2015 Texas A&M Aggies football team

The 2015 Texas A&M Aggies football team represented Texas A&M University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at the newly renovated Kyle Field. They were members of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference. They were led by fourth year head coach Kevin Sumlin. The Aggies finished the regular season 8–5 overall and 4–4 in SEC play. They were invited to the Music City Bowl, where they were defeated by the Louisville Cardinals, 21–27.

2015 Texas A&M Aggies football
Music City Bowl, L 21–27 vs. Louisville
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	Western Division
2015 record	8–5 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach	Kevin Sumlin (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Jake Spavital (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	John Chavis (1st season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Home stadium	Kyle Field (Capacity: 102,733)

2015 Southeastern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 25 Florida x		7	–	1					10	–	4
No. 22 Tennessee		5	–	3					9	–	4
Georgia		5	–	3					10	–	3
Vanderbilt		2	–	6					4	–	8
Kentucky		2	–	6					5	–	7
Missouri		1	–	7					5	–	7
South Carolina		1	–	7					3	–	9
West Division
No. 1 Alabama x$#^		7	–	1					14	–	1
No. 10 Ole Miss		6	–	2					10	–	3
Arkansas		5	–	3					8	–	5
No. 16 LSU		5	–	3					9	–	3
Texas A&M		4	–	4					8	–	5
Mississippi State		4	–	4					9	–	4
Auburn		2	–	6					7	–	6
Championship: Alabama 29, Florida 15
– College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

Recruiting class

In the 2015 recruiting class, Texas A&M signed 25 players, 11 of which were included in the ESPN 300 and 12 in the Scout 300. The class was ranked 12th in the nation by ESPN,[1] 10th by Rivals,[2] 12th by 247,[3] and 10th by Scout.[4]

US college sports recruiting information for 2015 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40^‡	Commit date
Jay Bradford RB	Splendora, TX	Splendora HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	4.36	Aug 22, 2013
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Kendall Bussey RB	New Orleans, LA	Isidore Newman HS	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	4.42	Feb 2, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Deshawn Capers-Smith CB	New Orleans, LA	Warren Easton HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	5.09	Feb 23, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jordan Davis TE	Houston TX	Clear Lake HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	–	Jun 25, 2013
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Justin Dunning S	Whitehouse, TX	Whitehouse HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	201 lb (91 kg)	4.53	Nov 10, 2013
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Landis Durham LB	Plano, TX	Plano East HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	221 lb (100 kg)	4.69	Jun 15, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Roney Elam CB	Newton, TX	Newton HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	–	Aug 15, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Trevor Elbert OL	Heath, TX	Rockwall-Heath HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	292 lb (132 kg)	5.02	Jan 26, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Justin Evans S	Wiggins, MS	Mississippi Gulf Coast CC	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	4.50	May 1, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Riley Garner LB	College Station, TX	A&M Consolidated HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	216 lb (98 kg)	4.66	May 21, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Claude George LB	Lafayette, LA	Hutchinson CC	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	233 lb (106 kg)	4.70	Oct 30, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Kingsley Keke DT	Richmond, TX	George Ranch HS	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	5.06	Jun 4, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Christian Kirk WR	Scottsdale, AZ	Saguaro HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	4.48	Dec 17, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Daniel Lacamera K	Tarpon Springs, FL	East Lake HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	–	Jun 24, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Connor Lanfear OL	Buda, TX	Hays HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	278 lb (126 kg)	–	Feb 28, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
James Lockhart DE	Ennis, TX	Ennis HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	250 lb (110 kg)	4.70	Jul 25, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Daylon Mack DT	Gladewater, TX	Glade Water HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	328 lb (149 kg)	4.96	Feb 4, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Erik McCoy OL	Lufkin, TX	Lufkin HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	307 lb (139 kg)	5.11	Nov 18, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Richard Moore LB	Cedar Hill, TX	Cedar Hill HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	4.80	Jan 2, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Kyler Murray QB	Allen, TX	Allen HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	177 lb (80 kg)	4.5	May 28, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Larry Pryor S	Sulphur Springs, TX	Sulphur Springs HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	197 lb (89 kg)	4.66	Jan 30, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Damion Ratley WR	Yoakum, TX	Blinn CC	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	4.47	Nov 28, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Kemah Siverand WR	Houston, TX	Cypress Ridge HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	4.47	May 29, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Keaton Sutherland OL	Flower Mound, TX	Marcus HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	282 lb (128 kg)	5.0	Jun 16, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Dwaine Thomas LB	Boutte, LA	Hahnville HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	4.60	Jan 17, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 10   Rivals: 10  247Sports: 12  ESPN: 12
‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Texas A&M Football Commitment List 2015". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 4, 2015. "Texas A&M College Football Recruiting Commits 2015". Scout.com. Retrieved February 4, 2015. "Texas A&M Aggies Commits 2015". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 4, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 4, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 4, 2015.

