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Things are beginning to turn upside down at Texas A&M. The Aggies’ top two quarterbacks are transferring. The status of head coach Kevin Sumlin is seemingly in question. A program that had been built on an up-tempo, fast-paced, spread offense will instead need to rely heavily on its defense in 2016.
Good thing defensive end Myles Garrett isn’t going anywhere.
Depending on whether a couple of players declare early for the NFL Draft, Garrett could enter the 2016 season, which will be his junior year, as the nation’s top returning sack leader. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound sack artist led the SEC and was among the nation’s leaders this season with 11.5 sacks.
Garrett leads an Aggies defense that will suddenly take center stage at the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30 in Nashville.
He needs one forced fumble in that game to match the single-season school record of six. It would complete a stellar sophomore season in which he led the SEC and was second in the nation in that department along with an SEC-best 18.5 tackles for loss.
Named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week twice this season, Garrett was also among those considered for some of the nation’s top defensive honors. Garrett was a finalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award, which goes to the top college lineman, and semifinalist for the Bednarik Award that recognizes the defensive player of the year.
Proving his toughness this season, Garrett tied a career-high with 3.5 sacks in a 44-27 victory over Nevada despite having his wisdom teeth removed less than a week earlier.
He’s a leader on a revamped defense under defensive coordinator John Chavis, who came to College Station this season from LSU. The Aggies recorded a 25-0 shutout of Vanderbilt, the program’s first blanking of an opponent since 2004.
It was the 11th career shutout for Chavis. The veteran defensive coach began his career in 1979 as a general assistant at Tennessee. This is his 25th season as a defensive coordinator, 20th in the SEC.
Chavis is building another solid defensive unit, with Garrett as the centerpiece. And with all the turmoil on the other side of the football, the timing couldn’t have been better to have one of the best coaches in the business working with one of the best defensive ends in the nation.
Garrett continues to improve since his days as a Parade All-American coming out of Arlington Martin High School. He turned in one of the most impressive freshman seasons in program history last year. Setting the SEC freshman record with 11.5 sacks, Garrett earned second-team All-SEC honors.
Among team leaders in tackles this season, with 57 including 36 solo, Garrett’s hard rush off the edge resulted in leading the team in both sacks and tackles for loss.
It’s a continued upswing that will make Garrett among the top defenders next season, not only an intimidating force in the SEC, but the nation as well.
Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.
