Go Joe Bruin
Fansided

Know Your Opponent: UCLA vs Texas A&M

By Michael Chavez

Dec 30, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Texas A&M Aggies running back Tra Carson (5) rushes for a touchdown against the Louisville Cardinals during the first half of the 2015 Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Texas A&M Aggies running back Tra Carson (5) rushes for a touchdown against the Louisville Cardinals during the first half of the 2015 Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
Jul 12, 2016; Hoover, AL, USA; Texas A&M player Trevor Knight speaks to the media during SEC media day at Hyatt Regency Birmingham-The Wynfrey Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 12, 2016; Hoover, AL, USA; Texas A&M player Trevor Knight speaks to the media during SEC media day at Hyatt Regency Birmingham-The Wynfrey Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports /

The Texas A&M Offense

As stated before, Trevor Knight will lead the Aggie attack on Saturday after winning the job earlier this Fall. Knight has the ability to scramble and make things happen with his legs in addition to having a strong arm with his three quarters delivery. At Oklahoma, Knight led a spread attack that integrated some read-option components to take advantage of his legs. He couldn’t be a better fit for the new offense in town.

Noel Mazzone left UCLA at the end of last season to take charge of the Aggie offense and he brings with him his patented high octane, high risk offense. His offense can either score you a ton of points in a hurry or leave your defense out on the field all game with its proclivity for three and outs.

More from Go Joe Bruin

The Aggies will rely on Knight to make the correct reads and attack the perimeter or go deep with some of their speedsters outside.

A&M has a wealth of talented young receivers but perhaps their most dangerous Speedy Noil, will be suspended for the opener. That leaves the door open for electric sophomore Christian Kirk and big bodied junior Ricky Seals-Jones to see plenty of balls their way.

The ground game had not been a major strength of the team but with the arrival of Mazzone we can expect the running game to take shape in a big way.

Returning leading rusher James White only had 196 yards last season but will help ease the transition into the new offense along with Keith Ford who comes over from Oklahoma. They both will be a focal point not only rushing but catching the ball out of the backfield as well. Running backs accounted for 44 catches, 379 yards and two scores in Mazzone’s 2015 offense.

The Bruins will field a highly touted secondary and the move to the 4-3 front means there should be more consistent pressure up front. A big question though is how will the new linebackers adjust to the speed of the Aggie running backs especially in coverage?

Did you know: This Is Noel Mazzone’s fourth stint with an SEC team but only the third SEC team he’s coached on? Mazzone was with Ole Miss on two separate occasions. He was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 1995-1998 and again became the offensive coordinator during the 2005 season.

Next: The Texas A&M Defense