Kids these days acknowledge excellence by recognizing an individual as “That Guy.”
With an amazing showing in Texas A&M’s 16-10 football victory over Auburn, junior linebacker Taurean York showed he was indeed “That Guy.”
Even better, he showed he was “Dat Guy.”
York had seven tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, three quarterback pressures, broke up a pass and generally ensured defense was in the right place at the right time. York seemingly knew Auburn’s plays better than the Auburn offense did.
His performance brought back memories of legendary A&M All-American linebacker Dat Nguyen.
Dat, who watched the game on television, might have seen some of himself in York.
“I think he has always been a good player,” Nguyen said in a telephone conversation. “He always has a chip on his shoulder. He’s a hard worker, obviously. You see that.
“Against Auburn, he seemed so fast to second contain. He hit the quarterback so many times. You see the burst. I don’t think you’ve seen the last couple of years. It seems like everything is slowing down for him.
“I like the way he plays. He studies the game. I think that’s been helpful for him. I think he’s more advanced than I was.”
High praise, indeed. That’s like being knighted by the kind of A&M linebacker kings.
That tells more about York than statistics ever will. Statistically, York has gotten off to a solid start to the season. He has 24 tackles, which tied for 26th most in the SEC.
Consequently, he may not make the writer’s All-SEC team. Too often, writers lean heavily on statistics when filling out ballots.
But at his current level of play, York should be a shoo-in for the coaches’ All-SEC team. No doubt, he’d get votes from Auburn coach Hugh Freeze and A&M’s Mike Elko.
“He’s a throwback in terms of his knowledge of the game, how much he studies the game, his instincts for the game, and his play speed is so fast and his ability to read and diagnose things so fast,” Elko said.
An example: Auburn faced second-and-19 at its own 16-yard line with about six minutes remaining in the first half. The Tigers attempted a screen pass to tight end Brandon Frazier, who leaked into the left flat after lining up as H-back on the right side.
York diagnosed the play immediately. He charged toward Frazier before Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold looked Frazier’s way.
York got to Frazier a nanosecond after the ball and dropped him for a four-yard loss.
Elko said it was the same kind of play he’d seen from another former All-American A&M linebacker — Edgerrin Cooper. It was just executed differently.
“The perfect comparison — because I was here with both of them — you had Edgerrin Cooper, who probably had a little more natural athleticism,” Elko said. “You would watch him see plays and maybe not see them quite as fast, but when he triggered and went it was like … ‘Whoa.’
“Tauren is the other way. Taurean triggers almost sometimes before the play even unfolds. You saw that on the tight end screen. Before the tight end even knew he was running the screen, Taurean did.
“He tracks him down and gets through the linemen, and all the sudden, before the play can ever get going, Taurean is there. That’s what he has done really, really well since I’ve been here.”
There were more big plays from York. Perhaps the most celebrated was a fourth-quarter sack that thwarted an Auburn drive when A&M was protecting a 16-10 lead.
Nguyen isn’t at all surprised by York’s level of play. While taking a tour of A&M’s new facilities last summer he, of course, had to check out the linebacker room.
There, he saw a folder of plays and notes on the desk in the front row of the room.
That was apparent against Auburn.
“I think he showed he’s truly a leader,” Nguyen said. “He’s checking plays, adjusting plays, checking out of plays. Elko gives him a lot of leeway to get everybody on the same page.
“I texted him and told him all you've got to do is keep the train on that track.”
No one is going to argue with that. Or Dat.
Around the SEC
This week’s games: Mississippi State at No. 6 Texas A&M; Kentucky at No. 12 Georgia; No. 9 Texas at Florida; No. 16 Vanderbilt at No. 10 Alabama; Kent State at No. 5 Oklahoma.
Who’s hot: Kentucky running back Seth McGowan is the lone bright spot in the Wildcats' offense. A sixth-year player from Mesquite, McGowan has taken quite an interesting route to Kentucky. He began his career in 2020 at Oklahoma. He was kicked off the team for being involved in a robbery. He worked odd jobs for almost three years, then resurfaced at Butler (Kansas) Community College for the 2023 season. McGowan moved on to New Mexico State last season, where he led the Aggies in rushing. Now at Kentucky, he’s had back-to-back 100-yard outings. He’s rushed for 387 yards and seven touchdowns, while averaging 5.7 yards per carry. His rushing total is 28 percent of the UK’s total offense.
Who’s not: Look up “steaming pile of garbage” in the dictionary, and there might be a reference to Florida’s offense. In three games against FBS opponents, Florida has scored three touchdowns. A stout
defense kept the Gators in each of those games until late in the fourth quarter. But quarterback DJ Lagway, the Gatorade National Player of the Year at Willis High School in 2024, has struggled. Coach Billy Napier has maintained Lagway is healthy, but that certainly doesn’t appear to be the case. Lagway hasn’t been helped by a rushing attack, which is averaging just 3.9 yards per carry despite a line that returned four starters.
Keep an eye on: Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. steps in for injured starter John Mateer, who’s expected to be out several weeks with a broken hand. Last season, Hawkins started four games as a true freshman. He did some good things last season despite playing behind a porous line. He should be able to do good things this week vs. an anemic Kent State defense, which is ranked 136th — dead last — in the nation. In two games against Power Four opponents, the Golden Flashes have surrendered 128 points, 1,376 yards and a staggering 8.7 yards per play.
The pressure is on: As mentioned, Florida’s defense has been solid, so Texas quarterback Arch Manning is again under the microscope. He hasn’t been able to live up to preseason expectations, which, frankly, probably weren’t fair to begin with. Manning passed for just 170 yards in a season-opening loss to Ohio State. Since then, Manning passed for 295 yards and four touchdowns vs. San Jose State. He had 309 yards and three touchdowns vs. Sam Houston. He was also limited to 114 passing yards and just one touchdown vs. UTEP. Florida is the best defensive unit Manning will have faced since the Buckeyes. This game may reveal what to expect from Manning the rest of the season.
Best matchup: Can quarterback Diego Pavia again lead Vanderbilt to an upset of Alabama? Pavia vs. Alabama’s defense is intriguing. Pavia is the biggest reason Vandy is 5-0 for the first time since 2008. He is averaging 301.0 yards of total offense per game and has accounted for 15 touchdowns. But in his one SEC game this season — against South Carolina — he had 201 yards of offense and was shut down on the ground. Last season, Pavia passed for 252 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 56 yards in a stunning 40-35 upset of Alabama. No doubt, the Crimson Tide defense is seeking redemption and payback. Alabama has not allowed more than 21 points since its season-opening 31-17 loss to Florida State. The Tide probably wins if Pavia is contained. If not… Well, we saw that last year.
