Texas A&M’s linebacker room took a hit in the spring, but the Aggies may have found a transfer who can steady things and maybe even play his way into the NFL conversation.
Ray Coney arrived from Tulsa after a 2025 season that put him on the map. In his lone year with the Golden Hurricanes, he piled up 128 tackles and added two sacks, production that made him one of the more notable additions Mike Elko and his staff landed after the Aggies’ first-round College Football Playoff loss to Miami. Texas A&M went into the portal and brought in 17 future starters and key reserves, and Coney quickly became one of the most important names in that group.
That matters even more now that the depth chart has thinned out. Veteran starter Taurean York left for the NFL, went undrafted, and signed with the Denver Broncos. Then senior linebacker Daymion Sanford suffered a brutal lower-body injury during the Maroon & White Game, an injury that is expected to keep him out for the first half of the 2026 season.
With Sanford sidelined, Elko and new linebackers coach Travis Williams are set to lean on Coney and sophomore Noah Mikhail. Mikhail, a former blue-chip recruit, turned heads in the spring with an interception return for one of his two touchdowns in the spring game.
There’s also a clear schematic reason Coney’s arrival stands out. York’s lack of size was an issue at times last season, and Coney and Mikhail both check in at 6'2". Both are viewed as reliable run defenders, which gives Texas A&M a better shot at cleaning up a run defense that was leaky during the latter half of the 2025 season.
Coney’s game has also started to draw national attention. One NFL analyst this summer praised his explosive athleticism, tackling instincts, and NFL size at 6'2" and over 240 pounds.
Pro Football Focus has been just as bullish, giving him an 87.6 overall grade and an 86.9 mark as a run defender. He also logged 23 pressures, giving Elko and new defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill something useful to work with on third-down packages.
Until Sanford returns, the burden falls on Coney and Mikhail to hold things together. And with those traits, the senior transfer is going to stay on NFL scouts’ radar.
In Other News...
Aggies Suddenly Face A Familiar Fear In Pivotal 5-Star Battle
Texas A&M has spent much of this summer trying to stack momentum on the recruiting trail, and the Aggies have reasons to feel better about parts of their roster-building. The wide receiver group has gotten a boost from recent commitments, and the programs pass-catching outlook has been helped by what it showed on the field last season. There is also a bit of good news on another front, with Nico Partida earning a spot on USA Baseballs Collegiate National Team for the World Collegiate Baseball Championship.
Still, the biggest recruiting battle hanging over A&M is the one it cannot afford to lose. The Aggies remain in the hunt for 5-star running back Landen Williams-Callis, a player they have actively pursued, but the chatter around his decision has started to tilt in a direction that is all too familiar for A&M fans. For a program trying to keep pace in the SEC and close the gap in elite talent, the final call on Williams-Callis could say plenty about where this race is headed. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&Ms Playoff Hopes May Hinge On One Unexpected Offensive Piece
Rueben Owens is positioned to become the centerpiece of Texas A&Ms ground game this fall, and that matters because the Aggies are trying to replace a lot of production around him. Under Mike Elko and newly promoted offensive coordinator Holmon Wiggins, the offense is expected to lean on the run as it reshapes itself after key departures elsewhere, and Owens already showed he can handle a meaningful workload with 639 rushing yards and five touchdowns last season.
Owens now enters the season as the back most likely to carry that burden, working alongside Marcel Reed in an offense that will need stability early. The Aggies do not need him to be flashy so much as dependable, because if the run game holds together, it gives the rest of the offense a chance to settle in while the new pieces around him sort themselves out. [Read more 🡒]