Derick E. Hingle – USA TODAY Sports
Since joining the SEC, the Texas A&M Aggies have been a thrilling offensive team that could make teams nervous but lacked the ability to close out games. The result has been the Aggies finishing in the middle of the pack in their new conference home while the Missouri Tigers, who entered the conference at the same time, have been to back-to-back SEC Championship games. The problem for A&M has been a horrendously porous defense that even their own high-powered offense can’t overcome.
To truly become legitimate contenders for the conference title in the stacked SEC West, head coach Kevin Sumlin knew that the team needed to fix the defensive side of the ball. The team parted ways with defensive coordinator Mark Snyder following their regular-season ending loss to the LSU Tigers. In his place, Texas A&M has lured LSU DC John Chavis to College Station for 2015, giving the Aggies the missing piece towards a run at the conference title and a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Even when the Aggies had the services of a Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback in Johnny Manziel, they could not get over the hump and into the conference championship discussion. While Johnny Football broke the SEC record for total offense as a redshirt freshman in 2012 (previously held by the likes of fellow Heisman winners like Cam Newton of the Auburn Tigers and Tim Tebow of the Florida Gators), the team often struggled to contain their opponents’ offense with a defense that could be overwhelmed at times.
The next season, as Manziel made improvements to his game to be a better quarterback, the defense simply got worse. The 2013 Texas A&M defense ranked No. 111 in the country, surrendering an average of 475.8 yards per game. Not even Johnny Football could keep up with that and the Aggies fell out of SEC contention with two losses where the offense scored over 40 points and they finished two games worse from 2012 with a record of 9-4.
This past year, the offense struggled at times to find a replacement for Manziel at quarterback but they were given no wiggle room thanks to a defense that continues to fail at containing their opponents’ scoring.
Under Snyder, Texas A&M ranked No. 103 nationally in yards allowed per game and No. 111 against the run. In their final seven games of the regular season (of which A&M won just two), the Aggies surrendered 38.3 points and 502.5 yards per game as they finished the year 8-5. In the three years since joining the SEC, the Aggies have ranked no higher than No. 9 in total defense in the conference and have fielded the worst defense in the SEC in each of the last two seasons.
Clearly, there was a need for a change and the choice of Chavis is an absolute slam dunk. Since 2009, Chavis has led the LSU defense and built them to consistently rank among the best in the nation. In 2011, he won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach and may have turned in one of his finest coaching jobs ever during the 2014 season. Under his watch, the Tigers ranked No. 10 in the nation in total defense and No. 2 in the SEC behind only the Florida Gators. Since 2010, LSU has ranked no lower than No. 3 in the SEC for total defense thanks to the work of Chavis.
Chavis has built a reputation as one of the best defensive minds in football thanks in no small part to his ability to gameplan and shut down opposing spread offensive attacks. His work has helped LSU consistently field one of the toughest and most disruptive defenses in the country, particularly against teams that run the spread. He is one of the elite defensive signal callers in the country and A&M is lucky to have snagged him, particularly from a divisional rival like LSU.
And if the Aggies want to know where to send their thank-you cards, reports are that it’s because of Les Miles that Chavis was looking for a change in scenery. Up until last season, Miles and Chavis had a tremendous working relationship and were considered very close. But the arrival of Cam Cameron as offensive coordinator in 2013 drove a wedge between Miles and his DC as the head coach secluded himself with fellow Cameron, a fellow “Michigan Man.” That relationship sent Chavis packing and LSU’s loss is Texas A&M’s gain in a major way.
Chavis’ calling card is building defenses that are as athletic as they are physical, able to run with the fastest offenses and impose their will at the same time. He’s run what has become the blueprint for an SEC defense, which most will acknowledge as some of the best in the country. Bringing that shut-down mentality to the Aggies defense could be the missing piece to a championship run for Texas A&M.
Imagine if the Johnny Football-led Aggies had been backed by the defense of LSU? The Aggies recruit defensive talent at least comparable to that of LSU, though without nearly as much depth, yet have failed to put it together on the field and create a defense worthy of an SEC title run. Sumlin can coach up an offense and the Aggies are going to score points, there is no question about that. But if they can put a defense on the field to play at that same level? Texas A&M is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the SEC West.
There has been no learning curve required for Texas A&M while they have made their move from the Big 12 to the SEC offensively. The defense, however, has been a hindrance to their success and has really kept them from being legitimate contenders in the race for the SEC title. You can run up and down the field all season long, but to win the SEC, you’re going to have to win a tight defensive showdown at some point. Up to now, Texas A&M has not been equipped to do that.
With Chavis now leading their defense, however, that may no longer be an issue for the Aggies starting in 2015. If Texas A&M can get an elite defense from Chavis to match their high-powered offensive attack, then big things will be coming to College Station very soon.
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