HOOVER, Ala. – Former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel might as well have been at Southeastern Conference Media Days on Tuesday.
The man who dominated the discussion at last year’s Media Days nearly did so again, but Aggies’ coach Kevin Sumlin quickly and comically brushed aside questions concerning his former signal-caller.
Texas A&M will certainly be different without Manziel, but Sumlin’s expectations haven’t changed.
“We don’t have time for a bunch of rebuilding years,” Sumlin said. “There would be another guy standing up here real quick. We’re going to try to go out there, win every game and put our guys in a position to do so with the mentality that we are here to win.”
The race to replace Manziel is a wide-open affair between sophomore Kenny Hill and freshman Kyle Allen, who was ranked the No. 1 overall quarterback in the 2014 class by recruiting service rivals.com.
In his opening statement, Sumlin said he had not yet named a starting quarterback and would probably wait until a few weeks before the season-opener at South Carolina before doing so.
“It’s incumbent on the other 10 guys who are on the field to make the offense quarterback friendly,” Sumlin said. “Our guys understand that because whoever that is, is going to be a young guy going into a very hostile situation in Columbia.”
Sumlin and players present at Media Days hinted that the Aggies’ offense may change or be simplified to suit their young quarterbacks.
Whoever is running Texas A&M’s offense this season will benefit from a veteran offensive line returning four starters. The only lineman departing was left tackle Jake Matthews, who was drafted No. 6 overall in the 2014 NFL Draft in May.

Senior Cedric Ogbuehi is switching from right tackle to fill Matthews’ spot at left tackle. When not protecting either of the Aggies’ young quarterbacks, Ogbuehi and his fellow lineman will be clearing holes for their three-headed rushing attack.
“Tra Carson has a little more power,” Ogbuehi said. “Brandon Williams has a little more speed he’s probably the fastest one. Trey Williams is shifty, he can cut through all the gaps and holes. They all have similarities, but they are all great backs.”
Texas A&M’s defense was dreadful in 2013, allowing 32 points and more than 475 yards per game. Sumlin said one of his recruiting aims was to address the Aggies’ defensive deficiencies.
“I think we will have more depth in our front seven, particularly in our front four,” Sumlin said. “We ended the year rotating five D line men out of the four spots. That took its toll. As anybody will tell you in this league, it’s a line of scrimmage league.”
Senior defensive back Deshazor Everett will anchor a secondary that finished No. 97 nationally in passing defense last season. Everett said the defense’s focus in the offseason was to gain a better understanding of Texas A&M’s scheme.

The Aggies lost 10 starters overall, signaling what should be a rebuilding year at Texas A&M. But Sumlin has been reloading his team with young talent to make sure that isn’t the case.
“In college football every two, three years you’re going to have turnover, and you have to have a plan for that,” Sumlin said. “Whether it’s a quarterback, whether it’s a great defender, whatever it is. To me that’s what’s exciting about college football.”