2016 Texas A&M Aggies football team

2016 Texas A&M Aggies football
Texas Bowl, L 28–33 vs. Kansas State
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
Record	8–5 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach	Kevin Sumlin (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Noel Mazzone (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	John Chavis (2nd season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Home stadium	Kyle Field
Seasons ← 2015 2017 →

2016 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 14 Florida x		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 22 Tennessee		4	–	4					9	–	4
Georgia		4	–	4					8	–	5
Kentucky		4	–	4					7	–	6
South Carolina		3	–	5					6	–	7
Vanderbilt		3	–	5					6	–	7
Missouri*		2	–	6					4	–	8
West Division
No. 2 Alabama x$^		8	–	0					14	–	1
No. 24 Auburn		5	–	3					8	–	5
No. 13 LSU		5	–	3					8	–	4
Texas A&M		4	–	4					8	–	5
Arkansas		3	–	5					7	–	6
Mississippi State		3	–	5					6	–	7
Ole Miss*		2	–	6					5	–	7
Championship: Alabama 54, Florida 16
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions * Ole Miss and Missouri vacated all wins due to NCAA violations. Rankings from AP Poll

The 2016 Texas A&M Aggies football team represented Texas A&M University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Aggies played their home games at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas and competed in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by fifth-year head coach Kevin Sumlin. They finished the season 8–5, 4–4 in SEC play to finish in fourth place in the Western Division. They were invited to the Texas Bowl where they lost to Kansas State.

Preseason

Recruiting class

In the 2016 recruiting class, Texas A&M signed 21 players (22 including transfer QB Trevor Knight), 8 of which were included in the ESPN 300 and 8 in the 247 Sports top 250. The class was ranked 20th in the nation by ESPN,^[1] 17th by Rivals,^[2] 18th by 247,^[3] and 20th by Scout.^[4]

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Austin Anderson OG	Mineola, TX	Mineola HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	285 lb (129 kg)	–	Apr 27, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Riley Anderson OT	Mineola, TX	Mineola HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	–	Apr 27, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Rakeem Boyd RB	Houston, TX	Stratford HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	4.58	Aug 29, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Clifford Chattman S	New Orleans, LA	McDonogh 35 HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	173 lb (78 kg)	4.71	Feb 3, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Clyde Chriss WR	New Orleans, LA	Warren Easton HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	4.61	Jan 14, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Quartney Davis WR	Houston, TX	Langham Creek HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	4.57	Feb 3, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Kellen Diesch OT	Trophy Club, TX	Byron Nelson HS	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	270 lb (120 kg)	–	Nov 8, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Tyrel Dodson LB	Franklin, TN	Centennial HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	4.87	Jun 6, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Travon Fuller CB	Athens, TX	Athens HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	4.40	Aug 1, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Aaron Hansford ATH/WR	Washington, D.C.	St. John's College HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	4.51	Feb 3, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Trevor Knight QB	San Antonio, TX	University of Oklahoma	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	–	Jan 4, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Justin Madubuike DE	McKinney, TX	McKinney North HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	250 lb (110 kg)	4.59	Sep 18, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Braden Mann K	Cypress, TX	Cy-Fair HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	–	Feb 5, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Ryan McCollum OT	Spring, TX	Klein Oak HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	270 lb (120 kg)	–	Dec 13, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Ikenna Okeke S	Smyrna, TN	Smyrna HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	4.61	Nov 25, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Charles Oliver CB	Fairfield, TX	Fairfield HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	4.66	Apr 25, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Colton Prater OG	Bossier City, LA	Airline HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	5.52	Jun 7, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Moses Reynolds DB	San Antonio, TX	John Jay HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	4.50	Oct 5, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Alton Robinson DE	Converse, TX	Judson HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	4.84	Jun 11, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Kendrick Rogers WR	Frankston, TX	Frankston HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	4.74	Jun 8, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Nick Starkel QB	Denton, TX	Liberty Christian HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	4.95	Jan 21, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Trayveon Williams RB	Houston, TX	C.E. King HS	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	4.65	Nov 12, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 20   Rivals: 17  247Sports: 18  ESPN: 20
‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Texas A&M Football Commitment List 2016". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 26, 2016. "Texas A&M College Football Recruiting Commits 2016". Scout.com. Retrieved August 26, 2016. "Texas A&M Aggies Commits 2016". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 26, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 26, 2016. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 26, 2016.

