Tennessee vs Texas A&M: 5 Aggies to Watch for vs Vols

Sep 3, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Christian Kirk (3) and quarterback Trevor Knight (8) celebrate the touchdown against the UCLA Bruins during the second quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee vs Texas A&M is a chance for both teams to play the rest of the season with house money. Here are five Aggies to watch for against the Volunteers.

It’s time for the biggest weapons of the SEC to step up. That’s what this Tennessee vs Texas A&M match-up is going to be all about this weekend.

Just like the Vols, Kevin Sumlin’s Aggies this year are built on notable playmakers looking to make a statement on the national stage. In many cases, these players are at the same positions.

With Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Cameron Sutton, and Darrin Kirkland Jr. all injured for this game, the Tennessee football defense has a very tough task ahead of it in trying to keep up with the Texas A&M offensive weapons.

However, the one thing working in the Vols’ favor is that Texas A&M has its own injuries on offense, and slightly on defense, as well. To a degree, that can even out the match-up.

But this is usually the time of year when Texas A&M finally starts to falter, and the questions arise. Last year, it was the second Saturday in October. The previous year, it was the first.

Can the Vols make it a third straight year that it falls within one of those two weekends?

One tough thing in that regard is that this year looks different for Texas A&M because of how the defense has bought into John Chavis his second year and the change in personnel on offense. That affects who Tennessee needs to keep an eye on.

Here are the five Aggies the Vols need to watch out for in the Tennessee vs Texas A&M game Saturday at Kyle Field in College Station.

Sep 10, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Christian Kirk (3) scores a touchdown on a reception during the second quarter against the Prairie View A&M Panthers at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Christian Kirk

Wide Receiver, Sophomore

The first Tennessee vs Texas A&M match-up to watch out for is Alvin Kamara vs Christian Kirk. Sure, they’re different positions, but let’s explain.

Josh Reynolds is the main target for the Aggies, and with Cameron Sutton injured he is a threat. But Baylen Buchanan and Emmanuel Moseley have done a decent job on the wideouts.

The issue has been running backs, tight ends, and slot receivers. That’s not because Malik Foreman or Rashaan Gaulden have struggled, but because the safeties have had to cheat up to make up for the lack of depth at linebacker.

With a speedy 5’11” receiver like Christian Kirk, that could be a huge problem in this game. Kevin Sumlin knows how to use Kirk on quick screens, and he can make tons of plays. With injuries to Speedy Noil and Ricky Seals-Jones, Sumlin will try to use kirk on quick plays and short passes as much as possible.

Last week, the Vols got lucky not to be burned a couple of times by Isaiah McKenzie. This week, Kirk isn’t the No. 1 focus the way McKenzie was, so he is even more dangerous.

If the linebackers aren’t in proper position on those plays, and if the safeties are eyeing runs, then Kirk will be deadly. He had 1,000 yards receiving last year, so even with barely over 200 so far, he can break loose any time.

Sep 24, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Myles Garrett (15) in game action against the Arkansas Razorbacks at AT&T Stadium. Texas A&M won 45-24. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Myles Garrett

Defensive End, Junior

There’s no surprise on this one. Just like the first post, the next match-up in the Tennessee vs Texas A&M game is going to be Derek Barnett vs Myles Garrett. Garrett has been more productive overall in his career, but Barnett has been far more productive in games that matter.

Going into this week, Garrett will want to change that narrative. He currently has three sacks on the year and five tackles for a loss. After 19.5 tackles for a loss last year and 12.5 sacks, that’s a bit of a drop-off so far.

But on Saturday, he will be facing a Vols offensive line that has struggled with consistency all year. What makes it interesting is Chance Hall’s return. It’s helped to improve the Vols dramatically up front.

However, Brett Kendrick, who starts at left tackle, still missed a couple of key blocks last week and gave up a bad sack. So Garrett will have his chance to be a drive killer.

Through five games this year, Garrett has changed the narrative a bit on his sacks by getting two against the Arkansas Razorbacks and one in their overtime win over the UCLA Bruins. That means he has had sacks in big games. But this will be another huge one for him.

The surprising part, though, is that if he can’t keep it up, he’s got a teammate who can.

Nov 15, 2014; College Station, TX, USA; Missouri Tigers quarterback Maty Mauk (7) attempts a pass during the first quarter as Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Daeshon Hall (10) defends at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Daeshon Hall

Defensive End, Senior

John Chavis certainly knows how to play to his strengths on defense, and the ends are huge in that regard. With Myles Garrett garnering all the chatter going into the 2016 season, Daeshon Hall has emerged as a great rusher himself.

