Howell among reasons how A&M should improve its pass rush in 2025

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Sacks are sexy.

Any Texas A&M football fan who saw The Blitz Brothers, Von Miller, Damontre Moore and Myles Garrett hunting quarterbacks can verify as much.

Nothing gets a Kyle Field crowd going quite like a fierce pass rush.

Alas, last season, A&M’s was a past rush. The Aggies had little sacks-appeal. They managed only 25 sacks.

By comparison, 10 of the 12 teams in the College Football Playoff accumulated 35 sacks or more. National champion Ohio State had 53. Runner-up Notre Dame had 40.

A&M’s lack of sacks was additionally frustrating because coach Mike Elko revealed that 26 times the Aggies had their hands on quarterbacks but were unable to complete the sack.

Had the Aggies gotten half of those, they would have finished with 38. A few more sacks might have resulted in a couple more wins, which could have landed Texas A&M in the College Football Playoff.

“I think we did miss some opportunities,” A&M defensive coordinator Jay Bateman acknowledged earlier this week. “I do think there was some times towards the middle of the season, towards the end of the season we had to manage the defensive line in such a way that maybe limited their ability on normal downs to rush the passer.”

There will be doubters that A&M can increase its sack totals this season. After all, defensive ends Shemar Stewart and Nic Scourton were high-round NFL Draft choices. So was defensive tackle Shemar Turner.

Zoe Kelton, TexAgs

Nic Scourton led A&M with five sacks last year. He had just 0.5 sacks in his final six games as an Aggie.

Obviously, the Aggies aim to increase their sack total. The question is how. The answer may be Howell.

That’s senior defensive end Cashius Howell, who figures to lead the Aggies' rush this year.

“Not taking away anything from the guys last year. We had good guys last year that were getting a lot of sacks,” Howell said. “But I definitely feel like this year with guys like Dayon Hayes, Rylan Kennedy, T.J. Searcy… Just all those guys coming together as a collective unit and keeping each other fresh, I feel like that will definitely help pay off in the season and allow us to get more sacks.”

Skeptics will remain. But look closer.

Last season, Stewart, Scourton and Turner combined for just 8.5 sacks.

Howell — who was second on the team with four — Kennedy and returning tackle DJ Hicks combined for seven. That’s while getting fewer snaps.

Also, Howell, Kennedy and senior defensive tackle Albert Regis combined for 14 quarterback pressures. That’s two more than Stewart, Scourton and Turner.

Further, Howell figures to be improved. Last season, he was a transfer from Bowling Green, where he recorded a conference-high 9.5 sacks in 2023.

But Bowling Green is in the Mid-American Conference. Stepping up to the SEC required a period of adjustment. Howell adjusted. He was A&M’s best pass rusher in November and afterward.

“The first half (of last season), I was trying to get my feet under myself. Get a good feel for the game,” Howell said. “After about halfway through the year, it was just out there playing ball.

“Not necessarily surprised I wasn’t preseason All-SEC. You’re talking to a guy that was once rated like 2,000th best player in his class. I’m used to not getting picked and getting overlooked. That just adds fuel to the fire for me.”

Of course, even an improved Howell can’t upgrade A&M’s rush alone. He’ll need help.

The addition of transfers Hayes, Searcy, Tyler Onyedim and Sam M’Pemba and freshman Marco Jones very well could help boost A&M’s pass rush and sacks total.

So will the influence of head coach Mike Elko, who is taking more control of the defense. Elko has a knack for designing creative blitz schemes and calling them at the perfect time.

Recall, Elko was A&M’s defensive coordinator for four seasons from 2018-21. In three of those four seasons, the Aggies were ranked among the nation’s Top 20 in sacks.

The return of nickel back Tyreek Chappell from injury and the addition of defensive back transfers Julio Humphrey and Jordan Shaw figure to help boost the sacks totals, too.

Not just when Elko dials up a blitz, either. Bateman explains:

“We were concerned (last season) about some things on the back seven,” he said. “Now we feel stronger back there.

“As we feel better about the coverage, that’ll allow those kids to rush the passer more. There were some missed opportunities. There were some schematic adjustments we had to make that I don’t think we’ll have to do anymore.”

Hopefully, all those factors will result in a significant increase in A&M’s number of sacks. That in turn could be a factor in A&M significantly increasing its number of victories.

A couple more victories would likely put A&M in the playoffs.

And with a strong pass rush, a better secondary and a strong offense, the Aggies could legitimately make a strong run in the playoffs.

Now, that would be sexy.