Personnel

Roster

2015 Texas A&M Aggies football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 1 Kyler Murray Fr WR 2 Speedy Noil So WR 3 Christian Kirk Fr WR 4 Damion Ratley So RB 5 Tra Carson  Sr QB 7 Jake Hubenak  So WR 9 Ricky Seals-Jones  So QB 10 Kyle Allen So WR 11 Josh Reynolds Jr WR 13 Jamal Jeffery So QB 14 Conner McQueen  Jr WR 15 Frank Iheanacho So QB 16 Kobe Miller  Fr WR 16 Kemah Siverand Fr QB 17 Jordan Traylor Jr WR 18 Edward Pope  Jr QB 19 Janson Moore  So WR 19 Jeremy Tabuyo Jr RB 20 James White  So RB 21 Keith Ford (I) Jr RB 22 Kwame Etwi Fr WR 23 Sabian Holmes Sr RB 25 Kendall Bussey Fr RB 27 Brice Dolezal Sr RB 29 Jay Bradford Fr RB 34 Blaine Townsend Sr FB 39 Austin English So TE 41 Brandon Alexander  Sr WR 42 Josch Motley  So TE 47 Caden Smith  Sr WR 48 Dreagan Patterson Jr OL 50 Tank Davis  Fr OL 56 Mike Matthews (C) Sr OL 61 Braden Meador  Jr OL 62 Chad Loitz  So OL 63 Ryan Lindblade Jr OL 64 Erik McCoy Fr OL 65 Avery Gennesy  Jr OL 66 Nathan Kellman OL 67 Drew Beakey Fr OL 68 Justin Dworaczyk Fr OL 69 Brayden Talbert Fr OL 70 Connor Lanfear Fr OL 71 Trevor Elbert Fr OL 72 Jermaine Eluemunor  Jr OL 73 Jeremiah Stuckey  Jr OL 74 Germain Ifedi (C)  Jr OL 75 Koda Martin  Fr OL 77 J.J. Gustafson So OL 78 Keaton Sutherland Fr OL 79 Joseph Cheek  Sr WR 81 Jalyn Judkins  So WR 82 Boone Niederhofer  Jr WR 83 Kyle Whitley  Fr WR 84 Morgan Whatley Fr TE 85 Grant Gustafson Fr WR 85 Reggie Rusk Fr TE 87 Greer Shetler Fr WR 88 Thom Lam  Fr TE 89 Jordan Davis Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 1 De'Vante Harris Sr DB 4 Noel Ellis Jr DL 5 Daylon Mack Fr DB 6 Donovan Wilson So LB 7 Richard Moore Fr DB 8 Nick Harvey So DL 9 Qualen Cunningham So DL 10 Daeshon Hall Jr LB 11 Josh Walker So DB 12 Sam Moeller (C)  Sr LB 13 Reggie Chevis  So DB 14 Justin Evans Jr DL 15 Myles Garrett (C) So LB 16 Dwaine Thomas Fr DB 17 Alex Sezer Jr. Jr DB 18 Larry Pryor Fr DB 19 DeShawn Capers-Smith Fr DB 21 Brandon Williams (C)  Sr DB 23 Armani Watts So DB 25 Priest Willis (I) Jr DB 26 Devonta Burns  Sr DB 27 Roney Elam Fr DB 28 Victor Davis  So DB 30 Justin Dunning Fr LB 31 Claude George Jr DB 32 Will Paulhill  Jr LB 32 Kevin Wilson  Sr LB 33 Shaan Washington Jr LB 35 Riley Garner Fr DL 40 Jarrett Johnson So LB 42 Otaro Alaka So LB 45 Cullen Gillaspia So LB 46 A.J. Hilliard  Jr LB 48 Landis Durham Fr LB 49 Taylor Martinez  Jr LB 50 Mac Labhart  Fr LB 52 Tristan Horton Fr DL 53 Ben Huskinson So LB 54 Jake Blount  Jr DL 55 Justin Manning  So DL 59 Isaac Flores Jr DL 83 Alonzo Williams Sr DL 86 David Darley So DL 88 Kingsley Keke Fr DL 90 Deshawn Washington  Fr DL 92 Zaycoven Henderson So DL 94 Tanner Schorp  So DL 95 Julien Obioha Sr DL 98 Hardreck Walker Jr DL 99 James Lockhart Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 24 Taylor Bertolet  Sr PK/P 36 Daniel LaCamera Fr P 38 Drew Kaser Sr DS 40 Christian Robertson  Fr PK 41 Peter Grady Jr DS 45 Austin Frey  Fr P 46 Shane Tripucka  So	Head coach Kevin Sumlin (4th season) Coordinators/assistant coaches Jeff Banks – Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends John Chavis  – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Dave Christensen – Offensive Line/Running Game Coordinator Mark Hagen – Defensive Tackles Mikado Hinson – Director of Player Development Larry Jackson – Director of Football Sports Performance Scott Johnston – Director of Recruiting Terry Joseph – Secondary Clarence McKinney – Running Backs Justin Moore – Associate Athletic Director Aaron Moorehead – Wide Receivers Terry Price – Defensive Ends Gary Reynolds – Director of Football Operations Jake Spavital – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: August 26, 2015

