Biggest Decision Facing Texas A&M Coach Mike Elko Before Camp Begins

The Texas A&M Aggies are entering what hopes to be another championship-level season in College Station.

After coming up one game short of an SEC Championship berth and bowing out in their first-ever College Football Playoff game, the Aggies feel that they are right on the doorstep of breaking through as a national title contender after way too many years of mediocrity.

However, Texas A&M won't be able to reach its championship expectations if head coach Mike Elko doesn't nail down some key decisions on the offensive line.

Texas A&M's Decisions at Offensive Line Could Make or Break Season

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko walks off the field after defeating the Samford Bulldogs 48-0 in a game at Kyle Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Elko can sleep peacefully at night knowing he has Marcel Reed returning at quarterback and one of college football's best receiving corps alongside him, but none of that will matter if the offensive line isn't able to hold up against the many elite SEC pass rushes the Aggies will face this fall.

Texas A&M was spoiled over the past few seasons with one of the best offensive lines in the country, but the coaching staff had to put together an almost entirely new starting unit this offseason. The Aggies brought in four SEC transfers with Trovon Baugh (South Carolina), Coen Echols (LSU), Wilkin Formby (Alabama) and Tyree Adams (LSU).

Their combined in-conference experience is undoubtedly valuable, though that hardly means all four will start alongside returning center Mark Nabou Jr. Texas A&M fans can feel comfortable about what Formby and Echols bring to the table, but the jury might still be out on Baugh and Adams.

Just because a player arrives from the portal hardly means he is guranteed a starting job. Elko's key decisions will come down to figuring out if players like Lamont Rogers or Tyler Thomas are deserving of starting from Day 1 over Baugh and Adams. Competition at offensive line breeds success, and finding out Texas A&M's best starting five up front will determine how the season goes.

Fortunately for the Aggies, they have a much easier non-conference schedule this season compared to last year when they had to win a thriller on the road against Notre Dame.

Texas A&M will play Missouri State and Arizona State in College Station before opening up SEC play against Kentucky on Sept. 19. The Wildcats are expected to be a sneaky team this season, but there's no reason why Texas A&M can't begin the season 3-0 with little to no stress involved.

This will allow Elko and the coaching staff a few games to fight through some of the growing pains before the real test begins against the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge on Sept. 26.

No team has everything figured out by the fourth game of the season. LSU certainly won't have all the answers either. But if the Aggies don't have at least some consistency on the offensive line by the time they head to Death Valley, they could be in serious danger of dropping their first game of the season early on and risk being on College Football Playoff life support the rest of the year.

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