Jalen Wydermyer Transitioning Well into A&M's Offense
COLLEGE STATION - Texas A&M believed they found their long-term answer to the loss of Jace Sternberger. The Kansas transfer excelled in 2018 for the Aggies, collecting 832 yards and 10 total touchdowns.
Baylor Cupp looked to be the next great Aggie receiver out in College Station. A leg injury during fall camp derailed his freshman year, sending him towards the injured reserve. Although the receiving corp was functional, Jimbo Fisher wanted to find another target for Kellen Mond.
Still transitioning from the high school level, Jalen Wydermyer has been the answer at tight end this season. Despite adjusting to the speed and intensity of the game, the Dickinson product has been a go-to target for Mond in the red zone during the 2019 campaign.
"I mean, he's done a really good job," Mond said of the freshman tight end. "And we've definitely seen his growth. That's one of the biggest things. For a guy to come in, not even early in a role, and just to kind of pick up the offense as fast as he does, obviously, he's not perfect and, even in practice, he misses up, but just his character to keep on continuing to go, and just kind of shows, you know, to have these results, it definitely doesn't surprise me."
Despite falling short to Alabama on Saturday, Mond and Wydermyer made a deadly duo against the Crimson Tide offense. In the third quarter, the junior would connect on a post pattern for a 25-yard score. Late in the fourth, Wydermyer would haul in an 18-yard touchdown in man coverage.
As a run blocker, there's room for improvement. That could be said for the offensive line as a whole. The Aggies run game has stuffed once more, collecting only 125 yards on the day. Part of the problem has come at the hands of the run blocking upfront.
"They're a good run defense. They play the run very well," Fisher said. "But, at the same time, if you do that and then, all of a sudden, you get behind ‑‑ and, like you say, a couple, two of those drives were three‑and‑outs. If you look, we had a negative run on the first play of the drive."
In the passing game, Wydermyer has become a focal point to A&M's success. For the season, the young pass-catcher has collected nine receptions for 109 yards and four touchdowns.
Although there's room for improvement, Wydermyer is making his case as the next big name in the Aggies' receiving room. Another strong outing could have the team looking at two tight end sets for the foreseeable future.
For now, the game plan is to figure out the issues and finish the season strong. Expect Wydermyer to be part of the reason for future A&M success,
"We're 3‑3, and we're going to find out how we play," Fisher said. "Hopefully, we have learned from that and get down the stretch here and play good football. We've had opportunities in those games. It felt like both games, that we could play with those teams if we play with enough consistency. And that's what we didn't do. That's what we've got to find and learn to play the second half of this season now."
