Game 6: Tennessee at Texas A&M

Saturday, October 8

College Station

2:30 PM

Texas A&M

Tennessee

Buy Tickets

Oct 07, 2016 | Football

Game Notes: Tennessee

The eyes of college football will be focused on College Station on Saturday when a pair of SEC unbeatens square off inside a sold-out Kyle Field. No. 8 Texas A&M (5-0, 3-0) hosts No. 9 Tennessee (5-2, 2-0) for the first time in program history in front of a nationally-televised audience. Kickoff is set for 2:39 p.m.

ESPN's College GameDay show will be making another appearance in Aggieland earlier in the day, with the show broadcasting live from Spence Park from 8-11 a.m.

Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson and Allie Laforce will have the call of the action on CBS. It will air regionally on the Texas A&M Sports Network (Dave South, Dave Elmendorf, Will Johnson), and a Spanish broadcast of the game can also be heard regionally on the Texas A&M Spanish Network (Pedro Vela Almaguer, Noel Orellana).

Both Aggie radio feeds can be heard for free worldwide at 12thman.com/allaccess and inside the Texas A&M Athletics app. The Texas A&M Radio Network broadcast will be available on Sirius / XM Channel 84.

Saturday will mark the third meeting between the schools and the first in College Station. Tennessee has won both previous matchups, with both coming in bowl games (1957 Gator Bowl, 2005 Cotton Bowl).

What to watch for: #TENNVSTAMU

It will be the third AP top 10 showdown at Kyle Field since Texas A&M joined the SEC in 2012. Prior to joining the SEC, Texas A&M had hosted just four top 10 contests.

The Aggies will be trying to improve to 6-0 for the first time since 1994 when R.C. Slocum's Texas A&M squad won its first seven games and finished the season with a 10-0-1 record.
Texas A&M also opened the previous two seasons 5-0 but fell in the sixth game of the year (at No. 12 Mississippi State in 2014 and vs. No. 10 Alabama in 2015).
With its front-loaded schedule, Texas A&M is the only team in the current AP Top 25 with four victories over Power 5 opponents (UCLA, Auburn, Arkansas and South Carolina) in 2016.
Texas A&M will be seeking to improve to 4-0 in conference play for the first time in more than a decade on Saturday. The last time A&M started conference play with four straight wins was 2004.

TOP 10 MATCHUPS AT KYLE FIELD

2016	No. 8 TAMU vs. No. 9 Tennessee
2015	No. 10 Alabama 41, No. 9 TAMU 23
2013	No. 1 Alabama 49, No. 6 TAMU 42
2011	No. 7 Oklahoma St. 30, No. 8 TAMU 29
1975	No. 2 TAMU 20, No. 5 Texas 10
1951	No. 10 TAMU 14, No. 4 Oklahoma 7
1941	No. 10 Texas 23, No. 2 TAMU 0

SUMLIN VS. TOP 25

In his ninth season as a head coach, fifth-year Aggie coach Kevin Sumlin has a career record of 14-12 against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 (11-11 at A&M).

Sumlin's five road wins and nine wins away from Kyle vs. AP Top 25 squads are already the most by any coach in school history.
Sumlin's record against non-conference teams ranked in the AP Top 25 is a perfect 5-0 (wins over No. 22 Louisiana Tech and No. 11 Oklahoma in 2012, No. 22 Duke in 2013, No. 15 Arizona State in 2015 and No. 16 UCLA in 2016).
The win over No. 17 Arkansas was Kevin Sumlin's 11th win over an AP Top 25-ranked opponent. The victory pushed him ahead of Jackie Sherrill for second-most AP Top 25 wins by a Texas A&M head coach. R.C. Slocum leads the list with 17 wins vs. ranked opponents.

