Texas A&M’s preseason depth chart didn’t exactly deliver a shocker, but it did reveal how the Aggies are planning to spread the snaps.
Gigem 247’s Jeff Tarpley told Glenn “Stretch” Smith on Your Afternoon Stretch that the real story is less about the starters and more about the rotation. After spring ball and fall camp, he said, the outline was already starting to take shape.
At left tackle, Tyree Adams looks locked in. Tarpley pointed to the LSU transfer’s size and movement as reasons he had likely already secured that job in August.
He described Adams as six-foot-seven with long reach and pretty good feet. At center, Mark Nabou has been a steady presence, while Wilkin Formby, the Alabama transfer, has held down right tackle.
The guard spots, though, remain less settled.
Wide receiver could also be an area where the depth chart keeps shifting. Tarpley mentioned Terry Bussey as someone who could push for more.
On defense, Marco Jones and Anto Saka, the Northwestern transfer, are listed on one side because both can get after the quarterback. Inside, the tackle spots look different. CJ Mims and Illinois transfer Angelo McCullom are more like nose tackles, and Tarpley said McCullom has a thick base, can get up the field, and has put together a strong spring and fall camp.
The biggest surprise, Tarpley said, might be at linebacker. A&M brought in Ray Coney, a transfer from Tulsa, and he’s a decorated player from the Group of 5 level.
Even so, he’s listed as an “or” with Noah Mikhail, a second-year linebacker from California. Mikhail is already up to 230 pounds and can line up at Mike, Will, or nickel backer.
He can blitz, cover, and handle the between-the-tackles work.
There’s also Julio Humphrey, who came over from Georgia before last season and did not win the starting job at corner then. Right now, he’s listed among the corners, and Tarpley said he’s had a very good fall camp. Humphrey, he said, is a big physical player who has gotten better at adjusting to the ball in coverage.
Tarpley’s bottom line was that the depth chart should be read as a guide to the rotation, not just a simple first-team, second-team chart. He expects three or four players at each position group to be involved.
And in the NIL era, that matters. Tarpley said releasing a depth chart helps give players assurance that even if they aren’t starting this week, they’ll still get playing time equal to the starters. He said Texas A&M has handled that well with this latest release.
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