Schedule

Texas A&M announced their 2015 football schedule on October 14, 2014. The 2015 schedule consist of 9 games in the state of Texas and 3 games outside of the state in the regular season. Two of the nine games in Texas are neutral games against Arizona State and Arkansas. Texas A&M will host SEC foes Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, and South Carolina, and will travel to LSU, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt.[5]

This will be the Aggies' first year without Missouri since 2009 and SMU since 2010 on their schedule.

The Aggies' 25-0 shutout of Vanderbilt on November 21 was Texas A&M's first shutout victory since joining the SEC in 2012. The Aggies had not shut out a team since a 31-0 victory over Wyoming on September 11, 2004, and had not shut out a conference opponent since a 41-0 victory over Baylor on October 12, 2002.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	6:00 p.m.	vs. No. 15 Arizona State*		NRG Stadium Houston, TX (Texas Kickoff)	ESPN	W 38–17	66,308
September 12	6:00 p.m.	Ball State*	No. 16	Kyle Field College Station, TX	ESPNU	W 56–23	104,213
September 19	11:00 a.m.	Nevada*	No. 17	Kyle Field College Station, TX	SECN	W 44–27	102,591
September 26	6:00 p.m.	vs. Arkansas	No. 14	AT&T Stadium Arlington, TX (Southwest Classic)	ESPN	W 28–21 ^OT	67,339
October 3	6:30 p.m.	No. 21 Mississippi State	No. 14	Kyle Field College Station, TX	SECN	W 30–17	104,455
October 17	2:30 p.m.	No. 10 Alabama	No. 9	Kyle Field College Station, TX	CBS	L 23–41	105,733
October 24	6:00 p.m.	at No. 24 Ole Miss	No. 15	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS	ESPN	L 3–23	60,674
October 31	11:00 a.m.	South Carolina		Kyle Field College Station, TX	SECN	W 35–28	102,154
November 7	6:30 p.m.	Auburn	No. 25	Kyle Field College Station, TX	SECN	L 10–26	104,625
November 14	6:00 p.m.	Western Carolina*		Kyle Field College Station, TX	ESPNU	W 41–17	101,583
November 21	6:30 p.m.	at Vanderbilt		Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	SECN	W 25–0	32,482
November 28	6:30 p.m.	at LSU		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	SECN	L 7–19	101,803
December 30	6:00 p.m.	vs. Louisville*		Nissan Stadium Nashville, TN (Music City Bowl)	ESPN	L 21–27	50,478
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game All times are in Central time