Sumlin vs. the AP Top 25 (at TAMU)

*Opponent, Year*	*AP rank*	*Result*
Florida, 2012	No. 24	L, 20-17
vs. Louisiana Tech, 2012	No. 22	W, 59-57
LSU, 2012	No. 6	L, 24-19
at Mississippi State, 2012	No. 17	W, 38-13
at Alabama, 2012	No. 1	W, 29-24
vs. *Oklahoma, 2013	No. 11	W, 41-13
Alabama, 2013	No. 1	L, 49-42
Auburn, 2013	No. 24	L, 45-41
at LSU, 2013	No. 18	L, 34-10
at Missouri, 2013	No. 5	L, 28-21
vs. Duke, 2013	No. 22	W, 52-48
at South Carolina, 2014	No. 9	W, 52-28
at Mississippi State, 2014	No. 12	L, 31-48
Ole Miss, 2014	No. 3 (tie)	L, 20-35
at Alabama, 2014	No. 7	L, 0-59
at Auburn, 2014	No. 3	W, 41-38
vs. Arizona State, 2015	No. 15	W, 38-17
Mississippi State, 2015	No. 21	W, 30-17
Alabama, 2015	No. 10	L, 23-41
Ole Miss, 2015	No. 24	L, 3-23
UCLA, 2016	No. 16	W, 31-24 (OT)
Arkansas, 2016	No. 17	W, 45-24

Sumlin vs. the AP Top 25 (at UH)

at East Carolina, 2008	No. 23	W, 41-24
Tulsa, 2008	No. 25	W, 70-30
at Oklahoma State, 2009	No. 5	W, 45-35
Southern Miss, 2011	No. 24	L, 49-28

Offense

Texas A&M leads the SEC in total offense with 521.0 yards/game, while averaging 6.8 yards/play.
Texas A&M is tied for No. 2 in the FBS (tied for No. 1 in SEC) with 13 offensive plays of 40 yards or more.
11 of the 13 40-yard plus plays came vs. Power 5 opponents.
With an offensive front featuring four new starters, starting Aggie QB Trevor Knight has been sacked three times (while attempting 181 passes).
Texas A&M has run 192 running and 193 passing plays in 2016.
Texas A&M is one of three teams in FBS averaging more than 6.7 yards per carry.
Team ranked No. 13 nationally in rushing offense with 258.6 yards/game.
Veteran WR Jeremy Tabuyo started vs. SC in place of injured Speedy Noil and responded with 89 yards on four catches, including 33- and 18-yarders on first drive of the game.
RB Trayveon Williams' averages a FBS-best 9.0 yards per carry among rushers with at least 35 carries.
Williams and QB Trevor Knight both have three 40-yard+ rushes in 2016, which is tied for second-most in FBS.
Sophomore WR Christian Kirk leads the SEC with 33 catches after making a career-high 12 grabs vs. South Carolina.
Senior WR Josh Reynolds is the only player in school and SEC history with two 90-yard plus catches.
Sixteen of Reynolds' 20 catches have produced either a first down or TD.
Reynolds averages 20.0 yards per catch, which leads the SEC among receivers with 20 or more catches.
Knight ranks No. 3 in the SEC (No. 18 in FBS) in total offense with a 330.6 per game average.
Knight's six rushing TDs are tied for the most in the SEC.
Knight has produced a first down or a touchdown on 11 of his 14 rushing attempts on third/fourth down.
Knight and Louisville's Lamar Jackson are the only FBS QBs with 300 rushing yards and 1,200 passing yards.

Defense

Senior DE Daeshon Hall earned SEC DL of the Week honors after making 2 QB sacks, 3.5 TFLs and 2 QB hurries last week vs. SC. Hall's big game came with his DE counterpart Myles Garrett back in CS with an injury.
Junior FS Armani Watts is the only player in the SEC with at least one QB sack, TFL, QB hurry, interception, pass breakup, forced fumble and recovered fumble.
Rush defense was huge concern entering 2016 after the Aggies gave up an average of 213.7 yards/game (5.0 per carry) last year. After fivegames in 2016, the Aggies are allowing only 134.8 rushing yards per game (3.4 per carry).
Texas A&M has limited four of five opponents to 165 rushing yards or less.
Junior DE Myles Garrett's is the FBS's active career leader with 27.0 sacks, while his career average of 1.33 tackles for loss per game ranks No. 3 on the list.
Texas A&M has generated 10 or more tackles for losses in four of five games and are averaging a robust 10.0 TFLs per contest in 2016. The Aggies had a season-high 13 in AUB win.
The 2016 game 2 shutout of PVAMU was the Aggies' second of the John Chavis era, joining the 25-0 blanking of Vanderbilt in game 11 of 2015. Prior to the two recent shutouts, the Aggies went 147 games and 10 full seasons without a goose egg.
In the 18 games under John Chavis, the Aggie defense has posted two shutouts, limited opponents to less than 200 passing yards 10 times, has only allowed more than 30 points only once (aided by three defensive scores) and generated double-digit tackles for loss eight times.
The 32 rushing yards allowed vs. PVAMU was the low of the Kevin Sumlin era and lowest since the Aggies allowed only 31 rushing in the 2010 season-opener against Stephen F. Austin.
Consistently praised as one of the most improved defenders in 2016, LB Shaan Washington leads the team with 38 tackles and had a school-record five PBUs vs. PVAMU. He's had five or more stops in every game.

