Texas A&M's All-Time Starting Offense Features Johnny Manziel, Other Big Names

Much of Texas A&M's notoriety comes from the 12th man, but today, we want to look at the 11 best players for A&M's all-time offense. The question at stake is what an offense would look like if it consisted of A&M's best athletes all the way from the 1930s to this present day.

It's one thing to have success at the professional level, but these men will go down as some of the best athletes in Aggie history.

Here's a look at Texas A&M's all-time starting offense:

Offensive Guard

At left guard, we have a legend, Calvin Collins. Taking his talents to the Minnesota Vikings in 1997, he played three years with A&M and racked up many honors. Collins finished his collegiate career with two-time All-Southwest Conference and All-Big 12 honors.

At the right guard position is the oldest player on this list. Joe Routt played at Texas A&M from 1934-1937, and in that time he became a two-time All-American, two-time All-Southwest Conference and a team captain. Following his time with the Aggies, he was placed in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1962.

Offensive Tackle

Texas A&M Aggies offensive lineman Luke Joeckel blocks against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the second quarter at Kyle Field. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Starting at left tackle is Outland Trophy winner Luke Joeckel. Though his A&M career was compiled in just a couple of years, he has much to show for it. As an All-American and All-Southeastern Conference honoree, his biggest achievement was starting all 39 games in his collegiate career. He carried on to be one of the highest drafted A&M alum of all time, havong been selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars second overall in 2013.

Jake Matthews is our pick for right tackle, and he is well-acquainted with his next-door tackle. Playing alongside Joeckel, Matthews managed to rack up two All-American and two All-Southeastern Conference titles. Currently on the roster, Matthews has played for the same team that drafted him for over 10 years.

Center

At the center position, we have none other than Mike Arthur. Inducted as a Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Famer in 2003, he had a stellar career from 1987-1990. He secured All-American and All-Southwest Conference honors in his time and was then drafted in 1991 by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Tight End

Texas A&M WR Jace Sternberger catches a pass in an NCAA college football game between Texas A&M and Mississippi State | Jared Thomas/For Clarion Ledger

At tight end, we've selected Jace Sternberger, who played only one season with Texas A&M.

Though his time in Aggieland was short, he put on an unseen performance in 2018, which landed him All-American and All-Southeastern Conference. He put up 832 yards and 10 touchdowns to set the A&M tight end record for career touchdowns.

Wide Receivers

Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Christian Kirk works out prior to the game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

It's no surprise, but the Aggies know how to produce star receivers, and one of the greats is Christian Kirk. He tops the leaderboard in almost every single A&M receiving leaderboard. He managed to fill his bag with several major honors, including SEC Freshman of the Year, SEC Newcomer of the Year, Freshman All-America, First-team All-SEC in 2016 and 2017, and two-time NCAA Average Punt Return Yards Leader

Coming in at WR2 is Mike Evans, who is clearly the best NFL talent on this list. In his time at A&M, he rounded up accolades like Consensus First-Team All-American, First-Team All-SEC, and Freshman All-SEC. He also holds the A&M single-season and single-game receiving yard records with 1,394 and 287.

Lastly, at WR3 is Ryan Swope, who was a two-time all-conference second team selection and played a massive part in the Big 12 South Championship. Swope still holds the program’s career records for receiving yards with 3,117, receptions with 252, and 100-yard receiving games that totaled 14. At the time of his selection, he was the first wide receiver drafted from A&M in almost 10 years.

Running Back

Trayveon Williams, who is currently on the New England Patriots roster, was the easy pick for running back. Williams, who was drafted in 2019 by the Cincinnati Bengals, holds several A&M leaderboard spots and records to this day, including number one in single-season rushing with 1,760, and is in second for single-game rushing with 240.

He was also honored with Second Team All-America, First Team All-SEC, and SEC Back of the Year.

Quarterback

The last, but frankly most obvious choice on this list, was Heisman winner Johnny Manziel at quarterback. In 2012, Manziel became the first freshman to win the Heisman trophy, but it didn't end there. In his time at A&M, Manziel broke several passing and rushing records, which is truly unheard of.

He holds the single-season passing yards, touchdowns, and rushing touchdowns records at Texas A&M to this day, and took home even more national hardware in his three-year stint including the Davey O'Brien Award, Manning Award, AP/Sporting News Player of the Year, Consensus All-American, SEC Offensive Player of the Year, two-time First-team All-SEC and even 2013 Cotton Bowl Offensive MVP.

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