College football preview 2018: 10 unranked teams most likely to surprise

Nick Starkel’s injury in 2017 may not have ultimately determined Kevin Sumlin’s fate. It definitely didn’t help though. The defense and overall team preparation put kept a fairly low ceiling but Kellen Mond, who took over in relief when Starkel went down, dropped it dramatically.

The two are now competing for the starting role. I’m going to assume Starkel wins the job. He’s a smart player who should thrive under Jimbo Fisher in a pro-style offense that requires a cerebral quarterback to make pre-snap reads and set up the right plays and situations.

A healthy Nick Starkel brings stability and consistency to every part of the offense as well as big plays and big numbers in the passing game.

The biggest change that could turn things around sooner than later for the Aggies is the defense. Let’s be clear, the defense was never an Achilles heel under Sumlin. That would imply a small area of weakness or vulnerability. The defense has been two Achilles legs or an Achilles lower-body for most of the last six years.

Enter Mike Elko.

He joins Fisher’s staff as defensive coordinator following a one-year stop at Notre Dame, having spent the previous three years at Wake Forest. Wake had a top-20 scoring defense in 2016, Elko’s last year with the program. Notre Dame gave up 27.8 points a game in 2016 and saw that number drop to 21.5 points in 2017 under Elko’s leadership.

He brings the 4-2-5 system that could have a much larger impact at A&M than it did at Oklahoma State. With the Aggies, he’ll have a team with legitimate talent on defense no matter how matter what system or what school they’re playing. A&M has had top-15 recruiting classes each of the last four years and signed 18 four or five-star defensive prospects in those classes.

If Starkel bounces back at quarterback and Elko can come somewhere close to making the kind of impact he made at Notre Dame in as short a time, Texas A&M could skip past the transition/rebuild season and win a couple of games not many expect in 2018. They’d be much better off if they didn’t play an SEC West schedule that also includes a visit from Clemson early this year.