Click HERE to view Texas A&M’s Tuesday press conference.
Not long ago, concerns persisted that the secondary might be the weak link on Texas A&M’s football team.
Now, the Aggies are hoping to link together weeks like they just had.
Any concerns about A&M’s secondary were eased in a 16-10 Southeastern Conference victory over Auburn at Kyle Field last Saturday. The unbeaten Aggies allowed just 125 passing yards.
That wasn’t just one good outing for the A&M coverage, either. A&M has held three of its four opponents to 172 passing yards or less.
Only Notre Dame, which is 16th nationally in passing offense, was productive against the Aggies.
What was once feared to be a problem area for A&M is causing problems for A&M opponents.
“We are all right now,” A&M senior nickel back Tyreek Chappell said after practice on Tuesday. “We all are in a great space right now. We feel like we had to set a statement because we all know we didn’t have a good enough game against Notre Dame.
“So we had to come back to the next game to show everybody that we’re really, really good.”
Consider everybody shown.
Last season, Auburn’s dangerous receiver Cam Coleman burned the Aggies for 128 yards and two touchdowns. This time, he had four catches for 18 yards. Auburn had only one completion for more than 20 yards.
Last year, the Aggies were ranked 90th in the nation in pass defense. A&M allowed an average of 232.2 passing yards. They surrendered 20 touchdown passes.
Thus far this season, the Aggies have allowed an average of 190 passing yards. They're ranked 49th in the nation and climbing. They’ve given up just five touchdown passes. Two of those were late in the game in big victories over UTSA and Utah State.
So, how did the secondary transform? There are several factors, but they start with recovery, rejuvenation and resurgence.
Recovery: Chappell is back in action after missing most of last season with a knee injury. He was considered one of the Aggies' best in coverage. He was sorely missed last year.
“Tyreek is a big player in our defense,” Will Lee III said. “Last year losing him… It was hard not having that lockdown player in the nickel, who could fit the run and just a vet guy in the defense. Having him back is really big.”
Rejuvenation: Sophomore cornerback Dezz Ricks was once a five-star cornerback prospect who started his career at Alabama. He transferred to A&M last season and struggled.
This season, though, he has met expectations. Ricks has broken up three passes and generally has played a strong corner.
“He had put the work in this offseason,” Chappell said. “There’s one thing I do want to say. Dezz is he put the work in to be good. Last year, I kept telling him, ‘You’re good, but you’ve got another level.’ He’s taken it to that level.”
Resurgence: Lee acknowledged he got off to a slow start this season. Like an elite cornerback, he has shown remarkable “make-up” speed. He has broken up three passes and leads A&M defensive backs with 21 tackles.
“I had a little rough start in the beginning. That’s just me being human,” Lee said. “Can’t slack. Like coach (Mike) Elko says all the time, when you slack, that’s when things start going downhill. So, I had to pick it up real quick, you know and get back to my normal self.
“I showed that during Auburn, so now I’m back on a good pace, and that confidence is back flowing.”
The Aggies need confidence. The secondary will face stern tests in the upcoming weeks.
On Saturday, they face Mississippi State, which has speedy receivers Brenen Thompson and Anthony Evans III, who both have more than 320 receiving yards.
Yet, having handcuffed Auburn’s Coleman, the Aggies feel like they can contain anybody.
“To be honest, we didn’t do a lot of spectacular things (vs. Auburn),” Lee said. “The only thing we did was play hard and execute the game plan. The only thing that we’ve got to do is keep doing that week by week.”
Just keep linking those weeks.
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