2008 record 4–8 (2–6 Big 12) | Division South Division | |
The 2008 Texas A&M Aggies football team (often referred to as "A&M" or the "Aggies") represented Texas A&M University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by first-year head coach Mike Sherman, who replaced Dennis Franchione after the previous season.
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Recruiting
While head coach Mike Sherman was finishing his offensive coordinator duty for the Houston Texans, he contacted A&M's orally committed recruits by telephone, and hired former Nebraska recruiting coordinator Tim Cassidy—who had been the recruiting coordinator at A&M from 1989–2004—to serve as the recruiting coordinator for football. Once Sherman commenced his head coaching duties, he and his coaching staff scoured the state for speedy players, recruiting running back Cyrus Gray, wide receiver Jeffrey Fuller, linebacker Ricky Cavanaugh, defensive backs Terrence Frederick and Trent Hunter, and defensive tackle Eddie Brown. The coaches also signed five offensive lineman and three tight ends, after losing four starting offensive lineman and two starting tight ends from the 2007 season. The staff was able to retain 18 of the previous coaching staff's recruits, but lost another 3 to other schools. Jeff Fuller, Tommy Dorman, and A&M's only junior college transfer, Matt Moss, enrolled at A&M in the spring to take part in spring practices.
In all, A&M received letters of intent from 24 players on National Signing Day, which was on February 6, 2008. Of those 24, 3 ranked in ESPN's top 150 national players list, and 5 ranked in Rivals.com's top 250. 22 are from Texas. Rivals.com also included 14 of the commits on its Texas Top 100 ranking. The recruiting class was ranked No. 16 by Rivals, No. 15 by Scout.com, and No. 25 by ESPN.
Derrick Hall and Blake Chavis were not able to make the team due to academic ineligibility.
Position changes
During the preseason, Coach Sherman made some player adjustments to fit his pro-style offensive scheme. Von Miller, who was a backup defensive end last season, and Garrick Williams, his high school teammate, were moved to outside linebacker. Safety Jordan Pugh was shifted to cornerback, which he played in high school. Devin Gregg moved to free safety from strong safety. Jordan Peterson, after playing two seasons at cornerback, became a safety. Jamie McCoy, who moved from quarterback to wide receiver the previous season, shifted to tight end. Defensive back Chevar Bryson and Kenny Brown became wideouts. Running back Jorvorskie Lane is losing weight to make the move from tailback to fullback. Billy Chavis made the move from linebacker to tight end.
Starting quarterback Stephen McGee recovered from surgery he had on his non-throwing shoulder in January 2008, causing him to miss most of the spring drills. He competed with sophomore Jerrod Johnson and freshman Ryan Tannehill for the starting position. He was named the starter for the season-opener against Arkansas State, but continued to compete for the job for the remainder of the season.
The Aggies are looking to improve their offensive line, after losing three starters, including two who earned all-Big 12 honors. They also are looking to field adequate linebackers and tight ends.
Departures
Honors
Justin Brantly made the preseason All-Big 12 team and was also a Ray Guy Award candidate. Running back Mike Goodson and fullback Jorvorskie Lane were two of 75 college players named to the 2008 Maxwell Award watch list. Additionally, quarterback Stephen McGee, along with 25 other quarterbacks, appeared on the 2008 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list.
Spring game
The Aggies played their spring intrasquad Maroon and White exhibition game on April 19, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. The game attracted 32,000 fans, including more than 100 college football prospects from the class of 2009. The game featured a new format of two halves. The first half featured a two-quarter game that pitted the Texas A&M team, led by quarterbacks Stephen McGee and Tommy Dorman, and the Texas Aggies team, led by quarterbacks Jerrod Johnson and Ryan Tannehill. The second half consisted of situational work, including the red zone, overtime, goal line, and two-minute drills. Two honorary student coaches, who were selected by the coaching staff and players, also served during the game. Each student coach gave their respective team a pre-game speech and interacted with players, coaches, and staff on the sidelines during the game.
