Texas A&M completed its fifth preseason practice on Monday, and plenty of players stood out; redshirt junior quarterback Marcel Reed continued to make strides as a passer, hitting star junior wide receiver Mario Craver in stride while escaping pressure and impressing the coaching staff and every media member in attendance.
This offseason, before a record 10 players were selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, third-year coach Mike Elko and his staff landed 17 players from the transfer portal, including former Tulsa linebacker Ray Coney, who recorded 128 tackles with the Hurricanes last season and is nationally regarded as one of the top run defenders, while possessing the necessary size at 6’2″ and 240 pounds.
Paired with sophomore Noah Mikhail and senior Daymion Sanford, Texas A&M’s revamped linebacker rotation slowly, but surely looks like one of the program’s strengths, and on Tuesday, new defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill stated that Sanford is “close to 100%” after returning from the fibula injury he suffered during the Maroon & White Game.
Hemphill, who served as a defensive assistant with the Aggies last season, is a rising star in the coaching ranks and had plenty of positive things to say about A&M’s linebacker rotation, calling the group “Improved” while singling out Ray Coney, who is on pace to dominate during his first and likely only season in College Station.
“He’s everything I thought he’d be. He’s 6-1, 240-plus. He’s loose and athletic. He’s a thumper. You can see why he had the tackles he had.”
“Now that he’s been here for a minute, he’s starting to figure it out. He’s going to be a hell of a player.”
Coney is listed as 6’2″ on the Texas A&M Athletics website, but nonetheless, after losing three-year starting linebacker Taurean York to the NFL, Ray Coney, a healthy Daymion Sanford, and Noah Mikhail taking another step in his development should result in the Aggie linebackers being a consistent force in 2026.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: ‘He’s a thumper’: Texas A&M DC heaps immense praise on transfer LB
Reporting by Cameron Ohnysty, Aggies Wire / Aggies Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cameron Ohnysty, Aggies Wire | USA TODAY Network
