Jimbo Fisher’s first year at Texas A&M went quite well. The Aggies finished second in the SEC West after outlasting LSU in a seven-overtime season finale and went 9-4. Two of those losses came in solid performances against Clemson and Alabama.
Jimbo Fisher can keep up Texas A&M’s momentum by adapting (again)
In his first year at A&M, Fisher built his offense around the ground game. Now, he’ll have to lean more on his QB.
Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
His second year has the potential to be much harder. The schedule somehow gets tougher, taking the Aggies on road trips to Clemson, Ole Miss, Georgia, and LSU, as well as their neutral-site battle against Arkansas in Dallas. The home slate features Alabama and the rest of the SEC West. The Aggies also lost a lot to the NFL, including 1,760-yard running back Trayveon Williams, star tight end Jace Sternberger, and center Erik McCoy.
Fisher had to get a lot of pieces into place to get the Aggies from seven wins in 2017 to nine in ‘18. Still, they went from 38th in S&P+ to 10th. You could make a case for things getting better or worse in 2019, but Fisher has one big particular in front of him.
In 2018, Fisher built an offense designed to feature the running back.
The obvious 2019 priority on offense was to retool Kevin Sumlin’s spread roster into a unit that could pave a way for Williams. The junior-to-be had run for 1,057 yards at 6.8 per carry as a freshman playing off Trevor Knight in a spread-option attack in 2016, and then slipped to 798 yards at 4.6 ypc as a sophomore. The Aggies needed to find new ways to emphasize Williams with their playbook and, more importantly, some blockers to keep his paths clean.
Fisher got one huge coup, going into an Oklahoma JUCO to snatch up Sternberger. The Oklahoman tight end had started his career at Kansas, but he left, perhaps in search of an offense that would feature a tight end more. After a year at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, where he caught 21 balls for 336 yards and six scores, he was expected to go to Boise State before Jimbo found him. He then led A&M with 48 catches for 832 yards and 10 scores.
What made Sternberger (No. 81) particularly effective was that the Aggies had two means of helping him to avoid difficult blocking assignments, like base-blocking defensive ends without help. Fisher united QB Kellen Mond’s running ability, other TE Trevor Wood’s brute strength, center McCoy’s mobility, and Sternberger’s hybrid skill set to unleash Williams:
1. They would pull McCoy around the edge on sweeps, with Mond reading the backside end like on a zone read:
2. Or they would put Wood toward the field and run zone or counter at opponents, still often pulling McCoy rather than a guard:
Jimbo and his staff quickly changed the roster’s identity from a spread team’s to one that could get big bodies on the field to push around SEC defenses. By putting players together the right way, A&M set up Williams to have a fantastic season.
In 2019, Fisher will have to build more around his QB.
The goal will no longer be to feature the departed Williams running behind departed TEs, with a special center throwing lead blocks around the edge. What was most impressive from the A&M staff last season was not the specific personnel or plays, but the way the coaches were able to quickly build a strong identity around their best players.
The strength of the returners is focused in the passing game. Besides their leading target Sternberger, who’s gone, the Aggies actually return a completely intact WR corps, with several young guys who emerged down the stretch in 2018. That includes 6’4 junior Kendrick Rogers. The OL brings back multiple starters, including juniors Dan Moore Jr. and Carson Green, who started at tackle last year as underclassmen. Finally, there’s Mond, who threw for 3,107 yards last season at 7.5 per throw, with 24 TDs and nine INTs. Plus, the incoming freshman class has a five-star OT, the nation’s No. 1 TE, and two four-star WRs.
Mond was inconsistent as a true sophomore in a new offense and benefitted early from having Sternberger releasing up the seams off play-action and either getting behind linebackers or sucking in enough attention to free up other receivers. He was probably most comfortable in the spread, where he could use his athleticism and arm strength to over-stress defenses and hit guys down the field.
His TD pass to force overtime against LSU was a perfect example:
The Aggies quietly have a loaded group of receivers, with size and athleticism that make them difficult to handle downfield. Mond has the arm to hit them, including on the move:
No one in the SEC wants to see Mond throwing at Rogers 15 times a game.
The Aggies will undoubtedly build up a strong rushing attack next season, continuing to utilize Mond’s abilities to run option to create angles for rising sophomore RB Jashaun Corbin. However, their emphasis will now likely change to make more of their passing-game weapons and now upperclassman QB.
The offense may resemble something more like Fisher’s spread-oriented Jameis Winston offenses at Florida State, rather than the later units built around Dalvin Cook.
Fisher adapted to make A&M’s offense 2018. If he can do it again, the Aggies’ momentum might continue despite a brutal schedule.
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