Year 3 begins with plenty of Fisher recruits
COLLEGE STATION — For the first time since he arrived nearly three years ago, Jimbo Fisher’s two-deep at Texas A&Mwill mostly be comprised of his recruits. A&M fans will begin finding out at 6:30 p.m. Saturday whether that means the Aggies will seriously contend for their first Southeastern Conference title this season.
A&M hosts Vanderbilt in a much-anticipated season opener at Kyle Field, following a threeweek delay because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The SEC shuffled the schedules of its members, and the 14 programs will play 10 regular-season games, all within the conference.
“I go back to March or play through into June in my mind, even into July and early August, and it seemed a bit of a mountain to climb,” said SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, whose meticulous approach during the pandemic is largely credited for college football even being played this fall. “Not fully insurmountable, but a lot of work to bring us to this point.”
When Fisher was hired in December 2017, observers considered both the diminished roster at the time and the next two formidable schedules before pegging 2020 as the year A&M finally wouldmake a national impression under the former Florida State coach.
The pandemic changed that line of thinking, after Abilene Christian, North Texas, Colorado and Fresno State were dropped from the nonconference schedule, and two programs expected
to contend for theSECEast crown, Florida and Tennessee, were added to round out the 10 games.
The No. 5 Gators are favored to win the East, according to an SEC media preseason poll, and they visit Kyle Field in Week 3 of the revamped season. Between Vanderbilt, which was 3-9 last season, and Florida lies a trek for the Aggies to Tuscaloosa, Ala., in the second week to face No. 2 Alabama.
For the past two seasons, A&M has played perennial power Clemson, and perpetually struggling Colorado had replaced the Tigers as the “marquee” nonconference
game this season.
In addition, last season the Aggies played at then-No. 4 Georgia, a 19-13 A&M loss, and Vanderbilt has replaced the Bulldogs as an SEC East foe. That gave A&M fans even more hope pre-pandemic, because the Aggies’ schedule at the time shaped up as their most forgiving since joining the SEC in 2012.
Fisher, who won a national title at Florida State in 2013, is17-9 in his first two seasons at A&M. He said building a culture at a program is an ongoing event.
“You’re always
establishing
that. That’s something you’re always developing,” said Fisher, whose third A&M squad is picked fourth in the SEC West. “That trickles from the older guys to the younger guys. And when you get enough guys there for a significant amount of time who are playing significant roles as older guys and passing that down … that’s what I’ve seen in camp. That’s why I’ve been so pleased in camp.”
The problem for Fisher of late is a couple of the older guys he’d spent the past two seasons molding into team leaders abruptly exited the team during camp. Senior starter Jhamon Ausbon, the team’s leading receiver last season, optedout of playing, claiming he will begin preparing for an NFL career.
Junior starting linebacker Anthony Hines III, second on the defense in tackles in 2019, on Sunday also announced he would not play in 2020. Hines wrote via social media he intended to spend his time fighting for social justice, and he later posted that he’d lost someone close to him to COVID-19 in the past month.
The holes left by Ausbon and Hines won’t be easy to fill. A handful of receivers, including five-star freshman Demond Demas, will earn the chance to take over Ausbon’s role, and senior linebacker Aaron Hansford, who signed with A&M as a receiver four years ago and has since played multiple positions, gets first crack at starting in place of Hines.
Among the Aggies’ opt-outs entering the season, Ausbon, Hines and safety Derrick Tuckerwere recruits of previous coach Kevin Sumlin, while cornerback Elijah Blades and quarterback James Foster are Fisher recruits.
Still, Fisher claims the Aggies have plenty of depth entering his third season and plenty of young talent hoping to get on the field, beginning against the Commodores.
“I like this team and I like (the players’) attitude and demeanor and how they communicate,” Fisher said. “They’re fun to coach and have me very encouraged our culture is developing the way we want it to.”