Texas A&M Aggies : Fall Camp Questions

At last the long dark of the off-season is nearing its end. Football is less than one month away, and that means that Fall Camp is getting underway throughout the SEC. The month of August will be absolutely critical in determining how each team fares in September, October, November, and beyond. With that in mind, each team has pressing questions they have to answer before the end of the month. We will continue our series by taking a look at the questions facing Kevin Sumlin and the Texas A&M Aggies.

Can Trevor Knight be Consistent?

Trevor Knight exploded onto the scene as a freshman in the 2013 Sugar Bowl against Alabama. He completed 32 of 44 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns. Expectations for Knight were high heading into the 2014 season. Unfortunately, Knight played very poorly. He completed just 57 percent of his passes and threw 12 interceptions to 14 touchdowns. In the 2015 season he was benched in favor of Baker Mayfield.

Knight walked into an easy situation in College Station. Kyle Allen and Kyler Allen both elected to transfer after last season. That left Knight realistically competing with only Jake Hubenak. Knight was given the starting job during spring practice. Now the question is can he regain that Sugar Bowl form and keep it consistently.

Verdict: No. Knight is an up and down guy. And that likely means A&M will have an up and down season. In the toughest division in football you can’t afford to not be at your best every single week.

Who Will be the Starting Running Back?

Last season Kevin Sumlin leaned on Tra Carson as his workhorse running back. Carson carried the ball 242 times for 1165 yards and 7 touchdowns. But now Carson is a Cincinnati Bengal. So who will Sumlin turn to to take his place?

Currently there are six men competing for the job. They are: Keith Ford, James White, Trayveon Williams, Kendall Bussey, Kwame Etwi, and Rakeem Boyd. Ford looks like the most likely candidate to be the lead back. He is a former 5-star recruit who transferred to A&M from Oklahoma. Running Back Coach Clarence McKinney had very positive things to say about him.

"“He’s really, really talented,” McKinney said of Ford. “He runs the ball well. He catches the ball well. He’s really good in protection. He’s got to stay healthy. We didn’t get very many practices out of him in the spring. He’s learned the offense and he’s one of those guys that’s in the mix to be the guy.”"

Verdict: I predict Ford will be the starter, but he won’t see as many carries as Carson did last season. The Aggies will look to spread the carries out more this year.

Can the Right Side of the Offensive Line Gel Quickly?

Quarterbacks and running backs get all the glory, but they are only as effective as the offensive lines in front of them. Only two members of last season’s offensive line return this season: left tackle Avery Gennesy and left guard Keaton Sutherland. The right side will be all new starters.

Redshirt freshman Erik McCoy is going to be the guy at center. Koda Martin looks to start at right tackle. And right guard will likely be Jermaine Eluemunor. The question is how will they function as a unit.

Verdict: It will probably take a few games, but the Aggies have a history of producing top quality offensive linemen. It is only a matter of time before this unit solidifies into one of the best in the conference.

The Texas A&M Aggies have questions, as do all teams at this stage. How Kevin Sumlin answers them will determine how well the Aggies do this season. Let us know how you think he will handle them in the comments. And come back tomorrow to see which questions the Vanderbilt Commodores are currently facing.