Schedule Source:[6]

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Season at Texas A&M
Kevin Sumlin	Head coach	4th
John Chavis	Associate head coach, defensive coordinator, and linebackers coach	1st
Terry Joseph	Defensive backs coach	2nd
Terry Price	Defensive ends coach	4th
Mark Hagen	Defensive tackles coach	3rd
Jake Spavital	Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach	3rd
Clarence McKinney	Running backs coach	4th
Aaron Morehead	Wide receivers coach	1st
Dave Christenson	Offensive line coach and run game coordinator	1st
Jeff Banks	Special teams coordinator and tight ends coach	3rd
Larry Jackson	Director of football sports performance	4th
Reference:[7]

Game summaries

#15 Arizona State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#15 Sun Devils	0	7	7	3	17
Aggies	7	7	3	21	38

Ball State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	3	0	10	10	23
#16 Aggies	28	21	0	7	56

The game was the home opener for A&M, and the first game in the newly renovated Kyle Field. The Aggies were dominant throughout the entire first half, with the exception being Ball State's first drive to A&M's 4 yard line.[8]

Nevada

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wolfpack	7	3	10	7	27
#17 Aggies	14	10	14	6	44

Arkansas

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
#14 Aggies	0	10	3	8	7	28
Razorbacks	7	0	7	7	0	21

#21 Mississippi State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#21 Bulldogs	3	7	0	7	17
#14 Aggies	14	10	3	3	30

#10 Alabama

	1	2	3	4	Total
#10 Crimson Tide	14	14	3	10	41
#9 Aggies	3	10	7	3	23

#24 Ole Miss

	1	2	3	4	Total
#15 Aggies	0	3	0	0	3
#24 Rebels	7	9	7	0	23

South Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
Gamecocks	7	14	7	0	28
Aggies	7	14	14	0	35

Auburn

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	7	7	6	6	26
#25 Aggies	3	0	7	0	10

Western Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
Catamounts	0	14	0	3	17
Aggies	7	14	13	7	41

Vanderbilt

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	6	10	6	3	25
Commodores	0	0	0	0	0

LSU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	7	0	0	0	7
Tigers	6	0	7	6	19

Louisville

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	7	7	0	7	21
Cardinals	20	0	7	0	27

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	RV	16	17	14	14	9 (1)	9 (1)	15	RV	25	RV	RV	RV	NR	NR
Coaches	RV	19	18	15	15	11	10	16	RV	24	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
CFP	Not released									19	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	Not released

References

1. "2015 Class Ranking ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
2. "2015 Class - Rivals". Rivals. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
3. "2015 Class Ranking – 247". 247. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
4. "2015 Class Ranking – Scout". Scout. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
5. "2015 Football Schedule Announced" (Press release). Texas A&M University Department of Athletics. October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
6. "2015 Texas A&M Aggies Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
7. 2016 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Media Guide, p. 2
8. Bowen, Larry (September 13, 2015). "Aggie Defense Grounds Cardinals with Impressive First Half". The Bryan-College Station Eagle. Retrieved October 26, 2015.