The Texas A&M Aggies’ end to the season was frustrating to say the least, particularly when looking at the defense.
A&M lost its final four games against Power 4 teams, and gave up 35+ points in three of those games. First was a 44-20 loss against the South Carolina on Nov. 2, then a 43-41 overtime loss to the Auburn Tigers on Nov. 23, and finally a 35-31 loss to the USC Trojans in the Las Vegas Bowl on Friday night. Even in the one game the Aggies didn’t allow that many points, a 17-7 loss to the rival Texas Longhorns on Nov. 30, they still allowed 461 yards of total offense as the Longhorns shot themselves in the foot repeatedly.
After the bowl game, head coach Mike Elko made a damning indictment of his defense.
“We can’t cover the forward pass well enough to be a good football team,” Elko said.
Elko took responsibility for the defensive shortcomings, but it’s fair to say that some of the blame falls on defensive coordinator Jay Bateman as well.
On that note, the Aggies might look to make a change at the position. According to On3, the Aggies have contacted Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci about the same role in College Station. However, they face stiff competition from the Miami Hurricanes, who fired defensive coordinator Lance Guidry on Tuesday.
“Sources tell On3 that there has already been contact between Miami and Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci,” On3’s Pete Nakos wrote. “The 36-year-old coordinator held Miami to 23 points earlier this season and is a rising star in the coaching world. But while Santucci was viewed earlier this week as the hire, Texas A&M has entered the picture as a possible landing spot, too. Santucci has previously worked with Mike Elko in College Station and at Duke. Georgia Tech allowed 24.3 points per game this season.”
Santucci was Elko’s defensive coordinator at Duke last season, and the co-defensive coordinator at A&M after Elko left in 2022. His defenses have consistently been pretty strong, and his familiarity with the Aggies’ coaching staff makes him a prime candidate.
As of Tuesday afternoon, there hasn’t been much to suggest that the Aggies would move on from Bateman, but it also wouldn’t be too surpising considering the defense’s collapse down the stretch.
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