Texas vs. Texas A&M: Lone Star Showdown Position Battles

As the Lone Star Showdown approaches, it’s time to take a closer look at each position group and who has the edge at each. Despite preseason expectations, Texas A&M has the edge at the majority of positions in my eyes. The margins are incredibly thin in many of them, but the Aggies has proven to have more known commodities, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.

Let’s roll through the positions and which team I’d favor at each:

QB: Texas A&M

This is remarkably close, in my opinion. Arch Manning has grown immensely throughout the season and the same applies to Marcel Reed. I lean towards Reed because of his elite rushing ability. As passers, I might lean towards Manning at this point in the season, but the athletic ability of Reed gives him the slight edge overall.

RB: Texas A&M 

This is one that, without injuries for the Longhorns, could be closer. The Aggies are unlikely to have Le’Veon Moss, but Reuben Owens, Amari Daniels and Jamarion Morrow are still a formidable trio. If the Longhorns unit plays to their potential, I believe this is a relative toss up, but that has yet to happen in 2025.

WR: Texas A&M

Once again, if the Longhorn unit had played to their potential this season, this would be a toss-up, but they haven’t. Meanwhile, Mario Craver, KC Concepcion and Ashton Bethel-Roman have become one of the most dangerous WR groups in the country. From a raw talent perspective, I believe this is a close battle, but when it comes to production, the Aggie have the edge.

TE: Texas A&M 

The Texas TE group has fallen well short of preseason expectations, but does have upside. The Texas A&M duo is one of the more consistent groups in the SEC thus far this season. Nate Boerkircher and Theo Melin Öhrström are plus blockers while still being threats in the pass game. Jack Endries is likely the best pass catching TE in this game, but the unit for the Aggies is better.

OL: Texas A&M 

This one, unfortunately, is not all that close. The Texas OL has been the most disappointing unit this season by a country mile. In College Station, their unit up front has been one of their consistent strengths. That’s not to say the Texas pass rush can’t attack the A&M OL, but if we have putting the Longhorn OL up against the Aggies, it’s advantage Aggies.

DL: Toss Up 

I could argue the Texas unit might have a slight edge here because of their depth, but it’s splitting hairs really. Texas A&M has the SEC sack leader in Cashius Howell, elite DTs DJ Hicks and Tyler Onyedim and the anchor Albert Regis. Both units are the strengths of their defenses and I don’t see a massive advantage towards one team.

LB: Texas 

This is the one I would comfortably lean towards the Longhorns. Now, Taurean York is a top tier LB, but as a unit, the Longhorns have the Aggies beat. Anthony Hill Jr. obviously sets the pace, but add in Liona Lefau, Trey Moore and Ty’Anthony Smith(at least for the second half), the Longhorns have a solid edge here. Scooby Williams being out for this game obviously makes this gap even larger for this matchup.

CB: Toss Up

The Texas CBs have been a rather up and down unit as of late, but this is still a very close battle in my opinion. Will Lee III and Malik Muhammad are the class of both units and regarded as some of the best coverage corners in the SEC. Tyreek Chappell and Dezz Ricks are a very solid duo to round out the Aggie starters. For Texas, it’s two true freshmen, Kade Phillips and Graceson Littleton, but both have proved their worth, plus I believe the Longhorn has more solid depth.

S: Toss Up 

This is a true toss up. Getting Michael Taaffe and Jelani McDonald back at full health last week helped the Texas pass defense. For A&M, not having Bryce Anderson in the backend has hurt them, but Marcus Ratcliffe and Dalton Brooks have filled the gaps nicely. Again, I lean towards the Longhorns when it comes to depth, but this is a true toss up overall.

Coaching Staff: Texas 

This is another incredibly close battle. Mike Elko has put together an incredible staff around him, including Collin Klein and Jay Bateman at the coordinator positions. The reason I lean towards the Longhorns is simply big game experience. Sarkisian, Flood and Kwiatkowski have coached in a number of huge games throughout their time at Texas, while this might be the biggest game of Elko and co’s tenure at Texas A&M.

This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Texas-Texas A&M Position Battles: Longhorns have few positional edges