How Texas A&M is building its depth along its defensive line ahead of nine-game SEC schedule
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COLLEGE STATION - It would make sense to think that graduate transfer Ryan Henderson was all over the field in Texas A&M's 50-0 season opening victory over Missouri State. Henderson made two of the game's best plays, including stopping Bears quarterback Skyler Locklear behind the line of scrimmage on a fourth-down play and later strip-sacking Locklear.
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But Henderson wasn't on the field much at all.
"One of the most productive games from a snap count standpoint," Elko said the Monday following the game. "I think he played four total snaps, had a fourth-down stop and a sack fumble so that's really impressive."
Yes, the Missouri State game wasn't much of a contest but Henderson's performance in so few snaps is indicative of why the Texas A&M's defensive line is so strong.
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Building depth along the defensive line is important because it allows coaches to rotate through players without having to worry about significant dropoffs in quality or production, if there's any drop off at all. Those players then will go hard every play, even in the brutal Texas heat, because they know when they come out their replacement will continue to meet the standard set by the Aggies for their lineman.
This year's group in particular not only has great talent but also significant depth for an Elko-led team. While in College Station as a defensive coordinator or a head coach, Elko said he usually aims to have six or seven players along the line who can rotate in during a game. This year is the first time one of his teams can go as deep as 11 players along that front, he said.
"When you get on the field, give everything you got because you know as soon as you get a little bit tired, there's somebody else who's fresh who can come in," senior defensive end T.J. Searcy said. "Having that depth just allows you to play as hard as you can every snap."
Working the defensive line rotation is similar to calling plays, co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Elijah Robinson said. You have a pregame plan and then you adjust during the game. Making those in-game adjustments is also easier now thanks to the help of tablets on the sideline.
The understanding in the room, Robinson said, is that nobody is guaranteed anything regarding playing time. Everyone needs to earn the opportunities in practice.
"These guys are honest with themselves," Robinson said. "They understand who deserves the amount of reps, who's been practicing well, who's making plays and we go from there."
That revealed itself in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 48-20 victory over Arizona State. Heading into the final quarter, the Aggies were only up four points and the Sun Devils offense had put some pressure of the Texas A&M defense
T.J. Searcy is part of Texas A&M's growing rotation on defensive front. (Joe Buvid/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)But then the defense played its best quarter of the young season. Searcy got to quarterback Cutter Boley on a play and impacted his throwing motion, popping his throw up in the air for Jones to catch and run 55 yards for a touchdown. After kicking the PAT and kicking back off, Texas A&M notched another turnover when defensive end Sam M'Pemba forced a fumble that safety Dalton Brooks recovered.
Elko credited his defense's ability to rotate for part of the dominance in the fourth quarter as their relative freshness at that point in the game put them in a better position to attack the quarterback and play hard.
"We got not just the first 11, but we have the next 11, the next 11 and the next 11," Jones said. "Like it's anybody who ever touches the field, it's somebody who can go out there and make plays and make an impact on the game."
The early stats illustrate that numerous defensive lineman are making impacts on the game.
Henderson has his two TFLs and forced fumble. Searcy has 1.5 sacks and two quarterback hits. Jones has a sack, a forced fumble and his pick six. M'Pemba has his forced fumble. Anto Saka, a highly-regarded defensive end transfer from Northwestern, has five total tackles and a TFL. Defensive tackle DJ Hicks, a former five-star recruit who is getting his first chance to start this year, has 0.5 TFLs and a quarterback hit.
"When you talk about being a 260-to-300-plus pound guy playing in the Texas heat, if you have to play every snap for four quarters, that's a challenge if you want to play at the level and standard that we want to play at," Elko said. "The ability to rotate guys, the ability to keep guys fresh, the ability to kind of come in waves at offenses I think is something that we've always kind of viewed as a weapon for us."
Elko also made another point about why building depth across the entire defense, not just on the defensive line, is important. The Aggies are playing nine SEC games this year and for the foreseeable future.
Texas A&M now has to build its team with a nine-game conference schedule in mind, and Elko said that requires multiple players in the trenches who can not only step in but step up to the occasion when their numbers are called upon.
"Even if you have the best guys in the world, you just leave them in there to dry and they're super tired, they're not going to be the best guys in the world anymore," Jones said. "Always having fresh legs, always having people that are going to go in, do what they need to do, go make plays. I think that's huge, and that's kind of what leads to us having a good defense this year."
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There’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at How Texas A&M is building its depth along its defensive line ahead of nine-game SEC schedule.