Aggies Feel Stable On Offensive Line Despite Transfer Of Matthew Wykoff
COLLEGE STATION -- Jimbo Fisher lives with the "next man up" mantra for the Texas A&M Aggies. That's the way it's going to be in 2023 on the offensive line following the departure of Matthew Wykoff.
Wykoff, A&M's primary center in 2022, announced Wednesday that he would enter the transfer portal once it opens on April 15. The redshirt freshman filled in for the injured Bryce Foster to begin the year, then returned to the position after Foster was ruled out for the season following a loss to Alabama.
Fisher, who enters his sixth year at A&M, might have to shuffle several names in the trenches, but the emergence of younger talent gives him hope that the departure of one prospect only leads to the opening for another.
"I've been very pleased this spring," Fisher said. "I thought we made some huge developments. I thought some guys were really coming on, playing well. The young guys are developing."
The easy fix for A&M is to have an entire season of Foster, who won the starting job in 2021 and was named a freshman All-American. He won't take the field Saturday for the annual Maroon and White game, but it's not due to injury. A two-sport athlete, Foster is currently competing as a shot putter for the A&M track team, meaning his priorities have been away from football.
That's fine for Fisher. Last offseason, Foster did not participate in spring practice and still was projected to be the starter entering fall camp.
“Getting Bryce back (in the summer), I’m really excited about that,” Fisher said. "And those young guys, not just playing and (learning), but physically they’re really good players. I’m really excited about that group.”
Fisher may see Wykoff's replacement already in place, not in terms of depth chart positioning, but role. Both Mark Nabou and Remington Strickland took reps at center during spring practice.
Nabou, a former three-star recruit from Seattle, Wash., also has experience in practice working reps at guard similar to Wykoff. The left guard position is also available, meaning Nabou could earn the starting nod over Jordan Spasojevic-Moko or Kam Dewberry.
The loss of Wykoff more so hurts the program in a leadership aspect. One of the more respected players in the locker room, Wykoff, a Magnolia native, earned a spot on SEC all-freshman team in 2022 and was named the offense’s “Unselfish Leadership Award" during the offseason.
“Losing Matthew is tough, he’s one of my good friends and I love him and hope the best for wherever he goes,” tight end Max Wright said. “But from a depth standpoint on the offensive line, some of the guys having more experience than what we had last year is huge.”
Wright, a sixth-year senior, has an eye for young talent since he's been around long enough to watch two classes graduate. Much like Fisher, he's been pleased with the developments of Nabou and Strickland this spring. Both players have spent a year in coach Steve Addazio's system, so improvements are expected.
That's not the only prospect on Wright's radar. Early enrollee Chase Bisontis already looks like a veteran working drills with both the first and second units. And while the four-star talent from New Jersey primarily saw action at left tackle in high school, if he's one of the top-five linemen, Fisher will find a way to fluctuate the line to grab him a spot come Week 1 against New Mexico.
"He’s going to shock a lot of people this year with how he plays — he doesn’t play like a true freshman," Wright said of Bisontis. "He’s going to be really good.”
Bisontis, Nabou, Strickland and the rest of the offensive line will have a chance to put everything together come 3 p.m. Saturday at Kyle Field. Fisher said the plan is to divide the teams with the projected first-team offense and second-team defense on one side and vice versa.
Just because the "first-team" unit takes the field Saturday won't mean that those are the starting five for the Aggies. Offseason injuries, prior commitments and the transfer portal will ultimately factor into the final depth chart come fall camp.
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