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By: Billy Jones
The Tigers will face their first road test in Week 6 as they head to College Station to face the 12th man of Texas A&M.
First-year Head Coach Mike Elko, who spent four years as the defensive coordinator in College Station before becoming the head coach at Duke, will face challenges in building a competitive team in the new-look SEC.
Though the two programs have been in the same conference since 1996 (first the Big 12 then the SEC), they have only met 17 times throughout their history with the Aggies holding a 10-7 lead and a 5-4 edge in games played in College Station.
With weighty expectations, Mike Elko hopes to recapture his defensive dominance in Aggieland, while finding a way to wake up a dormant offense.
Offense
Ahead of his first year at Texas A&M, Mike Elko enlisted Collin Klein to run his offense. He should be a familiar name to Mizzou fans as he faced the Tigers twice as the quarterback of Kansas State in ‘10 and ‘11 and twice as its offensive coordinator in ‘22 and ‘23.
His offense at Kansas State relied on a strong run game with heavy use of the quarterback run and an emphasis on throwing to tight ends. In his two years calling plays at Kansas State, his offenses finished first and fourth in Big 12 rushing yards respectively, averaging over 200 yards per game in both seasons.
If he wants to capture the same success running the football, he will have to rely on an offensive line that was 9th in both rushing yards per game and sacks allowed. While that unit struggled, they brought back three of their five starters: Trey Zuhn, Mark Nabou, and Chase Bisontis.
In addition, Former Freshman All-American Ruben Fatheree should feature back in the mix at tackle after missing much of last season due to injury and Kansas transfer Ar’maj Reed-Adams will bring valuable experience to this unit.
Conner Weigman will be the opening-game starter for the second consecutive year at quarterback. After a prolific first four games last season where he threw for 979 yards and accounted for 10 total touchdowns, he suffered a devastating season-ending foot injury.
While Weigman possesses some escapability and can make a few plays with his legs, he is not the battering ram of a runner that Klein had with Will Howard or Avery Johnson at Kansas State. However, his arm talent far outpaces both and is a reason why many NFL scouts have their eye on the Aggie signal-caller.
Klein can rely on his backfield to drive the rushing attack with a trio of solid running backs. Le’Veon Moss was the preferred back until a Week 10 injury last year cut his season short. Amari Daniels and Rueben Owens also pitched into what was a position of strength for the Aggies last season.
The three combined for over 1500 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. Even though the durability of Moss and Daniels is questionable, the depth at this position should be enough to offset it.
The top of the wide receiver room in College Station is as dangerous as any in the country. Jahdue Walker (6’4″), who had over 500 yards receiving, and Noah Thomas (6’6″), who brought in five touchdowns, are red zone nightmares for defenses. Moose Muhamad is also one of the more gifted receivers in the country, completing what is a dangerous core of wideouts.
Transfers Cyrus Allen (Louisiana Tech) and Jake Barber (Troy) will be asked to fill depth roles on the team, but the biggest question mark offensively remains at tight end for Texas A&M.
Donovan Green was heralded as a potential star, but an injury kept him sidelined last season. Theo Mehlin Ohstrom, originally from Sweden, has been incubating for the past few seasons, and with his tremendous frame (6’6″, 250) many hope that this season could be his breakout.
Defense
Mike Elko returns to help organize a defense he led from 2018-21 that ranked in the top half of the SEC both seasons. Jay Bateman, former North Carolina defensive coordinator and linebacker coach at Florida, will be the Aggie defensive coordinator.
While Albert Regis and DJ Hicks who both played in each game last year will be a formidable duo on the interior of the defensive line, the strength of this front will be on the edge.
All-SEC second-teamer Shemar Turner returns at edge where he racked up 10.5 TFLs and six sacks last season. Nic Scourton, a Purdue transfer, will mirror him on the opposite side of the line. Scourton had 15 TFLs along with 10 sacks last season in West Lafayette. Scourton has a chance to showcase his talent in the SEC with many believing he will hear his name called in the Top 15 on draft night.
Another heralded transfer Solomon DeShields will be asked to do big things for Elko on defense. DeShields transferred from Pitt where he racked up 58 tackles. Deshields will need to carry the load at linebacker alongside Taurean York who was thrust into the MIKE position after injuries last season, performing remarkably well. Scooby Williams from Florida will also seek to add some depth at linebacker.
On the back end, Tyreek Chappel and Bryce Anderson are the only returning starters. Anderson was a standout at Nickel and Chappel is now on to his third year as a starting cornerback.
Chappel’s mirror will be BJ Mays, a UAB transfer, who was dominant in the AAC last year and performed very well in a game against Georgia last season. Trey Jones, a Central Michigan standout, and Dalton Brooks, a rotation player last season, will fill out the back end for the Aggies.
Summary
Missouri would have its work cut out entering one of the most hostile atmospheres in college football. While this Texas A&M team has some real NFL talent at the edge positions and a star at quarterback with some talented receivers, questions remain particularly at the offensive line and in the defensive backfield.
The Tigers will need to be able to run the football in hopes of neutralizing not only what promises to be a devastating pass rush but also an incredibly raucous crowd. The Aggie passing attack will be the first real test for this Missouri secondary with its bevy of star receivers.
In prior meetings, Missouri struggled with run assignments against Collin Klein’s offenses and Elko’s defense shut down Drinkwitz’s Missouri offense in the ‘21 matchup, however, both Elko and Klein will need to work with rosters that do not fit their traditional blueprint which will be an interesting factor to watch over the first few weeks.
The matchup presents a crossroads for Missouri, which would either catapult them into the SEC title race or virtually eliminate their margin for error across the final weeks of the season.
