Division Western Division AP No. 5 | Coaches No. 5 2012 record 11–2 (6–2 SEC) | |
Conference Southeastern Conference Head coach Kevin Sumlin (1st year) | ||
The 2012 Texas A&M Aggies football team represented Texas A&M University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Aggies were led by first-year head coach Kevin Sumlin in their first year as a member of the Southeastern Conference, playing in the SEC's Western Division. They played their home games at Kyle Field. Because the Aggies scheduled 2 FCS opponents they needed 7 wins in the regular season to become eligible for postseason competition (if they beat both FCS teams); Texas A&M won 10 games in the regular season (including both games against FCS opponents) and thus became bowl-eligible.
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During the off-season, in anticipation of the demand for tickets from students and to comply with SEC rules, Texas A&M reallocated some student seating sections netting a gain of 128 seats and bringing the student section to 30,284 seats, the largest in the nation.
On March 27, 2012 Texas A&M announced that season tickets were sold out, making it the earliest sellout in school history.
The 2012 football season was highly successful for the Aggies. The team went 11-2, with victories over the then number one team in the nation Alabama and in the 2013 Cotton Bowl Classic over the Oklahoma Sooners. A&M's starting quarterback, Johnny Manziel, became the first freshman to be awarded the Heisman Trophy, and only the second Aggie player ever to win the Heisman. Texas A&M's 5th-place finish in the AP Poll was the highest for the program since 1956.
Previous season
In 2011, Texas A&M began the season ranked 8th in the AP Poll and 9th in the Coaches Poll. They won their first two games, but fell to ranked opponents Oklahoma State and Arkansas. The Aggies won the next three, including a 55-28 victory over rival and #20 ranked Baylor. However, A&M could not sustain success and fell in its next three, with losses to #7 Oklahoma and #17 Kansas State in 4 overtimes. After beating Kansas, Texas A&M lost its final regular season rivalry game with Texas 25-27. Following this defeat, 4-year head coach Mike Sherman was fired, and replaced by Kevin Sumlin. The Aggies went on to defeat Northwestern in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas with Tim DeRuyter as interim head coach. Texas A&M finished 7–6, unranked, and tied for 6th in the Big XII.
2012 NFL Draft
Four Texas A&M players were drafted in the 2012 NFL Draft.
After the draft, five Aggies were signed as undrafted free agents.
Spring practice
Spring Practice began on March 31 and ended with the annual Maroon & White game on April 28. It also included an open scrimmage on April 14 and the Friday Night Lights game on April 20. Senior RB Christine Michael's practice was limited, due to recovering from a torn ACL.
In the Maroon & White game, the white (offense) edged out the maroon (defense) 48-44, with the offense running over 100 plays in the first half. Ryan Swope had 8 catches for 156 yards and 2 TDs. The game was also a showcase for the battle between quarterbacks Jameill Showers and Johnny Manziel, with the former tossing 2 TDs to Malcome Kennedy and Ryan Swope, and the latter also having 1 TD to Swope. Top RB Christine Michael did not play, but other backs Ben Malena and Will Randolph still combined for 3 TDs behind a dominant offensive line led by tackle Luke Joeckel. Showers finished 20 of 31 for 203 yards and 2 TDs, while Manziel was 13 of 27 for 154 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. Mark Snyder's new defense was led in tackles by sophomore Donnie Baggs (8) and senior Steven Jenkins (9). Senior Jonathan Stewart, sophomore Domonique Patterson, and sophomore Johntel Franklin each contributed 6 tackles and senior LB Sean Porter had 2, both sacks.
Fall practice
Fall training camp began on August 3 and ended on August 18. By August, Texas A&M had 8 different players on preseason award watch lists: Sean Porter for the Chuck Bednarik Award; Uzoma Nwachukwu and Ryan Swope for the Biletnikoff Award; Damontre Moore and Sean Porter for the Butkus Award; Luke Joeckel, Jake Matthews, and Sean Porter for the Lombardi Award; Christine Michael for the Maxwell Award; Sean Porter for the Bronco Nagurski Award; Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews for the Outland Trophy; Patrick Lewis for the Rimington Trophy; and Christine Michael for the Doak Walker Award.
Recruiting class
In the 2012 recruiting class, Texas A&M recruited 19 players, 5 of which were included in the ESPN 150. The class was ranked 15th in the nation by ESPN and Rivals, and 21st nationally by Scout.