In fact, he has been better than Garrett so far this year, but to be fair, a lot of that has to do with teams running away from that. Still, Hall has cashed in, doing it much more than even Corey Vereen has on the other side for the Vols. So this is on unmatched advantage the Aggies have in the Tennessee vs Texas A&M game.

Hall has an incredible eight and a half tackles for a loss through five games and three sacks, just as many as Garrett has.

On top of that, he’s an incredibly versatile guy at 6’6″ 270 pounds who can sneak into the inside if needed. He’s exactly what Jonathan Kongbo hopes to develop into.

With all three sacks coming over the past two weeks, Hall is peaking just at the right time. The only question about him is whether or not he can do it against an elite offense. After all, two of his sacks and three and a half of his tackles for a loss came against the South Carolina Gamecocks, who run an offense worse than an FCS program.

He’ll be looking to prove that he can Saturday, and it will be up to Chance Hall to stop him and Joshua Dobbs to avoid him.

Sep 24, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies running back Trayveon Williams (5) runs for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Trayveon Williams

Running Back, Freshman

We’re back to the running backs in the Tennessee vs Texas A&M match-ups. And just like the Aggies outnumber Derek Barnett in pass rushers, they outnumber Alvin Kamara in speedsters.

In addition to Christian Kirk, Trayveon Williams is going to be a huge part of Kevin Sumlin’s offense on Saturday. Last week, he had to notice how much the Vols struggled against Sony Michel, a backup running back, with both of their linebackers injured.

Colton Jumper and Cortez McDowell can only play as great as Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Darrin Kirkland Jr. for so long, and this is where they’ll be exploited.

As a freshman, Williams already has 487 yards rushing and four touchdowns along with 71 yards receiving. He also has been averaging nine yards a carry, and the bigger the game has been, the bigger his performance has been. He is a dangerous player that the Vols will have trouble stopping all day.

In fact, one prediction I can go ahead and make is that he will go over 100 yards again and surpass his overall average in this game, even if the Vols lose. After all, Bob Shoop has been great at adjustments but struggled to get defensive stops in the first half.

At the same time, Williams is good for about two huge runs a day. That’s a recipe for some big plays Saturday. And a huge reason he’ll get those big plays is because of the biggest reason the Aggies are different this year.

Oct 1, 2016; Columbia, SC, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Trevor Knight (8) passes against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Trevor Knight

Quarterback, Senior

Two years ago, Kenny Hill was the Heisman candidate for the Aggies when they started the year undefeated. Last year, Kyle Allen was the Heisman candidate.

Both transferred out each offseason.

This year, it’s Trevor Knight. So you can understand if the media is still skeptical about Texas A&M’s fast start when you look at what happened to the previous two hyped up quarterbacks who had fast starts for the Aggies.

However, it’s a completely different story this year. The senior transfer from the Oklahoma Sooners is a veteran quarterback who has experienced all the ups and downs of college football already.

As a result, he is much more appreciative of playing college football and has all the intangibles that the other quarterbacks didn’t have, including being a team player and a leader.

But even more than that, Knight is a mobile quarterback. He is like a clone of Johnny Manziel, and as we’ve already seen, you can’t get much better than that to run Sumlin’s offense.

So while Joshua Dobbs is beloved in Knoxville, Knight is getting that way in just one year in College Station. That makes Knight vs Dobbs the final match-up to watch in the Tennessee vs Texas A&M game.

For the year, Knight has only completed 54 percent of his passes, but he’s thrown for 1,261 yards and seven touchdowns to only three interceptions. Meanwhile, he’s rushed for 391 yards on the year and six more touchdowns.

So Knight is the same dual-threat playmaker that Dobbs is, except Sumlin turns him loose a lot more. With backup linebackers, the Vols will be frustrated all night trying to contain him.

Bob Shoop has got to find a way to keep him in the pocket. Their one advantage is rushing from the outside since he has a tendency to backup as opposed to stepping forward in the pocket. They have to try to do that all night if they want to win this game.

But nothing will phase Knight. He’s the biggest reason this Texas A&M team is much more legitimate with an undefeated record than the previous two teams. And he will be the most difficult player for the Vols to deal with.

After torching Tennessee two years ago with 300 passing yards while with Oklahoma, he has a chance to go for more this week. The Vols have to try to cut down on that as much as possible.