As Texas A&M fans will unfortunately admit, it has been close to a century since the team last tasted the glory of a national championship, but with how far along Mike Elko has brought the team in just two years of coaching, the Maroon and White could be closer than many think.
After a late collapse in the 2024 season, the Aggies put together a near-perfect regular season in 2025, clinching a College Football Playoff berth with home-field advantage.
Of course, that ended prematurely at the hands of the Miami Hurricanes , but with less than two weeks separating now from the opening kick of the season, the optimism surrounding the team is at an all-time high.
Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Terry Bussey (2) and Texas A&M Aggies tight end Nate Boerkircher (87) celebrate after a touchdown during the first quarter at Kyle Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
After Friday's practice, Texas A&M wide receiver Terry Bussey and defensive end T.J. Searcy took to the media to preview the 2026 season, with Searcy wasting no time hyping up the rest of the team's defensive line.
"As far as the defensive line we got this year, I think that we've got a lot of depth," Searcy said. "I feel like we might have got a little more depth than we did even last year. We got a lot of young guys and our portal guys who came in. I feel like they're going to make great contributions to the team."
From Bussey's point of view on the opposite end of the line of scrimmage, he highlighted the overall maturity that he has seen from the entire offense and the number of playmakers that currently make up the team.
"I wouldn't really say that there's nothing that we couldn't do last year," said Bussey when asked if there is anything new that the offense could do. "I feel like we got a lot more guys that have matured and can make plays. I mean, you can put the ball in anybody's hands and it could be an explosive play just like that. I just feel like we've got more depth in the rooms and feel like we can do a lot more with a bunch of different people."
Bussey finished out by highlighting the uniqueness of the receivers, a group that A&M Holmon Wiggins has even gone as far as to compare to The Avengers.
"No, we definitely know that. We know everybody in that room has their different skill sets and stuff like that that they're really good at," said the wideout. "I mean, we all could do pretty much everything, but you got guys that that's like their main focus. You got Ashton Bethel-Roman . He's a blazer. He can run routes and stuff like that.
"Then you got big body Zay ( Isaiah Horton ), and he speaks for himself, and then we got Mario Craver."
The Avengers will assemble for the first time in-game on September 5 when Texas A&M opens up against the Missouri State Bears, a season opener that hopefully ends with the Maroon and White hoisting a national title at its culmination.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/tamu as TJ Searcy, Terry Bussey Say Aggies Have the Pieces to Take the Next Step .
