Texas A&M’s spring football season officially begins on March 20 with the first full practice of the year before the annual Maroon & White spring game on April 19. This offseason, head coach Mike Elko and his staff have begun to check boxes after signing the program’s talented 2025 recruiting class and landing 14 players from the transfer portal.
Still, the disappointing end to the 2024 season has resulted in less offseason enthusiasm from the Aggie fan base, which is understandable after watching Texas A&M finish 1-4 after starting 7-1 and 5-0 in the SEC. However, running back Le’Veon Moss’s season-ending injury and quarterback Marcel Reed’s lack of development as a passer made the most significant impact, so most of the Aggies’ issues can be fixed starting this spring.
When analyzing each position group, Texas A&M’s lack of defensive line depth will be an issue unless Elko adds one or two defensive tackles from the spring transfer portal. Staying with the defense, cornerback is the other position that has raised some eyebrows.
After adding former Georgia cornerback Julian Humphrey and former Washington cornerback Jordan Shaw from the transfer portal, the return of star CBs Will Lee III and Tyreek Chappell gaining an extra year of eligibility solidified the Aggies’ starting cornerback rotation. Depth-wise, incoming junior CBs Jayvon Thomas and Bravion Rogers were both elite prospects but have yet to live up to their potential.
However, the name that continues to result in more questions than answers is former five-star and Alabama cornerback Dezz Ricks, who struggled mightily in coverage during his first season in College Station, earning one of the lowest Pro Football Focus grades in the country, including 48.6 defense grade (839th out of 848 CBs) and a 49.2 coverage grade (810th out of 836 CBS).
Ricks has time to improve, but this is a bad sign for a cornerback room that must rely on more than three starters to get through SEC play in one piece. While it’s unknown how many quality cornerbacks will enter the spring transfer portal, adding at least one more veteran to the roster doesn’t hurt.
During the 2024 season, Texas A&M ranked 90th in passing yards allowed (232 yards per game) but did improve with 16 interceptions.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M’s 2025 cornerback room is top-heavy but lacks reliable depth