Special Teams

New starters at punter and placekicker have been no problem for the Aggies with sophomore PK Daniel LaCamera connecting on 34-of-37 placekicks (11-of-14 on FGs) and junior P Shane Tripucka averaging a solid 44.3 on punts.
LaCamera is one of six FBS PKs with 10 or more FGs in 2016.
LaCamera accounted for 17 of the Aggies' 29 points in the AUB win with five FGs and two PATs. For his efforts, he was named a Lou Groza Award "Star of the Week."
Tripucka has deposited eight of his 23 punts inside the opponent 20 and had six 50-plus boots.
Sophomore LB Cullen Gillaspia, who was awarded a scholarship at the conclusion of fall camp, has been the 12th Man all season. He recovered a fumble on punt coverage vs. South Carolina.
Strong-legged freshman PK Braden Mann has delivered 27 touchbacks on 34 kickoffs.

Coaching Staff

The Aggies had three new additions to their coaching staff in 2016.
Veteran play-caller Noel Mazzone came to Texas A&M after serving four seasons on Jim Mora's staff at UCLA. Mazzone and Sumlin worked on Jim Wacker's Minnesota staff in 1993 and 1994.
Jim Turner returned to Texas A&M to oversee the Aggies' offensive line. Turner previously coached the Aggies' O-line from 2008-11 under then-head coach Mike Sherman. Among the players Turner recruited or developed were NFL first-rounders Luke Joeckel, Jake Matthews and Cedric Ogbuehi.
David Turner moved from SEC foe Mississippi State to Texas A&M to oversee the Aggies' defensive tackles and serve as the run defense coordinator.

UT-TAMU Connections

Gen. Robert R. Neyland, for whom Tennessee's football stadium is named, was born in Greenville, Texas and attended Texas A&M before gaining an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. Neyland went on to serve as UT's athletic director and head football coach, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1956.
Second-year Texas A&M defensive coordinator John Chavis is a 1979 graduate of the University of Tennessee and lined up at "middle guard" for the Volunteers from 1976-78. He served as a graduate assistant coach on Johnny Majors' UT staff in 1979 and then served a second stint from 1989-2008 under Majors and later Phillip Fulmer.
Third-year Texas A&M defensive backs coach Terry Joseph served at UT's DB coach and recruiting coordinator in 2010-11.
The Aggies' Associate AD for Football Gary Reynolds served as the Vol's assistant recruiting coordinator in 1992.

Making and limiting explosive plays

Texas A&M has allowed just two TD plays of more than 15 yards in length while scoring 12 touchdowns of more than 20 yards.

Texas A&M has allowed just two TDs over 15 yards in length in 2016..
The Aggies have 30 rush or pass plays of 20 or more yards through the first five games, including 12 plays over 35 yards.
The 30 rush/pass explosive plays have been made by 12 different players.
Opponents have been limited to 18 20-yard offensive plays -- including just six over 35 yards.

The Chavis Effect

Veteran SEC defensive coordinator John Chavis was hired at Texas A&M prior to the 2015 season and his influence on the Aggies' defense has been undeniable, especially in scoring and run defense and takeaways.

