Tyler Onyedim willing to crawl if it means saving a Texas A&M victory

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When Texas A&M’s perfect football season was in jeopardy, Tyler Onyedim was willing to crawl on his hands and knees to save it.

So he did.

Trailing South Carolina by 20 points in the third quarter, Onyedim led the way to get a critical stop on fourth-and-1 which kept the Gamecocks to increase their lead a chance to increase lead.

Most on hand remember Marcel Reed leading the Aggies to four consecutive touchdowns to lift No. 3 A&M (10-0) to a 31-30 victory.

But that rally wouldn’t have been completed without the defense denying South Carolina more points.

The closest the Gamecocks came to scoring was early in the third quarter when — leading 30-10 — they faced fourth-and-1 at A&M’s 30-yard line.

Onyedim split the gap between the center and right guard, which forced South Carolina running back Matt Fuller to briefly hesitate in the backfield. Linebacker Daymion Sanford immediately converged. Onyedim and Sanford stopped Fuller for no gain.

The Aggies quickly scored again. The rally was inevitable.

“I knew it was fourth-and-1,” Onyedim said on Tuesday. “I knew you needed penetration. I got off the ball and kind of bear crawled a little bit, knowing the running back was going to trip over me and stuff like that. And Daymion (Sanford) had a huge stop.”

Onyedim, who later sacked South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers for an 11-yard loss, has made a lot of plays for the Aggies since transferring from Iowa State. He’s posted 41 tackles, including 5.5 for lost yardage.

He finished the South Carolina game with six tackles — his second-highest total of the season. A&M coach Mike Elko said the performance vs. South Carolina was Onyedim’s best so far.

“I told him that was the best second half he’s played since he’s been here,” Elko said. “I thought, at times, he really took the game over in the second half. It was really cool to see.”

Elko anticipated performances like that when he recruited Onyedim out of the transfer portal.

The Aggies needed defensive linemen to replace departed NFL Draft picks Shemar Stewart, Shemar Turner and Nic Scourton.

Elko saw Onyedim, who had 65 tackles the previous two seasons at Iowa State, as a perfect fit for his defense.

“He kind of jumped out really early to us as a kid who had really good athleticism, really good twitch,” Elko said. “He was a really good fit for our system.

“We play a little bit more four-down front. He came from a place that was a little more three-down front. He’s really grown into the ability to attack and be a little bit more twitchy and explosive. I think you’ve seen that.”

The Aggies saw Onyedim post seven tackles in a 41-40 victory over Notre Dame. They saw him get tackles for loss in a 38-17 victory over Missouri. They saw him post five tackles in a hard-fought 16-10 victory over Auburn.

Onyedim envisioned all of this — tackles, sacks, an avalanche of victories — when he decided to join the Aggies.

“Honestly, I knew this was going to happen,” he said. “Seeing the players that (Elko) got and stuff like that. The transfers and seeing the players that were here already. Everybody’s good players. I knew what type of coach he was and how he changed the whole program around.”

Will Huffman, TexAgs

Tyler Onyedim has appeared in 42 collegiate games over the last five seasons.

Everybody enjoys play on a winning team. Onyedim always has. He was a part of three winning teams in Ames. Last season, he helped Iowa State reach the Big 12 Championship Game and post 11 victories.

This year has been even more enjoyable because he’s back home. He’s originally from Richmond, Texas, so his family has been able to attend all of his games.

“There’s been a real true blessing,” he said. “My parents get to come to every game here. Every home game, they’re here. In Ame,s it wasn’t like that.

“(Airlines) Tickets are pretty high. They tried to come to some games. They definitely make it to every single game in College Station. Being with this winning team has made this whole experience better.”

He expects the Aggies to keep getting better.

Onyedim said the close call with South Carolina provided a learning experience that will benefit the Aggies moving forward.

“I feel like it tells us we can’t play like that in the first half,” he said. “That wasn’t a good half of football from both sides of the ball. I feel like we’re going to learn from that and grow from that.”