Texas A&M 2018 team preview
With Fisher now in charge, Aggies look for a culture change
Tyler Frisby
Jun 26, 2018, 10:22 am
Jimbo Fisher had success at Florida State. Andy Lyons/Getty Images
After a underwhelming season in 2017, when Texas A&M finished with a 7-6 record while failing to win a single game versus a top 25 ranked opponent, the program decided to move on from head coach Kevin Sumlin. Though the Aggies were fighting an uphill battle all season after losing starting quarterback Nick Starkel to a broken ankle, another lackluster year led to the firing of coach Sumlin after his arguably underachieving six years at Texas A&M.
Following the decision to fire Sumlin, the Aggies quickly turned the page to their next chapter by hiring former Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher, who led the Seminoles to a National Championship title in 2013 and finished with a career record of 83-23 in nine seasons.
There is no question that coach Sumlin underachieved with the abundance of athletic talent and recruiting depth that coach Fisher will luckily inherit. A&M fans are expected to maintain high expectations for the 2018 season considering the fact that Fisher brings with him a strong track record of success, with a program that is built like and attracts the same type of talent he had at Florida State.
The question that comes to mind now is how many wins will it take, or how quickly Jimbo will need to lead his new team to a National Championship in order to please the A&M boosters and fanbase? Can anyone possibly meet expectations that will most likely be placed on the shoulders of Fisher?
As I turn my attention to the players, we need to examine the roster coach Fisher will have as he takes control of his new team. Fisher finds himself in an ideal situation as he will have the opportunity to begin his time at Texas A&M with a large collection of returning starters from the 2017 season.
With that said the Aggies will have to find replacements for some of their top playmakers in 2017, which includes All SEC athletes Christian Kirk (WR) and Armani Watts (S). Kirk concluded his career at A&M ranked No. 2 all-time in total receptions in school history and No. 3 in SEC history, while Watts led the Aggie secondary with his athletic playmaking abilities and his aggressive ball-hawking mindset.
Along with the loss of Kirk and Watts, the Aggies will return without starting running back Keith Ford, who ran for over 500 yards while collecting 12 touchdowns in 2017, and lastly WR Damion Ratley who hauled in six total touchdowns and gained 700 yards in 2017.
Though the Aggies did not lose a large quantity of personnel, they will suffer with the loss of a few quality athletes. Altogether coach Fisher will have his hands full trying to replace his top three touchdown leaders, but you can expect A&M’s stash of athletes to produce the necessary stars.
Despite losing those key players, there are still multiple other players Aggie fans should be excited to see return to the field in 2018. Leading the charge will be quarterbacks Nick Starkel and Kellen Mond. Both players saw a significant amount of playing time in 2017 and faced their fair share of ups and downs. You can expect a major quarterback competition to take place before the season, but I would not bet against coach Fisher finding a way to get both QB’s on the field.
Mond definitely displayed a tremendous amount of raw playmaking ability in 2017 that Fisher will not allow to go unused. A few other offensive players returning that should draw some serious attention and excitement are Junior RB Trayveon Williams and sophomore WR Jhamon Ausbon. In 2017, Williams led the Aggies rushing attack on his way to nearly 800 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, while Ausbon finished his freshman season with over 500 receiving yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, Texas A&M can rest easy with the return of four of their top five tacklers in 2017. The two most important of those players being linebackers Tyrel Dodson and Otaro Alaka, who combined for 182 total tackles, 11 sacks and 4 interceptions last season. Also, the national spotlight will be shining bright on returning DE Landis Durham who tallied 10.5 sacks in 2017.
The Aggies will rely heavily on Durham to chase down opposing quarterbacks and at minimum repeat that same level of play. Lastly, with the loss of star safety Watts, coach Fisher will be excited to welcome in the 75th ranked recruit in the nation and 8th ranked safety in his class (according to 247sports.com), Freshman S Leon O’Neal Jr, in the hopes that he will pick up Watts weight in the secondary.
Everyone knows that Fisher is a very capable coach, and that Texas A&M will put one of the most talented teams in the nation on the field every year. The question at hand is how quickly can Fisher get his new team back into championship contention.
Yes, expectations should be high for a program like Texas A&M, but anytime a coach takes over a new team, you can expect there to be a fair share of growing pains. I truly believe that with coach Fisher at the helm the Aggies will soon contend for a National Championship, but patience and belief will be key in his success.
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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