Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1538217
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2025 51 OPPONENT ON DECK: TEXAS A&M AGGIES Date: Sept. 13, 2025 Site (capacity): Notre Dame Stadium (77,622) Kickoff (TV): 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC) All-time series: Notre Dame leads 4-2 Last meeting: Notre Dame 23, Texas A&M 13 (Aug. 31, 2024 in College Station, Texas) 2025 Record To Date: 0-0 (0-0 SEC) Texas A&M head coach: Mike Elko (second sea- son, 8-5 entering 2025) Season outlook: The two-game runway for Texas A&M prior to its Sept. 13 clash with Notre Dame on the road in South Bend should serve the Ag- gies well in terms of being able to make tweaks and adjustments to the preseason template. This matchup was the season opener for both teams a year ago. As far as a legit litmus test on whether aspira- tions of a double-digit victory total for only the second time since 1998 are reachable, A&M sec- ond-year head coach Mike Elko's first trip to Notre Dame Stadium since he was the Irish defensive coordinator in 2017 shapes up as both a fitting and poetic reality check. The Aggies will open at home with UTSA and Utah State, and will do so with one of the most experienced starting lineups (15 returning) in the FBS. But does older necessarily translate to better … or another eight-ish-win season? The two biggest factors in where that answer lands are how improved of a passer is run-savvy, redshirt sophomore quarterback Marcel Reed, and how significant is Elko's micromanaging of a Texas A&M defense that finished 63rd nationally in 2024 going to be? Reed was 4-4 as a starter in an 8-5 season in 2024, first as an injury replacement for Conner Weigman before overtaking a healthy version of him on the depth chart later and eventually coax- ing Weigman into the transfer portal (Houston). But Reed, who did not face the Irish in Texas A&M's 23-13 season-opening loss in 2024, has a better surrounding cast than last season — espe- cially at wide receiver. Running back Le'Veon Moss is back, too. He's perhaps the Aggies' best offensive player and eas- ily the best of the six players remaining on the roster of an original class of 30 that ranked No. 1 nationally in the 2022 recruiting cycle. Linebacker Taurean York (ranked 12th in the SEC with 82 tackles last fall) is the Aggie to watch on defense. — Eric Hansen Redshirt sophomore quarterback Marcel Reed was 4-4 as a starter for the Aggies in 2024. PHOTO COURTESY TEXAS A&M ATHLETICS OFFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. WR-X 1 Mario Craver 5-10 165 So. 3 Ashton Bethel-Roman 6-1 190 R-Fr. WR-SL 7 KC Concepcion 5-11 190 Jr. 0 Izaiah Williams 6-0 185 R-Fr. LT 60 Trey Zuhn III 6-7 320 R-Sr. 79 Lamont Rogers 6-6 330 Fr. LG 71 Chase Bisontis 6-6 330 Jr. 50 Isendre Ahfua 6-4 310 R-Fr. C 54 Mark Nabou Jr. 6-4 330 R-Jr. 61 Kolinu'u Faaiu 6-3 340 R-Sr. RG 55 Ar'maj Reed-Adams 6-5 340 R-Sr. 52 Blake Ivy 6-4 325 R-Fr. RT 78 Dametrious Crownover 6-7 340 R-Sr. 76 Reuben Fatheree II 6-8 330 R-Sr. TE 84 Amari Niblack 6-4 240 Sr. 17 Theo Melin Öhrström 6-6 260 R-Jr. WR-Z 2 Terry Bussey 6-0 195 So. 82 Jonah Wilson 6-3 215 R-So. QB 10 Marcel Reed 6-2 185 R-So. 9 Jacob Zeno 6-4 215 R-Sr. or 16 Miles O'Neill 6-5 225 R-Fr. RB 8 Le'Veon Moss 6-0 210 Sr. 5 Amari Daniels 5-9 210 R-Sr. or 4 Rueben Owens II 6-0 215 R-So. DEFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LDE 50 Dayon Hayes 6-3 260 Gr. 18 T.J. Searcy 6-5 255 Jr. NT 17 Albert Regis 6-2 315 R-Sr. 55 Dealyn Evans 6-5 310 R-Fr. DT 5 DJ Hicks 6-5 310 Jr. 53 Jadon Scarlett 6-2 285 R-So. RDE 11 Tyler Onyedim 6-4 295 R-Sr. 92 Sam M'Pemba 6-3 250 R-So. WLB 21 Taurean York 6-0 235 Jr. 54 Jordan Lockhart 6-1 235 So. MLB 0 Scooby Williams 6-2 230 R-Sr. 27 Daymion Sanford 6-2 230 Jr. LCB 6 Julio Humphrey 6-1 195 R-Jr. 2 Dezz Ricks 6-1 195 R-So. SS 3 Marcus Ratcliffe 6-3 205 Jr. 25 Dalton Brooks 6-0 200 Jr. FS 1 Bryce Anderson 6-0 190 Sr. 29 Myles Davis 6-2 205 So. RCB 4 Will Lee III 6-3 190 Sr. 14 Jayvon Thomas 6-0 205 Jr. NB 8 Jordan Shaw 6-1 180 R-So. 7 Tyreek Chappell 5-11 185 R-Sr. SPECIAL TEAMS Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PK 47 Randy Bond 5-11 200 Gr. 99 Jared Zirkel 6-3 200 Gr. KO 47 Randy Bond 5-11 200 Gr. 99 Jared Zirkel 6-3 200 Gr. P 37 Tyler White 6-4 220 R-So. 36 Truette Tumey 6-2 180 R-Jr. LS 48 Jacob Graham 5-11 215 Gr. 45 Levi Hancock 6-2 230 R-Jr. H 37 Tyler White 6-4 220 R-So. 36 Truette Tumey 6-2 180 R-Jr. PR 0 Izaiah Williams 6-0 185 R-Fr 1 Mario Craver 5-10 165 So. KR 4 Rueben Owens 6-0 215 R-So. 3 Ashton Bethel-Roman 6-1 190 R-Fr. TEXAS A&M AGGIES TWO-DEEP DEPTH CHART On Deck 2025 TEXAS A&M SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET) Aug. 30 UTSA (ESPN) 7 p.m. Sept. 6 Utah State (SECN) 12:45 p.m. Sept. 13 at Notre Dame (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27 Auburn TBA Oct. 4 Mississippi State TBA Oct. 11 Florida TBA Oct. 18 at Arkansas TBA Oct. 25 at LSU TBA Nov. 8 at Missouri TBA Nov. 15 South Carolina TBA Nov. 22 Samford (ESPN+) 12 p.m. Nov. 28 at Texas (ABC) 7:30 p.m.