Texas A&M’s tight end room has a very specific look heading into the season, and it starts with three upperclassmen who each bring a different flavor to the offense.
The group includes 2026 transfers Richie Anderson and Houston Thomas, along with 2025 Auburn transfer Micah Riley. Anderson comes in as a hybrid type who can both block and catch passes, Thomas profiles much more as a receiving threat, and Riley appears to be pouring everything into what should be his final year in hopes of earning an NFL shot.
Anderson’s size and skill set point to a role similar to Nate Boerkircher’s on the 2025 Aggies. That kind of piece gives Texas A&M the flexibility to line up almost anywhere and stay in the same family of offense no matter the situation.
If the Aggies want to keep running the kind of attack they used in 2025, Anderson could be the lone H back in 11 personnel. He looks like a player who can move around on split zone or gap concepts, pull and block, and still threaten defenses on option routes and play action.
What he does not project as, at least from this description, is a seam-route specialist like Boerkircher.
Thomas, even with some added mass in the offseason program, seems built for a different job. His game fits best when he’s out in 11 personnel with more room to work. He brings polished route running, reliable hands, and the ability to run the seam routes Texas A&M has leaned on over the past couple of seasons.
In Other News...
Mike Elko Confirms Troubling Texas A&M Roster Losses Before Opener
Texas A&M is heading into its 2026 opener already dealing with a thinner roster than hoped, with Mike Elko confirming that defensive lineman Chace Sims and running back Tiger Riden will miss the season because of injuries. The Aggies also have lost offensive lineman Nelson McGuire and wide receiver Jerome Myles, who have left the team for personal reasons, trimming depth on both sides of the ball as the season approaches.
The timing is hardly ideal with Missouri State up first on Sept. 5, and it adds another layer of urgency to the final weeks of preparation. For an Aggies team trying to settle its depth chart before kickoff, the question now is less about the opening opponent than how much of the next-man-up plan can be put in place before the first snap. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Defense Has An Early Problem Before Lyle Hemphill's Debut
Lyle Hemphill is stepping into his first season as Texas A&Ms defensive coordinator with a few obvious priorities already taking shape. After Jay Bateman left for Kentucky, the Aggies elevated Hemphill from within, and the early days of his tenure have been about more than installing a new voice. Linebacker Daymion Sanford went down with a lower body injury, nudging younger players such as DJ Hicks and CJ Mims into bigger roles as the defense keeps building toward the opener.
Hemphill has also made it clear where he wants the emphasis to stay: on the details that travel well into game week. The Aggies have been working on fumble recovery drills and general execution, the kind of routine but essential stuff that can determine how quickly a new staff settles in. For a defense adjusting to a fresh coordinator while waiting on injured players to sort themselves out, those small practice habits suddenly carry a little more weight. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Suddenly Has A Depth Problem Before Week 1
Texas A&Ms first week of the season already comes with a reminder of how quickly depth can get tested. Head coach Mike Elko announced that running back Tiger Riden Jr. and defensive tackle Chace Sims will miss the entire 2026 season after suffering season-ending injuries, taking two more names off a roster that was still trying to sort out its early-season rotation.
Riden had appeared in five games last season, while Sims never got into a game, but both were part of the programs plan for adding help to the backfield and interior line. Elko did not disclose the nature or timing of either injury, leaving the Aggies to absorb the loss without much detail and with Week 1 now approaching under less-than-ideal circumstances. [Read more 🡒]