On the opening drive of the game, running back Mike Goodson picked up 58 yards on 8 carries, and McGee ended the drive with a 1-yard bootleg play to the endzone. On the next drive, led by Johnson, Bradley Stephens ran 41 yards on 5 carries, though the drive ended on a 44-yard field goal by Matt Szymanski. Dorman led the ensuing drive, and Cornell Tarrant eventually scored a touchdown on a 40-yard run. The Texas A&M team defeated the Texas Aggies 14–3. Tarrant became the leading rusher of the game with his 59 yards on 4 carries. McGee was the game's leading passer, completing 5-of-8 passes for 58 yards, though none of the passes were to a wide receiver. Converted tight end Jamie McCoy was the leading receiver with two catches for 31 yards, including a 25-yard catch thrown by McGee. Tannehill completed 6-of-10 passes for 50 yards, while Johnson was 3-of-5 for 25 yards. In the goal-line drill of the second half, defensive back Chevar Bryson made a length-of-the-field interception return for a touchdown. Jorvorskie Lane did not play due to a stomach virus.
Head coach Mike Sherman commended the running backs, especially Mike Goodson, calling him a "very dangerous weapon". Though the Aggies didn't run any option plays in the game, the play-calling was run-heavy, as was planned. Sherman stated that they had a running game because they "wanted to show some toughness, not just throw it around".
Rankings and predictions
In June 2008, Rivals.com ranked the team 65th out of 119 Division I FBS teams. A Sporting News writer ranked the team No. 48 in his 2008 top 50 list. Sports Illustrated ranked the Aggies 51st out of the 119 national teams. A Washington Times columnist placed the team 65th, while an Orlando Sentinel reporter ranked it 38th.
Another Sporting News writer ranked the team's nonconference schedule the 4th toughest in the Big 12. A Tulsa World sports columnist rated the Aggies 9th in the Big 12 in July 2008.
In June 2008, ESPN's Mark Schlabach predicted the team would face the Oregon State Beavers in the Brut Sun Bowl. In July 2008, ESPN's Tim Griffin picked the team to go to the Texas Bowl to face longtime Southwest Conference rival SMU. The Rivals.com staff predicted that A&M will not play in a bowl this season. The 2008 edition of Dave Campbell's Texas Football predicted the team would finish the season with an 8–4 record. Point-Spreads.com, a spread betting website, projected the Aggies to go 5–7. The official Big 12 Media Preseason Poll picked the Aggies to finish fifth in the Big 12 South.
The Oklahoman ranked the wide receiver corps last in the Big 12. The same writer ranked the defensive line 10th, and the linebackers 10th as well. The Kansas City Star rated the quarterbacks 10th, the running backs 1st, the offensive line 8th, the wide receivers and tight ends 12th, the defensive line 12th, the linebackers 11th, the defensive backs 5th, and the special teams 6th.
The team did not rank in the preseason AP or Coaches polls. It did receive 3 votes in the Coaches Poll, however.
Coaching staff
After former coach Dennis Franchione resigned on November 23, 2007, former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Sherman, who was the Houston Texans' offensive coordinator at the time, was hired three days later, becoming the 28th head coach of the Texas A&M football program. Sherman chose to finish his term with the Houston Texans before working full-time as the Aggies' head coach. The Texans ended their regular season December 30, 2007. During that period, Sherman contacted A&M's orally committed recruits by telephone, and hired former Nebraska recruiting coordinator Tim Cassidy—who had been the recruiting coordinator at A&M from 1989–2004—to serve as the recruiting coordinator as well as the associate athletic director for football. Once Sherman started his job full-time, he named Seattle Seahawks wide receivers coach Nolan Cromwell to be his offensive coordinator and Reggie Herring to be his defensive coordinator. Herring, however, resigned a month later and became the linebackers coach for the Dallas Cowboys. Sherman worked with Cromwell under head coach Mike Holmgren at Green Bay. On January 9, 2008, Sherman announced Buddy Wyatt would coach the defensive line. Wyatt had 18 years of collegiate coaching experience, including 3 seasons at A&M from 2000–02. In 2001, the Aggie defense ranked 10th in the nation. Sherman also retained defensive backs coach Van Malone, who coached under Franchione for the 2006–07 seasons. Malone is the only member from Franchione's staff to be retained. Shortly afterwards, Charles McMillan, who worked at TCU from 2004–07 as the cornerbacks coach, was announced to also coach the defensive backs. Former Boston College offensive line coach Jim Turner, as well as former NFL running back Randy Jordan, will coach the offensive line and running backs, respectively. Former Green Bay Packers coach Tom Rossley was hired to coach the quarterbacks. Former Alabama defensive coordinator Joe Kines was hired to replace Herring, and was also named the assistant head coach. Former Denver Broncos coach Kirk Doll, who also coached at A&M from 1988–93, was hired to be the tight ends and special teams coach.