Football Opens SEC Play at Florida

Saturday, September 14

Gainesville, Fla.

2:30 PM

Texas A&M

Florida

Sep 13, 2024 | Football

Game Notes

By: Texas A&M Athletics Communications

Texas A&M takes its first road trip of the season and of the Mike Elko era this weekend as the Aggies head to Gainesville to face the Florida Gators in the SEC opener for both teams. ABC will air the game nationally.

COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF

Days

Hours

Mins

Secs

Texas A&M at Florida

Saturday, September 14, 2024 • 3:45 PM ET/2:45 PM CT
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida

Forecast: mid- to upper-80s, 60% chance of rain

WATCH

TV: ABC (Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer, Katie George)
Watch Live: ESPN App

LISTEN

Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (Andrew Monaco, Dave Elmendorf, Will Johnson)
1620 AM/94.5 FM (local), SiriusXM 106/191
Listen Live: 12th Man Mobile App

Spanish Broadcast: Click Here (Pedro Luna, Michel Gonzalez)
102.7 FM (local)
Listen Live: 12th Man Mobile App

FOLLOW

Live Stats: Click Here
Social Media: @AggieFootball on X

Florida Gators (1-1)

RANKING: AP: NR / Coaches: NR
LAST GAME: Sept. 7
- Florida 45, Samford 7
HEAD COACH: Billy Napier (Furman '02)
- Overall Record: 52-27 (7th season)
- at Florida: 12-15 (3rd season)
- vs. Texas A&M: 1-0

Texas A&M Aggies (1-1)

RANKING: AP: RV / Coaches: RV
Last Game: Sept. 7
- Texas A&M 52, McNeese 10
HEAD COACH: Mike Elko (Penn ‘99)
- Overall Record: 17-10 (3rd Season)
- at Texas A&M: 1-1 (1st Season)
- vs. Florida: 0-0

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Texas A&M hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to Florida looking to reclaim the series edge after six previous meetings ... The Aggies returned home victorious from their last trip to Gainesville in 2017, topping the Gators 19-17.
Junior RB Le’Veon Moss has had a productive start to the year, registering his first multi-touchdown game of the year with two trips to the end zone against McNeese ... Moss ranks in the top-seven in the SEC with 77.0 yards per game and three touchdowns on the season.
The Aggies’ new-look offensive line has seen success through the first two weeks of the season and ranks fifth nationally while leading the SEC with just 4.0 tackles for loss allowed on the year.
Sophomore QB Conner Weigman moved up Texas A&M’s career passing touchdowns list with a pair of scoring strikes in the first half against McNeese to help the Aggies take a 38-0 lead into the half and put him within four passing touchdowns of the top-20 all-time through just 11 games played.
Junior WR Cyrus Allen has been a main target for Weigman early this season ... Allen hauled in five passes for 72 yards against the Cowboys and has caught a pass in 15 consecutive games dating back to his days at Louisiana Tech.
Sophomore LB Taurean York has been the nucleus of the defense since his arrival in Aggieland and his leadership has continued into his second season ... He boasts a team-best 13 tackles on the year, good for eighth among league players.
Junior DB Will Lee III and sophomore DB Marcus Ratcliffe each registered their first interceptions as Aggies against McNeese and helped limit the Cowboys to just 99 passing yards in the game ... As a team, A&M ranks among the top-25 nationally in passing defense, allowing just 128.5 yards through the air per game.

QUICK HITS

The A&M run game dominated in the lopsided win over McNeese, racking up 333 yards on the ground, the most since 2018, while the Aggies’ five rushing scores were the most since they tallied five rushing TDs in the 2021 Orange Bowl ... On the year, the Maroon & White rank in the top-25 nationally averaging 239.5 yards per game and scoring six times on the ground.
Junior RB Amari Daniels made multiple trips to the end zone for the first time in his career in the win over the Cowboys ... His 47.5 yards per game and two rushing scores are good for 20th and ninth, respectively, among league players.
The Aggies saw 32 players recorded a tackle in the win over McNeese as the Aggies were led on defense by freshman LB Jordan Lockhart’s six takedowns.
Graduate K Randy Bond ranked as one of the highest scorers in the nation last season and has continued his success in 2024, nailing all three of his field goal attempts on the year ... After tallying 10 points against McNeese, Bond eclipsed the 200-point mark for his career, upping his total to 207and putting him within reach of the top-15 on A&M’s all-time scoring list.
Texas A&M saw success in the portal in the off-season, adding 26 transfers for the 2024 season ... Junior DL Nic Scourton helps highlight the group in his return home to Aggieland, garnering lots of preseason recognition after leading the Big Ten with 10.0 sacks to go along with 50 tackles, 15.0 for loss, at Purdue last season.
Sophomore DL Nana Boadi-Owusu was named the 12th Man ahead of the 2024 season, becoming just the sixth student-athlete in program history to hold the season-long honor.