Personnel

Roster

2016 Texas A&M Aggies football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 1 Quartney Davis Fr WR 2 Speedy Noil Jr WR 3 Christian Kirk So WR 4 Damion Ratley Jr RB 5 Trayveon Williams Fr RB 7 Keith Ford  Jr QB 8 Trevor Knight  Sr WR 9 Ricky Seals-Jones  Jr QB 10 Jake Hubenak  Jr WR 11 Josh Reynolds Sr WR 13 Jamal Jeffery Jr QB 13 Michael Milstead Fr QB 14 Conner McQueen  Sr WR 15 Frank Iheanacho  So QB 16 Hank Hughes Fr WR 16 Kemah Siverand  Fr QB 17 Nick Starkel Fr WR 18 Edward Pope  Sr QB 19 Gannon Rawlins Fr WR 19 Jeremy Tabuyo Sr RB 20 James White  Jr WR 21 Aaron Hansford Fr RB 22 Kwame Etwi So TE 24 Jake Graham Fr RB 25 Kendall Bussey  Fr WR 26 Kirk Merritt (I) So RB 27 John Clark Fr RB 28 AJ Sanders Fr RB 32 Rakeem Boyd Fr WR 33 Justice Bean Fr TE 41 Luke Laufenberg Fr WR 42 Josch Motley  Jr RB 43 Kristian Chavis Fr WR 47 Samuel Phillips Fr OL 50 Tank Davis  So OL 51 Riley Anderson Fr OL 55 Austin Anderson Fr OL 62 Chad Loitz  Jr OL 63 Cagan Baldree Fr OL 64 Erik McCoy  Fr OL 65 Avery Gennesy  Sr OL 67 Drew Beakey  Fr OL 68 Justin Dworaczyk  Fr OL 69 Brayden Talbert  Fr OL 70 Connor Lanfear So OL 71 Trevor Elbert  Fr OL 72 Jermaine Eluemunor  Sr OL 74 Kellen Diesch Fr OL 75 Koda Martin  So OL 76 Colton Prater Fr OL 77 Ryan McCollum Fr OL 78 Keaton Sutherland So WR 80 Clyde Chriss Fr TE 81 Jalyn Judkins  Jr WR 82 Boone Niederhofer  Sr WR 83 Kyle Whitley  So WR 84 Kendrick Rogers Fr TE 85 Grant Gustafson  Fr TE 86 Tanner Schorp  Jr TE 87 Greer Shetler  Fr TE 88 Matthew Kirchner  Fr TE 89 Kalvin Cline (I)  Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 1 Nick Harvey Jr DB 4 Noel Ellis  Jr DL 5 Daylon Mack So DB 6 Donovan Wilson Jr LB 7 Richard Moore So DB 8 Justin Dunning So DL 9 Qualen Cunningham Jr DL 10 Daeshon Hall Sr LB 11 Josh Walker Jr DL 13 Reggie Chevis  Jr DB 14 Justin Evans Sr DL 15 Myles Garrett Jr LB 16 Dwaine Thomas So DB 17 Alex Sezer Jr. Sr DB 18 Larry Pryor  Fr DB 19 DeShawn Capers-Smith So DB 20 Ikenna Okeke Fr DB 21 Charles Oliver Fr DB 22 Clifford Chattman Fr DB 23 Armani Watts Jr DB 24 Priest Willis  Jr LB 25 Tyrel Dodson Fr DB 26 Victor Davis  Jr DB 27 Roney Elam  Fr DB 28 Travon Fuller Fr DB 30 Moses Reynolds Fr LB 31 Claude George Sr DB 32 Will Paulhill  Sr LB 33 Shaan Washington Sr DB 34 Clayton Bantle Fr LB 35 Riley Garner So LB 38 Jordan Mastrogiovanni  Jr DL 40 Jarrett Johnson Jr LB 42 Otaro Alaka  So LB 45 Cullen Gillaspia So DL 46 Landis Durham So LB 50 Mac Labhart  So DL 52 Justin Madubuike Fr LB 54 Jordan Driver Fr LB 56 Keeath Magee II Fr LB 58 Braden White Fr DL 86 David Darley Jr DL 88 Kingsley Keke So DL 90 TD Moton Fr DL 92 Zaycoven Henderson Jr DL 96 Jesse Brown (I) So DL 98 Hardreck Walker Sr DL 99 James Lockhart So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 34 Braden Mann Fr PK/P 36 Daniel LaCamera So PK 38 Drew Riethman Fr DS 40 Christian Robertson  So PK 41 Peter Grady  Jr DS 45 Austin Frey  So P 46 Shane Tripucka  Jr	Head coach Kevin Sumlin (5th season) Coordinators/assistant coaches Jeff Banks – Special teams coordinator/tight ends John Chavis  – Associate head coach/defensive coordinator/linebackers Matt Fontenot – Director of football operations Mikado Hinson – Director of player development Larry Jackson – Director of football sports performance Scott Johnston – Director of on-campus recruiting Terry Joseph – Secondary Noel Mazzone – Offensive coordinator Clarence McKinney – Running backs Aaron Moorehead – Wide receivers Dennis Polian – Director of player personnel Terry Price – Defensive ends Gary Reynolds – Associate Athletic Director - Football David Turner – Defensive tackles/defensive run-game coordinator Jim Turner – Offensive line Jeremy Springer – Special teams quality control Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: August 26, 2016