Defensive Turnaround

*Stat Category*	*2016 (FBS RK)*	*2015 (FBS RK)*	*2014 (FBS RK)*
Total Defense	388.2 (#64)	380.0 (#51)	450.8 (#104)
Pass Eff. Defense	109.7 rtg (#23)	127.8 rtg (#64)	136.5 rtg (#88)
Run Defense	134.8 (#45)	213.7 (#108)	216.0 (#111)
Scoring Defense	15.4 (#12)	22.0 (#28)	28.1 (t#77)
QB sacks	3.2 (t#16)	2.6 (t#24)	2.7 (t#27)
Tackles for loss	10.0 (#1)	8.5 (t#3)	5.9 (t#60)
Interceptions	1.0 (t#31)	0.9 (t#71)	0.4 (t#121)
3rd D % Against	33.7% (#35)	33.0% (#16)	40% (#67)
Turnover Margin	+0.4 (t#39)	-0.5 (t#102)	-0.5 (t#108)
Turnovers Gained	+2.0 (t#19)	+1.3 (t#79)	1.0 (t#122)

DISRUPTIVE DEFENSE

Harkening back to its Wrecking Crew roots, the 2016 edition of defense leads the nation with an eye-catching 50.0 tackles for loss after five games.

DC John Chavis' charges have made at least seven tackles for loss (TFL) in every game and have generated 10 or more in four of five contests.
Produced a season-high 13 TFLs vs. Auburn on 9/17.
Among SEC teams, Texas A&M's 50.0 TFLs are 17.0 more than the No. 2 producer.
TFL team leader Daeshon Hall was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week after making two sacks, 3.5 TFLs and two QB hurries vs. South Carolina last week.
Amazingly, 20 different Aggie defenders have contributed at least a half-TFL in 2016.

New Wrecking Crew?

*Opponent*	*QBS-YDS*	*TFL-YDS*	*QBH*
UCLA	5.0-39	10.0-47	7
PVAMU	3.0-24	7.0-37	7
at Auburn	4.0-32	13.0-55	6
vs. Arkansas	1.0-9	10.0-35	3
at S. Carolina	3.0-23	10.0-41	5

Run-Game Renaissance

Texas A&M ranks No. 2 in the SEC with 258.6 rushing yards per game and its 6.7 yards/carry average is nearly a half-yard better than any other SEC team.

The Aggies have opened 2016 with five-straight 200-plus rushing peformances, which hasn't happened at Texas A&M since 1997. Four of the five 200-plus rushing efforts came against FBS Power 5 teams (UCLA, Auburn, Arkansas and South Carolina).
The 366 rushing yards against Arkansas were the most by the Aggies since joining the SEC.
Opponents have rushed the ball five more times than the Aggies but gained 619 fewer yards.

Fast Start Trends

Under head coach Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M has traditionally been a fast starting team -- the Aggies entered 2016 having scored first in 41-of-52 games and compiling a 33-8 record when A&M scored first. That trend has reversed thus far in 2016.

In 2016, Texas A&M opponents have scored first in four of five games and the Aggies have compiled a 4-0 record with wins over UCLA, Auburn, Arkansas and South Carolina in games that when their opponents scored first. Entering the year, Sumlin's Aggies were 3-8 in games that the opponent scored first.

Transfer Impact

The Aggies have a number of four-year school and junior college transfers making significant contributions in 2016.

Transfer Impact in 2016

*Player*	*Pos*	*Former School*
Kalvin Cline	TE	Virginia Tech
#Jermaine Eluemenor	OT	Lackawanna (Pa.)
#Justin Evans	SS	Gulf Coast (Miss.) CC
#Keith Ford	RB	Oklahoma
#Avery Gennesy	OT	E. Mississippi CC
Claude George	LB	Hutchinson (Kan.) CC
Jake Hubenak	QB	Blinn (Texas) JC
#Trevor Knight	QB	Oklahoma
Damion Ratley	WR	Blinn (Texas) JC
#Josh Reynolds	WR	Tyler (Texas) JC
#Priest Willis	CB	UCLA
# -- Denotes 2016 starter

True Freshman Impact

Multiple true freshmen from the Aggies' highly-regarded 2016 signing class have been making an early impact. The 2016 signing class was rated No. 17 nationally by Rivals.com

Early Risers

*Player*	*Pos*	*Hometown*
Austin Anderson	OL	Mineola, Texas
Clyde Chattman	DB	New Orleans, La.
Tyrel Dodson	LB	Franklin, Tenn.
Aaron Hansford	WR	Washington, D.C.
Braden Mann	PK/P	Houston, Texas
Charles Oliver	DB	Fairfield, Texas
#Colton Prater	OL	Bossier City, La.
Trayveon Williams	RB	Houston, Texas
# -- Denotes 2016 starter

