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2025 Opponent Offseason Storylines: The return of Le'Veon Moss bodes well for the Texas A&M offense

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•05/12/25•

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In 2022, Texas A&M signed the No. 1 recruiting class of all time. It was a 30 man group that featured 24 top-300 prospects and a ridiculous amount of five-stars. Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin both famously launched barbs at Jimbo Fisher‘s program for their NIL operation’s role in signing the top class.

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The class has flopped since then, with only one of those five-stars in Shemar Stewart heading to the NFL as an Aggie. But as Mike Elko looks to make the most of the remaining members of the 2022 class along with other Fisher remnants and his own portal additions, one of those few remaining fourth-year players will be a key part of his efforts.

Running back Le’Veon Moss was the No. 86 overall prospect in that class and committed to the Aggies out of Baton Rouge (La.) Istrouma. The feature back in an offense that split carries between the running back position and the quarterback, Moss rushed for at least 80 yards in six of his first eight starts in 2024. He logged 100-yard games in wins over Florida, Arkansas, and Missouri and notched seven touchdowns in a sizzling month of October where the Aggies defeated Missouri, Mississippi State, and LSU. Listed a 6-foot-0, 210 pounds, Moss’ physical nature was the perfect complement to Marcel Reed‘s more elusive style.

A&M was 7-1 with Moss and had a path to the SEC championship game thanks to the Aggies’ ability to run with him in the offense. At South Carolina to start the month of November, disaster struck and Moss sustained a knee injury that would knock him out for the rest of the season.

The run game was not as effective without Moss’ presence. Including the South Carolina game, Texas A&M averaged 3.54 yards per carry the rest of the way versus Power Conference opponents. That was over a full yard under the season average. Moss’ absence was felt most in the rivalry game versus the Longhorns when A&M rushed 34 times for 2.9 yards and was stopped at the goal line in the fourth quarter by the Texas defense. There was a slight bounce back in the bowl game thanks to Rueben Owens and EJ Smith, but it was not enough to overcome USC and A&M ended the season losing four of its final five games.

For his efforts, Moss was named to the All-SEC second team. He decided to return for the 2025 season, a huge boost for Elko’s second year prospects. And Moss expects to look like his old self come week one.

“Rehab is going great right now for me, I ain’t going to lie,” Moss recently told TexAgs. “(Assistant athletic director for football rehabilitation) Joe (Girardi) is always telling he ain’t really seen nobody who has come back this fast and doing the stuff that I’m doing so early. Even Tyreek (Chappell) was telling me ‘you’re ahead of the game.'”

In that interview with TexAgs, Moss admitted he didn’t show as much patience when rushing. Even so, his 765 yards on 121 carries with 10 scores was quality work.

With A&M aligned with Reed under center, Collin Klein‘s offense can be expected to show growth this year. Moss’ presence would further help that growth. It won’t all be Moss as A&M returns Owens, Smith, Amari Daniels, and Deondrae Riden in the backfield.

But it was clear that the Aggie offense lacked Moss’ physical ability over the home stretch of the season. That potential growth for Klein, Elko, and all involved in College Station depends largely on how effective Moss is. If healthy and looking like his 2024 self, Moss’ senior season could help A&M make the type of year two jump not seen since R.C. Slocum was walking the sidelines.

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2025 Opponent Offseason Storylines

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