Texas A&M’s 2026 season opener is just a mere two weeks away, as the Aggies will open the new campaign against Missouri State in Kyle Field, officially kicking off coach Mike Elko’s third season at the helm. While it would take several articles to accurately recap A&M’s previous 13 practices, including last Saturday’s scrimmage, this Saturday’s final media-viewing practice was certainly the most informative.
Instead of giving away most of what we saw on Saturday, it’s always important to start from the beginning: After making the College Football Playoff for the first time last season, Mike Elko’s offseason premonition that “10 to 12” players would be selected in the 2026 NFL Draft came true, as a record 10 starters were picked, including star wide receiver KC Concepcion going 24th overall to the Cleveland Browns.
Elko’s premonition helped prepare for the offseason departures, as 65% of the 2025 roster returns, combined with 17 transfer portal additions and nearly 30 freshmen from the 2026 signing class. While losing 15 starters on both sides of the ball certainly looks like a rebuild, that is far from the case.
With key starters returning at every position, led by redshirt junior quarterback Marcel Reed, junior wide receiver Mario Craver, safeties Dalton Brooks and Marcus Ratcliffe, and linebacker Daymion Sanford, four of five team captains will be counted on to lead on the field and in the locker room.
On Saturday, all five players and several others stood out for the final time before the season opener, while a couple of position battles may have been decided as well. Here are three key takeaways from Texas A&M’s practice on Saturday.
Texas A&M cornerbacks and wide receivers were a strength-on-strength battle
We’ll get to Marcel Reed’s highly impressive day slinging the rock, but where would he be without one of the deepest wide receiver rotations in the country? On Saturday, Mario Craver, Terry Bussey, and Alabama transfer Isaiah Horton were catching passes left and right, including Craver’s 50-yard score off an impressive route and an accurate throw from Reed.
While the offense dominated early in the game, Texas A&M’s secondary was the story in the second half, especially the cornerback room, as returning veterans Dezz Ricks and Julio Humphrey recorded multiple pass breakups, while transfer Rickey Gibson, who GigEm247’s Tony Catalina accurately described as the “best pure athlete in the group and the smoothest in and out of his breaks” is still in contention to start as the No. 2 CB.
If this group can consistently keep pace with a wide receiver corps of this caliber, that is certainly good news once SEC play begins.
Texas A&M’s revamped offensive line is still a work in progress
The loss of four starting offensive linemen, all selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, has certainly impacted a unit that must be at least above average this season for the Aggies to have any shot at making it back to the College Football Playoff. While Mike Elko has consistently praised the OL room’s depth, he noted this week that it’s hard to evaluate this group against a brand-new defensive line.
No one expected this group to be stellar from the jump, given the new additions from the transfer portal, who are all SEC starters, combined with several linemen from the 2025 signing class, who stood out on Saturday. Relying on Tony Catalina once again, who paid closer attention to this group, noted that RS freshman guard Blake Ivy and Alabama transfer tackle Wilkin Formby were dominant as run blockers at the second level.
Still, similar to the wide receivers and cornerbacks, Texas A&M’s defensive line, which has continued to make progress throughout the preseason, deserves some credit, especially on run defense.
Marcel Reed’s impressive play continues
The “drumbeat” grows louder and louder for redshirt junior Marcel Reed, who, entering the offseason, needed to improve his mechanics and pocket presence, especially his decision-making against top-ranked defenses, which was a significant issue in back-to-back losses to Texas and Miami in the first round of the CFP. Reed struggled at the end of practice, throwing two interceptions, but that does not tell the whole story.
During more than half of Saturday’s practice, Marcel Reed was on the money, hitting each receiver in the numbers, while his 50-yard touchdown throw to Mario Craver showed his improved accuracy on the deep ball, which further proves that one of the best throws we’ve seen from Reed to Isaiah Horton during last Saturday’s scrimmage was no fluke.
Texas A&M’s versatile wide receiver room provides Reed with speed, quickness, and consistent separation in the middle of the field, while Isaiah Horton’s 6’4″ frame has likely solved the size issue on deep balls and red-zone looks. If the offensive line finds its footing, I fully expect Marcel Reed to match or better his 2025 production.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: 3 takeaways from Texas A&M’s 14th preseason practice on Saturday
Reporting by Cameron Ohnysty, Aggies Wire / Aggies Wire
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By Cameron Ohnysty, Aggies Wire | USA TODAY Network
