2026 SEC Media Day Series: Texas A & M

It was a magical ride at College Station in 2025, winning their first 11 contests. Then the genie came out of the bottle for the Aggies in the last two games. The first was a road loss to archrival Texas, costing A&M a trip to Atlanta to compete in their first SEC Championship tilt. Then the offense completely vanished in a home 10-3 loss to Miami in the first round of the CFP. It’s been more than three decades since the Maroon & White have posted back-to-back 10-win seasons, and a lot of new faces are going to have to step up their game if another double-digit win season is to come in 2026.

Team Snapshot

Conference: SEC
Head Coach: Mike Elko
2025 Record: 11-2 Overall, 12-1 SEC
Key Games: LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas

Season Outlook 

On offense, the Aggies have a plethora of big-play talent, and it all starts with quarterback Marcel Reed. The “good” last season for Reed was his 3,169 passing yards and 25 touchdowns, and another 493 yards on the ground that produced six scores. The “bad” was a dozen interceptions and subpar performances in the last two outings. A&M is banking on new offensive coordinator Holmon Wiggins getting the best from Reed, and 1uarterbacks coach Joey Lynch helping him to improve his consistency under center. 

Leading rusher Rueben Owens II returns as well as wide receivers Mario Craver and Ashton Bethel-Roman. Add to that pass-catching duo, a 6’4” Alabama transfer Isaiah Horton, and that creates a triad of formidable targets on the perimeter for Reed. The biggest question mark is the offensive line, with center Mark Nabou Jr. as the only returning starter. The other four positions were filled via the transfer portal, with tackles Wilkin Formby (Alabama) and Tyree Adams (LSU) being the most notable acquisitions.

The strength of the defense appears to be on the back end. The Aggies finished third in the SEC in passing defense, and both safeties (Marcus Ratcliffe and Dalton Brooks) and one cornerback (Dezz Ricks) return—and are dependable commodities. That’s the positive, but the negative is that Texas A&M only secured three interceptions in all of 2025, and they have to do better in that department this season. Also, the best friend of a secondary is a pass rush, and the Maroon & White were fourth in the nation in sacks last season, but the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Cashius Howell, will now be suiting up on Sunday in Cincinnati for the Bengals. Coaches are counting on Marco Jones and transfer Anto Saka to bring the heat in Howell’s absence. The A&M linebacking corps was strengthened with the addition of transfer Ray Coney (Tulsa), who was the 10th-top tackler in Division I in 2025. 

2026 Prediction: Projected Record: 8-4 Overall, 6-3 Conference

Aggies have a lot of holes to fill on both sides of the football if they expect to make a return trip to the CFP. The bad news is, their SEC schedule is exponentially more difficult with the additions of Oklahoma, Tennessee and Alabama. A&M won’t have to concern themselves with running through that gauntlet of teams (including Texas) until the end of the campaign, with a bye week mixed in to help as well. This will give the newbies in College Station time to gel as a team before the bigger games begin.  

Top NFL Prospects

Anto Saka transferred from Northwestern and will have an immediate impact for the Aggies. The 6’3” and 255-pound senior defensive end compiled 33 games in Evanston, making 787 career snaps. He racked up 41 tackles with 14 of them for loss, 12 sacks, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and seven quarterback pressures. He is expected to hear his name late on the second day of the draft.

BOOK IT DANO!