Road Warriors

Texas A&M has compiled a 21-7 record in games away from Kyle Field (road and neutral site games) during the Kevin Sumlin era.
The Aggies are 7-1 at neutral sites and 14-6 in true road games.
In the previous five seasons before Sumlin's arrival, the Aggies were 10-19 away from Kyle Field.
The last winning record away from Kyle Field prior to Sumlin's arrival in 2012 came in 2006

Big Maroon Goons

Calling themselves the Maroon Goons since 2012, the Aggies' typical starting lineup of tackles Jermaine Eluemenor and Avery Gennesey, guards Colton Prater and Connor Lanfear and center Erik McCoy weigh in at 1,555 pounds, or 311.0 pounds per goon.

Collectively, they are the second-heaviest starting five in school history, just behind the year-ending starting five in 2014 that averaged 312.0.

Here's the Beef
(Starters/Possible Starters by career starts)

*Goon*	HT	WT	*Starts*
Jermaine Eluemunor, RT	6-5	315	5
Connor Lanfear, RG	6-6	315	5
Erik McCoy, C	6-4	305	5
Colton Prater, LG	6-4	295	5
Avery Gennesy, LT	6-5	315	17

Texas A&M starting QB Trevor Knight has been sacked just three times while attempting 181 passes (36.2 passes/game) in the first five games of 2016.
The Aggies have rushed for 200+ yards in all five games, including 366 vs. ARK which was the most against a SEC opponent since joining the league.
Texas A&M ranks No. 2 in the SEC in rushing yards and is one of just three FBS teams averaging over 6.7 yards per carry.
The first Goon off the bench has been 305-pound swing tackle Koda Martin, who relieved an injured Avery Gennesy at LT vs. UCLA and started in place of the injured Jermaine Eluemenor at RT against South Carolina.

Balanced Attack

Texas A&M has rushed and passed for over 200 yards in every game in 2016 and are one of 28 teams (four in the SEC) to average 200/200 rush/pass.

Through five games, Texas A&M has attempted 192 rushing attempts and 193 pass attempts. The Aggies have rushed for 1,293 yards and passed for 1,312 yards.
Texas A&M is one of six FBS teams with more than 1,200 yards rushing and passing. The others are Florida State, South Florida, Oregon, Baylor and Louisville.

Veteran Leader

One of the keys to Texas A&M's 2016 improvement on defense has been the continued development and leadership for senior LB Shaan Washington.

Washington is regularly referenced by the coaching staff for his physical development over the past year.
Washington arrived at Texas A&M as a 210-pound safety in 2013 but has developed into a 240-pound linebacker in 2016.
Has increased his bench press to over 400 pounds, according to DC John Chavis.
Chavis also believes Washington has a future in the NFL.
Despite battling various injuries over the past two seasons, the Louisiana product or "Louisianimal" ranked No. 2 on the team with 81 tackles in 2015 and No. 4 with 64 in 2014.
Injured for the first three games of 2014, Washington averaged 6.4 tackles per game after returning to lineup which was the best per-game average on the team.

Hall's Growth

While developing into one of the nation's top DEs, senior DE Daeshon Hall has gained nearly 60 pounds since coming to campus on his recruiting visit.

Hall came to Texas A&M on his recruiting visit in 2013 as a 208-pound "basketball player," according to head coach Kevin Sumlin. He has bulked up to 270 pounds as a senior.
Hall's nickname is "Dae Dae."
Hall moved from Seattle, Wash., to Lancaster, Texas in high school. His high school coach Chris Gilbert got his first glimpse of Hall playing basketball. "He was just like hammering dunks," Gilbert said. "He was a little thin, but I could tell he was strong. He said, 'Coach, I love basketball but everybody tells me they think I can play on Sundays, and I think I can.' '' (Dallas Morning News, Sept. 12, 2014)
Hall's four-sack effort vs. Arizona State in 2015 tied for second-most in a single game in school history, trailing only the five-sack performance by Alex Morris vs. Houston in 1987. Hall matched the sack total of three first-team All-Americans: Jacob Green, Ray Childress and John Roper.
Teams with Myles Garrett to give the Aggies one of the nation's top defensive ends combos. Last year, Hall and Garrett combined to average 1.50 QB sacks per game, which was more than any other tandem in the SEC.
Garrett said of the pair's friendly competition to get to the quarterback, "It's a race to get to the quarterback every time."

