TEXAS A&M
Last season: 7-6 (4-4 SEC)2018 opener: Aug. 30 vs. Northwestern State in College Station (8:30 p.m. on SEC Network)Fun fact: Texas A&M has not posted a winning record in SEC play since going 6-2 in 2012, when the Aggies were in their debut season in the league and quarterback Johnny Manziel won the Heisman Trophy. The Aggies are 19-21 since.COMING FRIDAY: Vanderbilt
When Trayveon Williams arrived in 2016 as a freshman running back at Texas A&M, he quickly fit into an offense that was led by graduate transfer quarterback Trevor Knight and was overflowing at receiver with the likes of Christian Kirk, Speedy Noil, Josh Reynolds and Ricky Seals-Jones.
Williams rushed for 1,057 yards and an impressive 6.8 yards per carry that season, but the secret was out. The 5-foot-9, 200-pounder from Houston entered his sophomore year as the primary focal point of opposing defenses and found the going much tougher, rushing for 798 yards and 4.6 yards a pop.
"It's the SEC, and the SEC is tough," Williams said last month in Atlanta at the Southeastern Conference's annual media days event. "There are a lot of great players, and I can definitely say that defenses were focusing on me. Teams would keep an extra guy or two extra guys in the box, and that makes a big difference. It kind of forces you to throw the ball.
"It didn't just test me physically on the field but also mentally. I had to study my craft and learn what to expect from defenses."
Williams rushed for 203 yards in last season's opener against UCLA, which marked the second-highest total of his college career. As a freshman, he amassed 217 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries against Tennessee, and the Aggies needed every bit of that output in a 45-38 victory in double overtime.
In the same game, versatile Volunteers tailback Alvin Kamara rushed 18 times for 127 yards and two scores - and earned a huge fan.
"I definitely idolize him," Williams said of the reigning NFL offensive rookie of the year with the New Orleans Saints.
Kamara not only had 127 rushing yards two years ago against the Aggies but hauled in eight receptions for 161 yards and a touchdown. Williams became a more versatile player as a sophomore despite a dip in rushing totals, collecting 20 receptions for 192 yards (9.6 yards per catch) and averaging a robust 30.5 yards on six kickoff returns.
"Trayveon is a star," first-year Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. "He's had a 1,000-yard season before and can run the football, but, more importantly, I like his leadership. I think he's very diverse, catching the ball and doing things out of the backfield.
"I was very pleased with what I saw from him this spring."
Williams is expected to provide stability this season to an offense that will be quarterbacked by one of two sophomores, Kellen Mond or Nick Starkel. Mond had eight of the 13 starts last season - when Kevin Sumlin's final Aggies team started 5-2 before winding up 7-6 with a zany 55-52 Belk Bowl loss to Wake Forest - while Starkel had the other five and threw for 499 yards and four scores in the bowl.
Texas A&M has shifted from Sumlin's spread to more of a pro-style attack, moving linebacker and special-teams menace Cullen Gillaspia to fullback and picking up fullback Ben Miles, a transfer from Nebraska and the son of former LSU coach Les Miles.
"The thought of having a fullback in front of me is nice," Williams said. "That's a guy who can go in the hole to open things up for me. We have a great offensive line in front of us and a great fullback that can set things up. I'm excited about going from a spread to a pro-style."
The Aggies return seven offensive starters and eight from a defense that yielded 40 or more points to UCLA, Arkansas, Auburn and LSU before their bowl-game debacle. Mike Elko, who was Notre Dame's defensive coordinator last season, is in the same role this year for Texas A&M.
Fisher won a national title with Florida State in 2013, but the Seminoles have since played second fiddle to Clemson within the Atlantic Coast Conference's Atlantic Division. He has landed in an SEC West that has produced seven of the past 11 national champions, with Alabama responsible for five of those.
"This is where I've grown up," he said. "I was at Auburn for six years and LSU for seven. Every week is for the national championship, because the teams you play have the capabilities of being there."
Texas A&M was picked fourth in the seven-team West, and Williams is confident Fisher can take this program where Sumlin never quite could.
"It's been a grind with Coach Fisher, and it's been completely different," Williams said. "It's been a lot more detail-oriented. We're grinding a lot harder. There are more meetings.
"It's definitely made a difference."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.