O-line eager to block out past
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M’s suspect offensive line can be scrutinized and analyzed all night, but at the end of the day left tackle Dan Moore Jr. best summed up why the Aggies figure they’ll be improved along their front five this season.
“Lot of guys,” Moore said, “who’ve played a lot of ball.”
He’s correct — the Aggies’ self-described “Maroon Goons” are the program’s elder statesmen in returning five starters, with four of those seniors.
“They’ve been together for a while, and I think you see that,” A&M third-year coach Jimbo Fisher said. “That’s also helping our tight ends and backs, too.”
The senior tackles Moore and Carson Green, recruited to A&M by thencoach Kevin Sumlin, have started all of Fisher’s previous two seasons. Senior Ryan McCollum, the spring drills offensive MVP in 2019, has battled a back injury that limited him last season but should get first shot at center when the Aggies open Sept. 26 against Vanderbilt at Kyle Field.
Dependable and oftnasty guard Jared Hocker has started 23 games over the past three seasons. Then there’s sophomore guard Kenyon Green of Atascocita, a Fisher fivestar recruit last year who started all 13 games for the 8-5 Aggies and who was named to the SEC all-freshman team by the league’s coaches.
“Kenyon is a freak … his athleticism is unbelievable,” Carson Green said of the other half of what offensive line coach Josh Henson has dubbed “The Green Mile” along the line. “If you’re looking at offensive linemen, you look at their lower bodies, how their hips move and how much they can bend — Kenyon’s got all of that. It’s a really tough offense to learn when you get in there as a freshman, but at the end of last year he was playing his best.”
Moore said he realized Kenyon Green was a special lineman the day the underclassman first suited up for an A&M practice in the summer of 2019.
“He’s like a little brother to me,” Moore said. “He can be great, and I’ve said that from the first day that I saw him do his first rep of one-on-one pass rush, when he first got here last year. He’s explosive, he’s twitchy and he figured it out early, and that’s very rare.
“With his body type and mindset, and the way he prepares like an older guy, it’s just exciting to watch him grow.”
While the talented McCollum’s health is worth keeping an eye on, the Aggies should be set with a veteran line. The depth behind the starting five is another story. Backups Riley Anderson, Barton Clement and Colten Blanton all medically retired in the offseason, leaving Fisher counting on primarily a handful of newcomers off the bench.
“There are some good young players in this group,” Fisher reassured of signing eight offensive linemen in the past two recruiting classes, including five in 2020.
Luke Matthews, Smart Chibuzo, Blake Trainor and Layden Robinson might be among the first to get the call if needed to plug in for a starter. Last season, the Aggies, a veteran group even then, allowed 2.62 sacks per game, worst in the SEC and 107th nationally out of 130 programs.
Moore at left tackle is charged with protecting right-handed quarterback Kellen Mond’s back, and Moore said he needs to do a better job of keeping Mond upright and in the pocket.
“Honestly, I had to look myself in the mirror and say I didn’t play as good of ball as I wanted to (last season), and I had to improve,” Moore said. “This offseason I made a challenge to myself, ‘How good can I be? How far can I push myself ?’ ”
The SEC is playing a 10-game regular season, all within the conference because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on returning 18 starters, A&M is picked to be in the mix for its first SEC West title after joining the league in the summer of 2012.
Much of how A&M fares will depend on whether the offensive line is as improved as the veterans claim. Carson Green said he realizes critiques come with the territory. Henson, too, is under scrutiny entering his second season at A&M following his hire from Oklahoma State.
“On every single team the offensive line is going to get criticized,” Carson Green said. “There’s always going to be something we can do better. Last year, we had a lot of ups and downs, and we should have performed better at times and been more consistent.”
Fisher has seen his offensive line struggle to hold its own at times in camp. But he said he doesn’t particularly mind considering it’s facing what’s expected to be one of the league’s top defensive lines.
“There are times as a head coach when I want them to make every block, but then as a head coach I want them to get beat,” Fisher said with a smile of the Aggie-on-Aggie action in camp. “Because those guys on the other side have got to put some pass rush into the game, too.”