Big-Play Ability

Junior FS Armani Watts is the team's only player to have registered at least one QB sack, tackle for loss, QB hurry, interception, pass breakup, forced fumble and recovered fumble.

Earned SEC Defensive Player the Week after the Aggies' 2016 win over Arkansas. He posted a pair of game-changing plays with a strip and fumble recovery at the goal line and a fourth-down TFL vs, ARK.
Had a record-setting season in 2015 with six double-digit tackle games, including a 20-tackle effort vs. Ole Miss, and he ranked No. 2 in the SEC with 126 tackles (9.7 per game).
With 126 tackles, Watts was the first Aggie to hit the century mark since LB Michael Hodges had 115 in 2010. Only a handful of Aggie DBs have reached 100 tackles in a season, most recently Jaxson Appel had 135 in 2003.
Watts led the SEC with an amazing 83 solo tackles.
His 20-tackle game vs. the Rebels was the second-most prolific tackle game by a DB in school history. Safety Larry Horton matched the overall school record with 24 tackles vs. Baylor in 1990 (originally set by LB Larry Kelm in 1985).
Watts finished 2015 tied for 14th nationally with 126 tackles.
A consensus 4-star recruit out of North Forney HS, Watts earned all-state honors at safety and was an all-district pick on offense and defense and as a return man.

Record-Setting Reynolds

Senior Josh Reynolds is the only player in Texas A&M history with two 90-yard plus catches -- a 95-yarder vs. Vanderbilt in 2015 and a 92-yard vs. Arkansas in 2016.

Reynolds led the SEC with a 17.8 per catch average among players with more than 35 catches in 2015. He's on the same track in 2016 with a 21.8 average, which ranks No. 2 in the SEC among players with double-digit catches.
Reynolds' 13 receiving TDs in 2014 broke the school record of 12 originally set by Jeff Fuller in 2010 and matched by 2014 NFL first-round pick Mike Evans in 2013.
Overlooked by FBS programs out of HS, Reynolds went to Tyler JC as a full qualifier and then transferred to A&M with three years of eligibility in 2014. The FB coaching staff was tipped off to Reynolds by TAMU T&F coach Pat Henry, who had recruited Reynolds as a high jumper.
Reynolds' younger brother, Moses, is a true freshman defensive back for the Aggies.

TAMU Career Receiving TDs

*Player, Years*	*TDs*
Jeff Fuller, 2008-11	34
Ryan Swope, 2009-12	24
Josh Reynolds, 2014-	21
Bob Long, 1966-68	19
Uzoma Nwachukwu, 2009-12	19

Honey Badger Redux

Junior nickel back Donovan Wilson has drawn comparisons to former LSU playmaker Tyrann Mathieu or the "Honey Badger" because of his penchant for making big plays.

Wilson ranked third in the SEC with five interceptions in 2015, which matched the entire Texas A&M team's output in 2014.
Texas A&M defensive coordinator John Chavis says of Wilson, "We need that catalyst and he's been that catalyst force. He's made big play after big play. (Former LSU All-American Tyrann Mathieu) had the 'it' factor. We're starting to see some of that with Donovan." (Bryan-College Station Eagle, Oct. 7, 2015)

2015 Wilson (13 gms) vs. 2011 Mathieu (13 gms)

*Player*	*TFL*	*QBS*	*INT*	*PBU*	FR	FF
Wilson	8.5	2.0	5	3	2	3
Mathieu	7.5	1.5	2	9	5	6

Wilson fills the stat sheet like few other defenders. He ranked No. 4 on the team in tackles (63), had 8.5 TFL, 2.0 QBS, three FF, two FR and three PBUs, along with his five INTs last season.
A late addition to the Aggies' 2014 signing class, Wilson led the Shreveport, La., area with 13 interceptions while earning All-City Defensive POY (Shreveport Times) and Louisiana Class 4A all-state honors.

