Texas A&M 2025 Season Preview: Safety
AggieYell.com’s season preview of the 2025 Texas A&M football team by position group continues with the safeties.
Cast of characters
#1, Bryce Anderson; Sr.; 5-10, 186
#33, Jarred Kerr; Sr.; 5-11, 190
#25, Dalton Brooks; Jr.; 6, 193;
#3, Marcus Ratcliffe; Jr.; 6-2, 209;
#28, Myles Davis; So.; 6-1, 198
#22, Rashad “Tom Tom” Johnson Jr.; Fr.; 6-1, 198
2024 stats
Brooks, 59 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 1 INT, 2 passes broken up
Ratcliffe, 48 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 3 INT, 1 forced fumble, 1 blocked kick
Anderson, 24 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 INT, 2 passes broken up
Davis, 11 tackles
Kerr, 6 tackles
Overview
After Bryce Anderson returned a tipped pass 45 yards for a touchdown to give the Aggies a huge lead at Florida in week 3 last year, it looked like the safety unit was going to be a major strength. Ratcliffe would have two interceptions in his first three games by the time A&M dispatched Florida and Brooks was starting to come into his own.
Then things fell apart like a chocolate chip cookie in a glass of milk. By the end of the Las Vegas Bowl, coach Mike Elko was furious with his secondary and the safeties in particular, saying they didn’t know how to play zone coverage.
Skip ahead to today and nearly all of the same faces are back, with the additional tutelage of new coach Lyle Hemphill. And again, there are high expectations for the safeties.
Anderson, who dealt with shoulder and knee injuries last year, is healthy and has reclaimed his starting spot. Ratcliffe is a legit 210-pound safety who can spin down to play as a pseudo-linebacker and Brooks has slimmed down and gained some speed after racking up 53 tackles in the final 10 games of the season. They should be the primary three safeties again this year.
But there’s some capable depth behind them. Davis has impressed this offseason and Kerr has three years of significant playing experience. Johnson, who was supposed to redshirt, has proven to be well ahead of the curve after a very good training camp.
This group has size, speed and versatility. What it needs to do is prove that it can operate the defense effectively and tackle. If they do, then this group can go from being a problem to an asset.
The spotlight’s on…
Brooks. Likely the most athletic safety on the team, Brooks has had very good moments (10 tackles against Texas, 9 against Mississippi State) and very bad ones (tossed from the Notre Dame and Florida games for targeting). He’s plenty fast and has shed a little weight from the spring to increase his speed even more, and he clearly has no problem with hitting someone. But he could be the poster child for the inconsistency of the safeties last year. If he comes in and plays at a consistently high level this year, the sky is the limit for him.
Projected depth chart
S:
Anderson
Davis
Johnson
S:
Ratcliffe OR Brooks
Kerr OR Johnson