Schedule

Texas A&M announced its 2016 football schedule on October 29, 2015. The 2016 schedule consists of 7 home games, 4 away games and 1 neutral site game in the regular season. The Aggies will host SEC foes LSU, Ole Miss, and Tennessee, and will travel to Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, and South Carolina. Texas A&M will go against Arkansas for the third time in a row in Arlington, Texas.^[5]

The Aggies will host all four of its non–conference games which are against New Mexico State Aggies from the Sun Belt Conference, Prairie View A&M Panthers from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, UCLA Bruins from the Pac-12 Conference and UTSA Roadrunners from Conference USA.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	2:30 pm	No. 16 UCLA*		Kyle Field College Station, TX (SEC Nation)	CBS	W 31–24 OT	100,443
September 10	11:00 am	Prairie View A&M*	No. 20	Kyle Field College Station, TX	SECN	W 67–0	96,412
September 17	6:00 pm	at Auburn	No. 17	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	ESPN	W 29–16	87,175
September 24	8:00 pm	vs. No. 17 Arkansas	No. 10	AT&T Stadium Arlington, TX (Southwest Classic)	ESPN	W 45–24	67,751
October 1	3:00 pm	at South Carolina	No. 9	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	SECN	W 24–13	78,245
October 8	2:30 pm	No. 9 Tennessee	No. 8	Kyle Field College Station, TX (College GameDay)	CBS	W 45–38 2OT	106,248
October 22	2:30 pm	at No. 1 Alabama	No. 6	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (College GameDay)	CBS	L 14–33	101,821
October 29	6:30 pm	New Mexico State*	No. 9	Kyle Field College Station, TX	ESPNU	W 52–10	99,960
November 5	11:00 am	at Mississippi State	No. 4	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	SECN	L 28–35	58,407
November 12	6:30 pm	Ole Miss	No. 8	Kyle Field College Station, TX	SECN	L 28–29	104,892
November 19	11:00 am	UTSA*	No. 25	Kyle Field College Station, TX	ESPNU	W 23–10	102,502
November 24	6:30 pm	LSU		Kyle Field College Station, TX (rivalry)	ESPN	L 39–54	102,961
December 28	8:00 pm	vs. Kansas State*		NRG Stadium Houston, TX (Texas Bowl)	ESPN	L 28–33	68,412
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 1 released prior to game All times are in Central time

