With the 2012 football season over and the recruiting period in high gear, it is time to run down just where the teams in the Southeastern Conference are in preparing for the 2013 season.
Here is a thumbnail look at the Texas A&M Aggies.
2012 REVIEW: The 2012 season was a season of firsts — the first season in the Southeastern Conference, the first season with Kevin Sumlin as the head coach, the first season that saw Texas A&M produce its first freshman Heisman Trophy winner in Johnny Manziel. All in all the move to the SEC produced a memorable season at the Home of the 12th Man.
The Aggies went 11-2 overall and 6-2 in the super tough SEC West, easily the toughest division in college football. It included a win over the defending — and the future — national champion Alabamain Tuscaloosa. A 20-17 loss to Florida in A&M’s first SEC game ultimately was a deciding factor in the Aggies missing the SEC Championship Game.
The season ended in glory for Texas A&M when Manziel won the Heisman Trophy in December. That was followed by a 41-13 beat down of former Big 12 rival Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl.
SENIOR STARTERS LOST: Center Patrick Lewis, tight end Michael Lamothe, wide receivers Ryan Swope, Kenric McNeal, Uzoma Nwachukwu, tailback Christine Michael, punter Ryan Epperson, punt returner/cornerback Dustin Harris, defensive tackle Spencer Nealy, linebackers Jonathan Stewart and Sean Porter, free safety Steven Terrell
KEY JUNIORS WHO DECLARED FOR NFL DRAFT: Offensive tackle Luke Joeckel, defensive end Damontre Moore
RECRUITING NEEDS: Both lines, and the linebacker and the wide receiver positions were hit hard by graduation and early NFL defections so those positions have to be replenished. The defense has big holes to fill and a punter has to be found.
COMMITMENTS: Rivals.com has Texas A&M with 32 commitments and ranks the expected recruiting class as the eighth-best in the nation and the fourth-best class in the SEC behind Florida, Alabama and LSU. The Aggies have 15 four-star players committed, three of which are for the much-needed wide receivers position — Derrick Griffin, 6-foot-6, 215, from Rosenberg, TX; Jaquay Williams, 6-3, 205, Fork Union, VA; Sebastian Larue, 5-10, 175 from Santa Monica, CA; and Kyrion Parker, 6-3, 185, of Manvel, TX.
Scout.com rates the Aggies’ class at No. 1 in the Southeastern Conference and No. 4 in the nation. Scout also gives the Aggies one five-star player, wide receiver Ricky Seals-Jones, 6-5, 220, of Sealy, TX., and one additional four-star receiver in Laquvionte Gonzalez, a 5-10, 160-pounder out of Cedar Hill, Texas, who runs a 4.4 40.
MaxPreps.com has the Texas A&M potential class as the third-best in the SEC and fourth-best in the country. They list the Aggies with two players out of the Top 100 in the nation: Ricky Seals-Jones and Derrick Griffin.
COACH SPEAK: Kevin Sumlin: “It’s one of the teams I thought in the country that truly got better every week. We didn’t always do everything right all the time, but I don’t think there was ever a game this year where these guys didn’t play with tremendous effort. That’s a credit to these guys. You know, players play and coaches coach. I think every week these guys understood what the plan was and they went out and executed it at a high level and played with a lot of energy. … In big-time situations, these guys have handled that all year.”