Texas A&M defensive coordinator: McIlwain, zone read will test Aggies
In the two years prior to the arrival of John Chavis in College Station as defensive coordinator, the Texas A&M defense finished last in the SEC in total defense.
Chavis, formerly the LSU defensive coordinator, orchestrated a modest improvement in 2015 as the Aggies finished eighth in the SEC in total defense (380.0), allowing 70.8 fewer yards than 2014.
Through four games this year, Texas A&M is 10th in the SEC in total defense (390.8 ypg); however, the Aggies are coming off an impressive performance in last week’s 45-24 victory over Arkansas in which they limited the Razorbacks’ powerful running game to 120 yards on 40 carries, an average of 3.0 yards per attempt. Arkansas threw for 371 yards, but fumbled three times.
“Our gap integrity was as good as it's been,” Chavis said. “Our guys have been buying into what we’re asking them to do. They want to be a great defense. They’re working to be that. We’re not a great defense right now, but nobody is playing with more effort or more intensity than our guys are. We have some things to shore up. But we are not far away.”
Texas A&M’s defense is filled with guys who will likely make the jump to the NFL next year or the year after, including, most prominently, junior defensive end Myles Garrett, arguably the nation’s most feared pass rusher. The other starting defensive end, senior Daeshon Hall, is pretty good too.
Last season, Garrett and Hall combined to average 1.5 sacks per game, more than any other SEC tandem. Through four games on the 2016 slate, the duo has combined for 10 tackles for loss, four sacks and 10 quarterback hurries (four more than the entire Gamecock team).
In short, Garrett and Hall are again wreaking havoc in the opponents’ backfield.
Now the Aggies must transition from Arkansas’ power running game to South Carolina’s zone read scheme led by true freshman quarterback Brandon McIlwain.
“They like to get the quarterback involved (in the run game) and certainly like to make you play the (entire) field,” Chavis said about the Gamecocks. “We’ll see a good bit of that and a good bit of the boot waggle game and some play-action. That’s what you expect. I don’t think they’re going to change that much from the first four games.”
Chavis said Texas A&M won’t alter its philosophy much from the base man-to-man coverage he prefers. The biggest question surrounding the Gamecocks’ passing attack is who will line up at receiver. Deebo Samuel and Bryan Edwards are both game time decisions. Without them (and Fr. WR Randrecous Davis is still sidelined with an injury), USC’s passing attack would be severely limited.
“When they look at us, they know they’re going to get a bunch of man-to-man and a little zone sprinkled in,” Chavis said. “They are a good football team. It looks like they have decided to go with their true freshman at quarterback. He is a very talented young man. He was one of the top (high school) dual-threat quarterbacks in the country last year.”
McIlwain (91 yards on the ground) is USC’s third-leading rusher behind A.J. Turner (157 yards) and David Williams (107) and has two rushing touchdowns. He has completed 51.6 percent (47-91) of his passes for 533 yards and two touchdowns. He has yet to thrown an interception, a key factor in USC’s plus-3 turnover margin.
“They had him (McIlwain) there for spring practice, so he has been there as long as any other player under Coach Muschamp,” Chavis said. “I think they will feature him. We will be tested. They have a big, physical offensive line. They have a couple of running backs that can run the football. They have a freshman (A.J. Turner) who is doing a great job for a freshman. They will spread it out and throw it around and they’ll run the zone read stuff. They will let the quarterback keep it a little more than we have seen.”
WEEK 5 SEC SCHEDULE (Oct. 1):
Alcorn State at Arkansas, noon (SEC Network Alt. Channel)
Florida at Vanderbilt, noon (SEC Network)
Tennessee at Georgia, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)
Louisiana-Monroe at Auburn, 4 p.m. (SEC Network Alt. Channel)
Texas A&M at South Carolina, 4 p.m. (SEC Network)
Kentucky at Alabama, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Memphis at Ole Miss, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Alt. Channel or ESPN2)
Missouri at LSU, 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
