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He turned upfield on what was perhaps Texas A&M’s most memorable play of the football season-opening 42-24 victory over UTSA.
He headed to the middle of the field, angled to the right and denied would-be tacklers on an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Oh… KC Concepcion was pretty impressive, too.
Concepcion returned the punt for A&M’s first score of the season. But a closer look at the video reveals graduate running back EJ Smith racing downfield to make a block at the 50-yard line, another at the 25 and finally another at the six as Concepcion crossed the goal line.
At his weekly press conference on Monday, A&M head coach Mike Elko cited Smith’s effort as an example of an individual buying in to secure team success.
“Here’s a kid back for his last year as a running back, hoping to get carries and all those things that come along with competing to be a factor in the running back room, who goes out there on punt return and understands the urgency and the importance of it,” Elko said. “And he puts together one of the greatest effort plays I’ve seen in my coaching career on special teams.”
The Aggies aimed to boost their special teams production. Last season, A&M was ranked last in the Southeastern Conference in punt returns with a mere 3.87-yard average per attempt.
That’s unacceptable, especially for a program that frequently has been among the best in the SEC in returns. A&M led the SEC in punt returns in 2016 and 2017, was fifth in 2019, fourth in 2021 and second in 2023.
Adding the speedy Concepcion from the transfer portal figured to boost the return teams. But Elko said the Aggies have worked diligently to improve the blocking schemes to help him break long runs.
He reiterated a big key in that success is supporting players embracing their roles on special teams.
“A lot of what special teams comes down to is getting your veteran players to buy into how important it is,” he said. “I think what you had on that field was some kids who are veteran players playing really, really hard in the roles that aren’t necessarily the limelight that they were dreaming of.”
Brooks is back
Junior safety Dalton Brooks will be available for the game on Saturday against Utah State.
Brooks did not play in the season-opening victory. No official reason was given, but his absence might have been linked to a hit-and-run arrest in June.
The Aggies can use Brooks, who is one of their better tacklers in the secondary. Last season, Brooks was second on the team with 59 tackles.
“We really think he’s gotten even a lot better this offseason,” Elko said. “We’re excited to get him back in the fold.”
It’s getting deep
What’s the point of having depth if it’s not used?
That seems to be a question Elko asks himself. The Aggies are deep on the offensive line, so Elko used a lot of linemen in the season-opener.
Tackles Trey Zuhn III and Dametrious Crownover, guards Chase Bisontius and Ar’maj Reed-Adams and center Mark Nabou Jr. were in the starting lineup.
Koli Faaiu, Robert Bourdon, Ashton Funk, Tyler Thomas and Lamont Rogers also saw action.
Zuhn took snaps at tackle and center.
“I think that allows us the ability to be fresh, play our hardest, rotate guys, keep guys engaged,” Elko said. “We’re certainly not just going to put kids out there for the sake of putting kids out there.
“I think we have kids that are capable of playing at a championship level. As long as we have those guys — and we have six, seven or eight guys that we feel like can do that — I think it’s in our best interest to continue to play as many as we can if the level doesn’t drop.”
Reed between the lines
Throughout the offseason, the Aggies hoped to get significant physical and mental growth from sophomore quarterback Marcel Reed.
The physical growth was slight. He has added about eight pounds to his 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame.
The mental growth was far more noticeable. Reed passed for 289 yards and a career-high four touchdowns vs. UTSA. He completed 64.7 percent of his passes (22 of 34). It was his sixth consecutive game to complete better than 60 percent.
“I thought he delivered some really confident balls across the middle,” Elko said. “We talked about last year how we never really felt like the rhythm and timing of the passing game got right.
“I felt like we felt that a lot better on Saturday. You know, just balls coming out of cuts and rhythm on time. Catch and run opportunities. I think all that stuff was good to see.”
Even Reed’s most costly incompletion had a silver lining. Reed overthrew a wide-open Concepcion on what could’ve been an easy 48-yard touchdown.
That was unfortunate, but he showed growth by finding Concepcion and passing to the right target. As often is the case with inexperienced quarterbacks, there were times last season when he didn’t locate the open receiver.
“I thought he did a nice job,” Elko said. “I thought he was comfortable. I thought he was poised. You know there’s never going to be a week where there’s not things he’s going to wish he had back. That’s just the nature of playing quarterback.”
A New York?
Preseason All-SEC linebacker Taurean York has been good since he earned a starting berth in his first game as a true freshman.
Elko said York, who led A&M in tackles last season, has gotten even better because this is his second year under Elko.
“I think you started to see it about midway through the year last year,” Elko said. “I think at the beginning of last year — new system, new defense — you know, he was feeling his way through a little bit. He probably was a little frustrated with how he was playing in the beginning.
“He had wanted to have that big jump from freshman to sophomore year, and we worked with him a lot to just kind of stay patient. This is going to come and then it comes and starts to click and you’re going to start to feel it.”
York appears to be feeling it. He posted 10 tackles against UTSA. He’s instinctively reacting rather than thinking about what he’s supposed to do.
“I think now he goes into Year 2, and he isn’t thinking at all. He’s got it all down,” Elko said. “He knows exactly what he’s doing.”
Secondary stars
Pass defense was a point of concern this offseason. The Aggies allowed more than 240 passing yards in seven games last season.
During their final six games, LSU passed for 405, Auburn had 301, and USC had 295.
But UTSA was limited to a mere 170 passing yards. Of those, 49 were gained in the final minute against A&M reserves.
Elko acknowledged several defensive backs for their performances.
“I thought (cornerback) Will Lee played well,” Elko said. “I thought (cornerback Dezz) Ricks played well. It was great to get Tyreek (Chappell) back out there.
“You know, (Chappell) had the one holding penalty where he got tangled up with a kid on a double move, but I thought those three kids are the crux of our cover guys.
“And then (cornerback) Julio Humphrey got out there for a good amount, and I thought he showed well. And (safety) Bravion Rogers got there and showed well.”
Lee had five tackles, Ricks broke up a pass, Chappell and Humphrey had three tackles, and Rogers had two tackles.
Also, safety Marcus Ratcliffe posted seven tackles and broke up two passes.
NOTES
• Elko announced the team’s players of the week from the victory over UTSA. Those honors included Zuhn (offensive lineman), Tyler Onyedim (defensive lineman), Mario Craver (offense), York (defense) and Concepcion (special teams). Scout team players of the week were Layne Gerke (defense), Eli Morcos (offense) and Luke Braden (special teams).
• Freshman running back Tiger Riden Jr. is available for the game against Utah State. He had been dealing with the lingering effects of a car crash last summer.
• Defensive back Jordan Shaw has been slowed by a “lower-body” injury. Elko said Shaw is “day-to-day,” but then again, aren’t we all?
