Secondary plans to step up its game
Transition woes give way to progress under Elko as DC
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M cornerback Myles Jones dubs it the “big adjustment.”
“There were a lot of things that they were demanding from us,” Jones said of A&M’s new defensive staff a season ago, “that we weren’t used to.”
That was most evident in the Aggies’ secondary, which struggled adapting to new defensive coordinator Mike Elko’s demands — primarily the orders to be as cerebral as spry when roaming the field behind the front seven.
“Once we made that the new normal, things all started fitting the right way, and everything started going the way we wanted it to,” said Jones, a former Magnolia West standout.
The Aggies finished 9-4 and won at least four consecutive games to close out a season for the first time since 2012. A big reason was a rapidly improving secondary, which still finished 98th nationally in passing yards allowed, one of the defense’s softest spots in an otherwise solid showing.
The Aggies allowed 26 touchdown passes last season, tied with Mississippi for worst among the SEC’s 14 teams. But in those last four victories, A&M allowed a combined six touchdown passes in regulation play — quite tidy compared to what had happened over the first two-thirds of the regular season.
In the three games prior to the season-ending win streak, including losses on the road at Auburn and Mississippi State, the Aggies allowed a combined eight touchdown passes. Their single biggest breakdown in the defensive backfield occurred at Alabama on Sept. 22, as the Crimson Tide and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa torched the Aggies on four touchdown passes over the first three quarters.
Elko vowed Jones and fellow returning starters Debione Renfro, Charles Oliver and a strong cast of contenders for this season’s starting jobs are aiming to mend last season’s busted fences.
“None of us were tremendously excited about how that played out last year,” Elko said. “All of the names you know — Renfro, Jones, Oliver — those guys have made big strides in the cornerback room. Derrick Tucker has taken a step (forward), and Keldrick Carper has taken a step (both at safety) — those guys have moved in the right direction.”
Elko also noted it’s not always about breakdowns in the secondary, that the front seven needs to put more pressure on opposing quarterbacks moving forward.
“We have to disrupt the quarterback more, we’ve got to get in his face more and make it more uncomfortable for him,” Elko said. “That will create some more bad decisions.”
A talented freshman class in the secondary has added some bounce to the veterans’ steps, considering safeties Demani Richardson and Brian Williams and cornerback Erick Young of Fort Bend Bush all were rated four-star prospects out of high school. So was cornerback Elijah Blades, albeit out of junior college (Arizona Western).
“The influx of new guys has added some talent to that group, and we’re excited about what they can do,” Elko said. “That’s created some competition, which elevates everybody else’s level and everybody’s game.”
Richardson in particular has turned heads during camp, in making a push for plenty of playing time as a freshman.
“He’s smart and makes very few mistakes,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. “It’s not only their athletic ability, but their ability to learn, why these freshmen are able to play right away. (Richardson) makes calls, makes checks, has great ball skills, can tackle in space, can accelerate and can cover. He is a really good player, and right now he’s running with the (number) ones.”
The Aggies also will need to up their interception total after finishing with seven, second worst in the SEC, last season. More than half of those were by then-senior defensive backs Donovan Wilson (two) and Deshawn Capers-Smith (one) and linebacker Tyrel Dodson (one). Only Oliver, Larry Pryor and Leon O’Neal collected interceptions (one apiece) among the returners.
Things will be different this season, Carper pledged, based on the players adjusting to Elko’s scheme that is more complex than his predecessor at A&M, John Chavis.
“We’re taking a lot of strides in the right direction,” Carper said. “We have a strong feeling that’s going to translate to the football field on Saturdays. We could do something special this year.”
A&M continues camp on Sunday and will begin game-week preparation for Texas State on Thursday.
The Aggies and Bobcats, in their first meeting since 2005, open the season two days before most everyone else, on Aug. 29 at Kyle Field, a Thursday night game on the SEC Network.