MILESTONES TO WATCH FOR

Sophomore QB Conner Weigman continues to climb the Texas A&M record books in career completions and passing yards, and is in need of four touchdown passes to crack the top-15 on the Aggies’ all-time list, entering the game with 18 career scoring strikes.
Junior RB Amari Daniels enters the week with 946 career rushing yards, putting him just 54 yards away from the 1,000-yard mark.
Graduate WR Moose Muhammad III ranks 14th in career touchdown receptions at Texas A&M with 11 entering the week and his next scoring grab will move him into a tie with Chad Schroeder (2003-06) for 13th ... Muhammad is also eight catches and 70 receiving yards away from cracking the top-30 all-time at A&M.
Junior WR Noah Thomas is looking for a pair of touchdown catches to move into the top-20 all-time at A&M after upping his career total to eight with a scoring grab in the win over McNeese.
Graduate K Randy Bond is two field goals away from taking sole possession of sixth all-time on the Aggies’ career made field goals list with 42 to-date ... Bond eclipsed the career 200-point plateau in the win over McNeese and is just 15 points shy of making his way into the top-15 of A&M’s all-time scoring list.

WEIGMAN RETURNS AS QB1

After suffering injuries in his first two seasons, sophomore Conner Weigman returns for A&M under center in 2024.
Last season, Weigman made it back-to-back 300-yard passing games, three for his career, after tallying 336 at Miami and racking up 337 against ULM ... Weigman also finished the ULM game 25-of-29 passing for a school record 86.2 completion percentage.
He put on a show against New Mexico to start the 2023 campaign, connecting on five touchdown passes and finishing the opener going 18-of-23 for 236 yards through the air ... His five touchdown passes were the most in regulation by an Aggie QB since Johnny Manziel (2012-13) threw five touchdown passes against Mississippi State in 2013 and the tally is tied for fifth on A&M’s single-game chart.
Weigman cracked the top 20 on A&M’s all-time career passing touchdowns list in just seven career appearances and is just four scoring passes away from moving into the top-15 all-time.
Making his first career start against No. 15 Ole Miss, Weigman put up 338 yards on 28-of-44 passing and four touchdowns ... His passing yards were the most in a game by a true freshman in program history and his four passing TDs were the most by any A&M freshman.
Weigman was a highly touted prospect out of Bridgeland High School and was rated the No. 1 quarterback by Rivals and ESPN ... He was named a 2022 Under Armour All-American and was a multi-sport athlete that was also rated as one of the top baseball prospects in Texas.

MAROON GOONS

The Texas A&M offensive line has seen a new look in 2024 but returned great experience, including three of five starters from a year ago ... The line is anchored by junior Trey Zuhn III, who was named a season-long team captain prior to the season, has been a staple at left tackle over the last two years.
Zuhn started all 13 games last season and has logged 24 starts over the last two years as he helped clear the way for a 1,000-yard rusher in 2022 and helped A&M rack up over 400 yards of total offense in eight games last year.
In the offseason, sophomore Chase Bisontis made the move to left guard after starting all 12 regular season games he played in at right tackle and the bowl game at right guard as a freshman in 2023 ... The Aggies added veteran experience with junior transfers Ar’maj Reed-Adams, who made 15 starts in 31 games played at Kansas and Kolinu’u Faaiu, who played in 16 games with eight of those being starts at center through three seasons at Utah.
The Maroon & White rank fifth in the country and lead the SEC, allowing just 4.0 tackles for loss so far in 2024.
Offensive line coach Adam Cushing has joined head coach Mike Elko in Aggieland after two seasons at Duke where his o-line kept its quarterback protected, ranking 12th among Power 5 schools allowing just 17.0 sacks and seventh nationally giving up just 51.0 tackles for loss in 2022 ... Duke also ranked in the top-18 among Power 5 schools in sacks and tackles for loss allowed in 2023.

ELEVATING THE RUN GAME

Junior running backs Le’Veon Moss and Amari Daniels have made big improvements in the offseason and been a dynamic duo in the backfield for the Maroon & White early this year.
The pair each made two trips to the end zone against McNeese to register their first multi-touchdown games ... Moss, who set a new career-high with 20 carries against Notre Dame, ranks seventh in the SEC averaging 77.0 yards per game and is tied for third among league players with three rushing TDs ... Daniels, who is 54 yards away from 1,000 for his career, also ranks among the top-20 in the league with 47.5 y/g and two scores on the year.
In the win over McNeese, A&M racked up 333 yards on the ground and five rushing scores, marking the most rushing yards in a game for the Aggies since rushing for over 500 yards against Northwestern State to start the 2018 season and the most rushing scores since reaching the end zone five times on the ground in the Orange Bowl win over North Carolina to cap off the 2020 season.
As a team, the Aggies rank 24th in the country in rushing offense, averaging 239.5 yards per game, while their six rushing scores on the season are good for 18th nationally.