Schedule Source:^[6]

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Season at Texas A&M
Kevin Sumlin	Head coach	5th
John Chavis	Associate head coach, defensive coordinator, and linebackers coach	2nd
Terry Joseph	Defensive backs coach	3rd
Terry Price	Defensive ends coach	5th
David Turner	Defensive run game coordinator and defensive tackles coach	1st
Noel Mazone	Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach	1st
Clarence McKinney	Running backs coach	5th
Aaron Morehead	Wide receivers coach	2nd
Jim Turner	Offensive line coach	5th
Jeff Banks	Special teams coordinator and tight ends coach	4th
Larry Jackson	Director of football sports performance	5th
Jeremy Springer	Special teams quality control coach	2nd
Reference:[7]

Game summaries

UCLA

The Texas A&M Aggies opened their 2016 season at home against the #16 UCLA Bruins. The Aggies dominated the Bruins in the first 3 quarters of the game, leading 24–9 at the start of the 4th quarter. UCLA started a comeback late in the 4th quarter with Bolu Olorunfunmi running 9 yards for a touchdown. With J.J. Molson making the extra point, the Bruins trailed 16–24 with 4:19 left in regulation. UCLA's defense forced the Aggies into a 3–and–out on the next possession. The Bruins' offense wasted no time scoring again, with Josh Rosen throwing 62 yards to Kenneth Walker III to trail 22–24. UCLA tied it up 24–24 with Rosen finding Austin Roberts for the two–point conversion with 2:39 left in regulation. A&M punted on their next possession, but gained the ball back after a Rosen pass was intercepted by Justin Evans at the A&M 47 yard line. The 4th quarter ended with the Aggies marching down to the UCLA 40 before turning it over on downs.

The Aggies received the ball first to start overtime and found the end zone with a 1 yard touchdown run from Trevor Knight. UCLA made it to the A&M 5, but failed to score on a 4th and goal, ending the game. Winning the game in overtime, the Texas A&M Aggies upset the #16 UCLA Bruins 31–24.

Prairie View A&M

After the upset the week before against the #16 UCLA Bruins, the #20 Texas A&M Aggies hosted the FCS Prairie View A&M Panthers from the SWAC. The Aggies' defense held the Panthers scoreless, only allowed 10 first downs, 205 total yards of offense, and forcing a safety. A&M's special teams were also a highlight, with Justin Evans blocking a 38 yard field goal in the 1st quarter and Nick Harvey returning a punt 73 yards for a touchdown in the 4th. The only highlights for the Panthers was Raleigh Johnson intercepting a Trevor Knight pass in the end zone in the 2nd quarter and Johnson forcing a fumble that was recovered by Reginald Stubblefield late in the 4th.

Auburn

The Aggies opened 2016 conference play on the road against the Auburn Tigers. Texas A&M kicker Daniel LaCamera made 5 goals during the game while quarterback Trevor Knight didn't throw an interception during the game, the first game of the season where he didn't throw a pick.

Arkansas

South Carolina

Tennessee

Alabama

New Mexico State

Mississippi State

Ole Miss

UTSA

LSU

Kansas State (Advocare V100 Texas Bowl)

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	RV	20	17	10	9	8	6	6	9	7	10	23	22	RV	RV	—
Coaches	RV	24	20	13	10	7	6	6	10	7	11	22	22	RV	RV	—
CFP	Not released									4	8	25	—	—	—	Not released

13

References