Aggies Must Roll With Young Offensive Line vs. Alabama
What do you do with an offensive line that starts two true freshmen? You just roll with it, if you’re Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher.
For the third straight week, that’s what he and the Aggies will do as they face No. 1 Alabama.
Freshman Bryce Foster has started at center all season. And, for the third straight week, Reuben Fatheree II, is the expected starter at right tackle.
This isn’t how Fisher drew things up to start the season, though he knew going in that the Aggies would be breaking in some new starter.
“Those are the best players right now,” Fisher said. “Those are the guys that play the best and that's what you have to do.”
Texas A&M entered the season knowing it would need four new starters. But the Aggies were hoping to lean on more experienced linemen to fill those spots.
So how did the Aggies get to this point? Center Luke Matthews was hurt before the season started, paving the way for Foster. Matthews had surgery on Monday and he’s done for the season.
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Right guard Layden Robinson has been in and out of the lineup, as he returned for the Mississippi State game after a two-game absence due to injury.
Left guard Aki Ogunbiyi started the first four games before missing last week’s game with Mississippi State due to an injury.
While Kenyon Green, the third-year starter and consensus All-American, has started all five games, the injuries have forced Texas A&M to move him around. Green started the season at right tackle, moved to right guard by the third game and then he started at left guard last week. His versatility surely impresses NFL scouts, and he’s already been named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week once this season.
But, when Green vacated right tackle, Blake Trainor took his spot in Week 3. Then, the Aggies elevated Reuben Fatheree to the starting role in Week 4, and he started there again last week.
So, could the Aggies roll out a third straight different offensive line combination on Saturday? That depends on whether Ogunbiyi is ready to return to start at left guard. If he can, then Green would move back to either right guard or right tackle. And while that would be another new combination, it would make the Aggies’ offensive line a little better. If Ogunbiyi can’t, Green would likely stay put, as would the rest of the line.
That configuration would give the Aggies a chance to build on last week’s 161 yards rushing against Mississippi State, their best total rushing output since their Week 1 win over Kent State (303 yards). Of course, the Aggies are going up against an Alabama defense that is giving up just 106 yards per game.
Fisher waxed nostalgic on Monday about the old days of being able to redshirt every freshman. He knows those days are gone, and the injuries that have upended the offensive line to this point are just something he and his coaching staff will have to live with.
It doesn’t matter if he may be uncomfortable with the concept.
“That's the world we're in right now,” Fisher said.
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