STEADY BACKER

Sophomore LB Taurean York immediately stepped into a leadership role as a true freshman in 2023, quarterbacking the defense at mike linebacker, and was selected as a team captain by his teammates ahead of the 2024 season.
In the season opener against Notre Dame, York helped lead the defense with nine takedowns in the game ... He enters the week ranking eighth in the SEC with 13 tackles on the season.
York started all 13 games last season, finishing second on the team with 74 tackles, which ranked in the top-20 among SEC players and third among league freshman, while his 8.5 tackles for loss were the most by an SEC freshman a year ago and ranked fourth on the team.
He registered the first double-digit tackles game of his career with 11 takedowns against Auburn, including 2.0 for loss ... On the year, York tallied five-or more tackles in nine of the 13 games.
York was a key contributor to the defense that led the SEC in rushing defense (108.8 y/g) and sacks (42.0), while also standing at second in the league and eighth nationally with 99.0 tackles for loss and 19th in the country, third in the SEC, in total defense (316.2 y/g).

DEPTH ON THE D-LINE

Texas A&M boasted one of the most talented and unpredictable defensive lines in the nation last season, led by the veteran experience and consistent production from senior Shemar Turner.
While Turner is the only returning starter on the line, the Aggies consistently used a full second rotation throughout the year that included juniors Shemar Stewart and Albert Regis, and have added Big Ten standout Nic Scourton.
After tallying 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks in 2023, ranking among the top-20 in the league in both categories, Turner started the 2024 season with a career-high seven takedowns against Norte Dame ... Scourton led the Big Ten and ranked ninth nationally with 10.0 sacks a season ago and sat in fourth among league players with 15.0 tackles for loss.
The line played a vital role in the Aggies leading the SEC and ranking 13th in the Power 5 in total defense (316.2 y/g) ... A&M ranked among the top-five Power 5 teams with 99.0 tackles for loss and 42.0 sacks on the year, after beginning SEC play with 15.0 TFL and 7.0 sacks in back-to-back games.
A&M ranked 10th in the Power 5 and led the SEC in rushing defense (108.8 y/g) and was second in the league allowing just nine rushing scores all season ... The line held ACU to 93 yards on the ground, marking the fifth time last season it kept the opposition’s run game in double figures, also limiting New Mexico (91), Miami (77), Arkansas (42), Alabama (23) and South Carolina (33).
As a unit, the defensive line was a key part of the Aggies’ success in shutting down their opponents on third downs as they ranked third in the league and 18th nationally allowing just 55 conversions on 171 attempts on the year, good for a 32.2 conversion percentage.

SPECIAL TEAMS SUCCESS

Graduate K Randy Bond was one of the nation’s leading scorers a season ago, ranking in the top-six nationally with 126 total points on the year, while also sitting in fourth and leading the SEC averaging 9.7 points-per-game and sending 26 field goals through the uprights.
Bond was one of two FBS kickers to connect on five field goals from 50-plus yards last season as he registered a new career-long with a 52-yarder against ULM and he later connected from the same distance against South Carolina and Mississippi State.
He recently eclipsed the 200-point mark for his career adding 10 points in the win over McNeese ... His 42 career made field goals are good for seventh all-time at A&M while his 81 career PATs rank among the top 15 in program history.
Three Aggies on the 2024 roster have registered a blocked kick in their careers ... Senior DL Shemar Turner blocked a pair of field goal attempts last season, getting his hand on the ball in back-to-back weeks against Ole Miss and Mississippi State, and junior DL Albert Regis blocked a field goal attempt in the win over Miami in 2022 ... Prior to arriving in Aggieland, graduate DB Trey Jones III registered a blocked kick against Eastern Michigan in 2022.

THE ELKO EFFECT

Known as one of the top defensive minds in the country, head coach Mike Elko has consistently produced highly disruptive and productive defenses throughout his career, most recently putting the Texas A&M defense on the map during his time as defensive coordinator and carrying the same standard as the head coach at Duke.
In 2023, Duke led the ACC and ranked 16th nationally in scoring defense (19.0 ppg) while registering a top-five rush defense among league teams and standing in 17th in the country with 67 passes defended ... In Elko’s first season as a head coach, the Blue Devils ranked in the top-35 in the nation in scoring defense, rush defense, rushing touchdowns allowed and passes defended.
After not finishing in the top 50 nationally in total defense for more than a decade, Elko’s first stint in Aggieland as defensive coordinator from 2018-21 coincided with consistent top-35 finishes, including a top-10 ranking in the 2020 final FBS total defense standings.
Elko has produced top-50 defenses in 11 of the last 12 years with multiple programs (Duke, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Bowling Green).

NEW FACES

The 2024 Texas A&M football roster features 55 newcomers as the Aggies have welcomed 29 freshmen and 26 transfers to campus this offseason.
The Maroon & White added 16 student-athletes from Power 5 programs, while junior LB Scooby Williams (Florida), graduate DB Jaydon Hill (Florida), freshman DB Dezz Ricks (Alabama) and senior K Jared Zirkel (Georgia) bring previous SEC knowledge and experience to Aggieland.
Junior DL Nic Scourton also helps highlight the group of newcomers, receiving lots of preseason recognition as he was named to the Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Award and Lombardi Award Watch Lists and earned Preseason All-America accolades from The AP, Sport News and ESPN ... In 2023 Scourton had a breakout season at Purdue where he led the Big Ten in sacks and was fourth in the league in tackles for loss.