elko’s decision) or anything like that. We knew what we had to get done, and we didn’t complete that job.”
That’s concerning because the No. 3-ranked Aggies (7-0) have emerged as legitimate national championship contenders. Subpar defensive performances could derail championship aspirations.
Brooks said the problems A&M had vs. Arkansas are easily fixable.
“It was on us,” he said. “It wasn’t anybody in particular. It was the whole defense. We come together. We talk about it as a defense. We talk about it as coaches and players. We’ll fix it.”
Those issues must be fixed by Saturday when the Aggies travel to face No. 20 LSU.
The Tigers' offense isn’t as productive as that of Arkansas. But LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier can be an outstanding passer, and the Tigers have receivers and running backs with big-play ability.
Also, A&M hasn’t won in Baton Rouge since 1994.
“Nussmeier is more of a smart quarterback,” Brooks said. “He can read the defense more … things like that. He’s a good quarterback. If you give him a look, he’ll take the easy shots every day.”
Brooks aims to do his part to prevent those easy shots.
“I want to grow as a communicator,” he said. “I want to be more of a leader on defense. You know, make more of a stand. When all 11 are out there, everybody is looking at me. I’m the safety. I’ve got to make big decisions for the defense. I want to be able to do that with more confidence.”
Brooks said he has gained confidence in himself. He also remains highly confident in the A&M defense as a whole.
“(We must) Continue to communicate at a high level,” Brooks said. “That’s really what it takes. As long as we communicate at a high level and really bond together as one as a defense, I think we’ll be fine.”
Really, the Aggies just must get back to their pre-Arkansas form.
In their three previous games vs. Auburn, Mississippi State and Florida, A&M allowed no more than 17 points or 319 yards.
Brooks is confident the Aggies can again play defense at that level.
“I feel like we definitely are,” he said. “Everybody just has to do their part on defense. Everybody has to do their one-eleventh, and we can do the same thing again.
“We’re gonna get it right. Don’t worry, we’re going to get it right.”
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