Jay Bateman Details What Defensive Improvements Texas A&M Has Made This Offseason

In the months leading from the Las Vegas Bowl, where the Texas A&M defense allowed a seemingly unsurmountable comeback by the USC Trojans, head coach Mike Elko and defensive coordinator Jay Bateman knew that their defense would have to take a step forward, especially with a lot of the stars heading off to the NFL.

Luckily for the two defensive minds, they were able to keep defensive playmakers such as Cashius Howell, Bryce Anderson, and Will Lee III on the team.

Even though defensive ends like Howell and Rylan Kennedy do not possess the size advantage that guys like Nic Scourton or Shemar Stewart had, Bateman is still grateful to have players like them to both rush the quarterback and also drop them back into coverage.

"Obviously, Nic (Scourton) and Shemar (Stewart) are great players, you know, I think when you look at what we did with Cashius (Howell) in the bowl game, I'd say Cashius is kind of like, one notch below those guys, size-wise, but still, the ability to drop them into coverage has a lot of value," Bateman told the media Wednesday afternoon.

"I really think as we become more of a four-down front, like the ability for those guys to be on the edge and pass rushers is really valuable, not that Shemar and Nic weren't, but you know I think a commitment to a little more of a true edge player, it's part of the process and like, who we knew we had to go in the transfer portal and get some guys and the best players available."

Bateman also talked about how he believed everybody on the defensive side of the personnel took some blame for the late collapse in the bowl game, even coaches.

"Yeah, I took it as everybody needed to be better, you know, coaches included," Bateman said. "I think that when injuries happened, we just didn't have some of the depth that we needed, and I feel really good about our depth right now. I feel really good about Will Lee and Dezz Ricks and Javon Thomas and their second year in the program."