Captain Kirk

Sophomore WR/RS Christian Kirk burst onto the scene in 2015 as one of the most dangerous and versatile players in the nation. He was named SEC Freshman and Newcomer of the Year in 2015 and was a preseason All-SEC pick as a receiver, return specialist and all-purpose.

Kirk posted a career-high 12 catches last week vs. South Carolina.
Kirk led all SEC freshmen in touchdowns (8), receptions (6.2/G), receiving yards (77.6/G), punt return average (24.4), all-purpose yards (1,789).
Kirk averaged 14.3 yards per touch, which was tops in the SEC.
He set the freshman school record with 1,789 all-purpose yardage and was just off the overall school record of 1,806 set by Cyrus Gray in 2010.
Kirk earned SEC weekly honors twice -- Freshman POW honors after the ASU win and Special Teams POW after ARK.
His four 100-yard receiving games in 2015 were the most by any freshman in A&M history.
Kirk was a game-breaker for the Aggies as a punt returnerwith two returns for touchdowns and an NCAA-best three returns of 50 yards or more (tie).
A consensus 5-star recruit out of Saguaro HS in Scottsdale, Ariz., Kirk was an early enrollee at Texas A&M in January of 2015.

Tough Matchup

At 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, junior WR Ricky Seals-Jones ranks as one of the toughest matchups for defensive backs in the nation.

Seals-Jones has been consistently praised as one of the team's top blockers on the perimeter.
Seals-Jones has been the team's third-leading receiver the past two seasons with 49 catches in 2014 and 45 in 2015.
His receptions single game high is 10 catches vs. Mississippi State in 2014, which ranks as one of five double-digit catch games by a freshman.
RSJ played in two games as a true freshman in 2013 before suffering a season-ending injury. In his first career game, Seals-Jones reeled off a 71-yard TD catch and run against Rice that remains his career long.
The early-season showdown of future Texas A&M signees Seals-Jones of Sealy HS and QB Kohl Stewart of St. Pius in 2012 was the first destination of the "Swag-copter" when head coach Kevin Sumlin used a helicopter to get from College Station to St. Pius' Parsley Field in Houston.

Graduate Transfer QB

Graduate transfer Trevor Knight is the first upperclassman QB starter of the Kevin Sumlin era at Texas A&M with a caveat: Junior Matt Joeckel started the 2013 season-opener vs. Rice in place of Johnny Manziel, who was suspended for the first half.

Knight joined the Aggies in January as a graduate transfer after playing three seasons at the University of Oklahoma.
Has already established career highs in total offense (422 vs. PVAMU) and rushing yards (157 vs. ARK).
Named Davey O'Brien National QB of the Week and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose POTW after rushing for 157/2 TDs and passing for 225/2 TDs in win over ARK (9/24).
At OU, Knight started 15 games, including two bowl games.
Knight's stats at OU were 3,424 passing yards/25 TDs and 852 rushing yards/8 TDs. He was named the MVP of OU's 2014 Sugar Bowl win over Alabama after connecting on 32-of-44 passes for 348 yards and four TDs.
Knight had four 300-yard passing games and two 100-yard rushing games at OU.
His fraternal twin brother, Connor, is a senior fullback for the Sooners.
Knight earned his bachelor's degree in finance at OU and is pursuing his master's degree in management at Texas A&M.
Knight helped spearhead the Aggies' humanitarian trip to Haiti last summer, and had made previous trips to the impoverished nation while at OU.

Ball Hawk Safety

Senior SS Justin Evans has a well-earned reputation as one of the SEC's biggest hitters. He added ball-hawk to his repertoire with a pair of pickoffs vs. highly-touted UCLA QB Josh Rosen in the 2016 season-opener.

Evans was spectacular in the season-opener against UCLA with a pair of interceptions, another broken up pass, a 21.0 average on kickoff returns and eight tackles. He earned Nagurski and Thorpe National Player of the Week honors.
After the Auburn game, Evans was named SEC Defensive POTW after making a game-high 12 tackles and breaking up a pass against the Tigers.
Evans ranked No. 3 on the team with 78 tackles in 2015, and he also contributed an interception and three broken up passes.
He had a season-high 10 tackles in SEC games against Alabama and Vanderbilt.
Evans joined the Aggies as an early enrollee after transferring from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
Was also a standout baseball player in high school, batting .495 as a senior at Wiggins High School.