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The drama surrounding Daylon Mack and his recruitment finally came to an end on National Signing Day as the five-star defensive tackle re-committed to the Texas A&M Aggies. After being verbally committed to A&M for over a year, Mack decommitted in December to weight his options. After taking a look around, Mack returns to the Aggies to fill an immediate need on the defensive side of the ball in 2015.
Mack made headlines when he backed away from his commitment to the Aggies and immediately named the LSU Tigers and TCU Horned Frogs as finalists for his commitment. He was also connected with the Texas Longhorns after taking a visit there before coming back to College Station. According to Mack, he “silently” recommitted to the Aggies during an official visit in January and it was in large part to Texas A&M’s hiring of John Chavis as their new defensive coordinator.
Chavis was an extremely successful DC at LSU for years before he left Baton Rouge this offseason to take over the Aggies’ defense. Once Chavis left the Tigers, Mack eliminated LSU from consideration, showing that the opportunity to play for Chavis was pretty important to Mack. Now, A&M has two key pieces to turn around the Aggies’ defense, which has been the biggest hindrance to the program’s SEC success.
Last season, Texas A&M was routinely shredded by opposing offenses, ranking dead last in the conference in total defense (allowing 450.8 yards per game) and rushing defense (216 yards per game) as they limped to an 8-5 finish in 2014. With even a middle-of-the-pack defense, Texas A&M could have been a contender for the SEC West Division crown. If the defense can become great, they’ll be in the mix for the College Football Playoff without a doubt.
With Chavis (the architect of the No. 1 total defense in the SEC in 2014) calling the defense, they’ll have a good chance at being better than middle-of-the-pack in 2015. Especially when you consider that the Aggies will be able to place a dominant interior lineman like the 6-foot-1, 330-pound, MVP of the 2015 Under Armour All-American game Mack into the lineup.
Fixing the defense was top priority for Kevin Sumlin and the Aggies this offseason. With the hire of Chavis and the signing of Daylon Mack, they should see quick returns on the defensive side of the ball.
You can follow Tyler Brett on Twitter @ATylerBrett, on Facebook and on Google.
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