10 Things for Tuesday
Texas A&M football is enjoying their first bye after a 3-0 start that has vaulted them into the top 10, so let’s hand out some awards:
- MVP: Marcel Reed. I don’t know how it could possibly be anyone else. He’s completing 65% of his passes, has thrown for 869 yards and accounted for 10 touchdowns. The advancement made by him is immense. I could give him all kinds of flowers in this column, but I’ll stop here to make it fair.
- Offensive player of the quarter (not named Marcel Reed): WR Mario Craver. Again, easy pick. He leads the nation in receiving after lighting up Notre Dame for 207 yards and was the AP’s National Player of the Week. He’s averaging 22.2 yards per catch.
- Defensive player of the quarter: CB Dezz Ricks. Apologies to Cashius Howell, but Ricks has gone from the corner you target all the time to the one you avoid at all costs. He has allowed two catches so far for a total of 7 yards.
- Play of the quarter: Take a bow, Nate Boerkircher. That wasn’t just a game winning catch, but possibly a program-altering one. If they keep winning, of course.
- Series of the quarter: Sack, sack, sack for Howell. First time that had been done at the FBS level in a decade, and it was truly remarkable to watch. When Myles Garrett says he’s trying to imitate you, that means you did something amazing.
- Disappointment of the quarter: The run defense. A&M is 79th in the nation against the run, giving up 139 yards a game. The most frustrating part is that it’s not 5 yards every time; it’s 1, -1, 25. It’s a lack of consistency or focus or both. I get the sense next week the defense, given the option of catching their coaches’ wrath or being the chair Mike Elko threw, they’d pick the chair.
- Assistant of the quarter: Offensive coordinator Collin Klein. The Aggies are 25th in total offense and 17th in passing offense three games in. It is a complete reversal from 2024. He’s adjusted his offense to the weapons he’s been provided.
- Executive of the quarter: Recruiting General Manager Derek Miller. Not only do the Aggies have the sixth-ranked recruiting class in the nation for 2026, but he helped bring in Craver and KC Concepcion. There have not been two more impactful transfers anywhere in the nation than those two.
- Most improved player (offense): WR Terry Bussey. The numbers aren’t there quite yet (7 catches, 87 yards), but he’s becoming an increasingly reliable option at receiver and will likely get more looks as defenses try to find ways to limit Craver and Concepcion. And he may already be the best return man in the nation. Between receiving, kickoff returns and punt returns, Bussey has 321 yards of total offense and touchdown. And he should have 99 more and another score, but we won’t get into that.
- Most improved player (defense): Ricks. DJ Hicks was great against Notre Dame, but Ricks is playing at a level so high opponents would rather take their chances with All-SEC corner Will Lee. That is saying a whole lot.
