Team MVP: Many people would go with Reggie McNeal here but I disagree. For this team to be successful in 2004 they need a major contribution from wide receiver Terrence Murphy. Murphy was the leading receiver a year ago after Jamaar Taylor went down due to injury and although Murphy put up good numbers he needs to step his game up to another level. Murphy needs to improve on his 762 receiving yards and do something he didn’t do in 2003…find the end zone. Murphy is the best receiver on the roster and A&M needs to show they can do more than just run the football or teams will stuff the running game and take away a dimension from the game of McNeal.

Quarterback: Reggie McNeal is finally the man and he doesn’t have to look over his shoulder. McNeal has to improve on his accuracy and pick his spots when it comes to running the football. McNeal has shown that he is very impatient when throwing the football and looking off receivers and finding other options has also been a problem. McNeal had shoulder surgery in the offseason so he must first prove he is healthy and can keep his velocity when throwing the football. McNeal needs to become a passer in 2004 or he could just go down as another athletic quarterback who never made it past the NCAA level because he could not throw the football.

Running Back: at 195 pounds Courtney Lewis runs like he weighs 225. Lewis had a breakthrough season in 2003 and topped the 1,000 yard barrier. Lewis was so good that Derek Farmer, the starter in the backfield when 2003 began, transferred to Stephen F. Austin. Farmer will be missed but incoming freshman Derek Brown has an impressive resume. It doesn’t matter who is running the football, the Aggies have one of the better blocking fullbacks in the country in the form of Keith Joseph. There has to be some passing game in 2004 or defenses or going to key in on stopping the run.

Wide Receiver/Tight End: This is where the problem lies for the Aggies. There are some very talented receivers on this roster but most of them are unproven and lack big game experience. Texas A&M cannot just go through the motions catching the football, they need to show that they are better than what the writers are predicting and step up of this could be another 4-8 year. I think the key lies with new freshman tight end Joey Thomas. At 6-5 he is a terrific target and will be easier to find than 6-0 Quinlin Germany, a player whop is more like an H-back anyway.

Offensive Line: Easily the strength of the offense if Jami Hightower returns to form after an injury riddled season in 2003. Hightower is an absolute beast at 355 pounds playing the right tackle position. Guard Aldo De La Garza and center Geoff Hangartner make this one of the best units in the Biog 12 conference. There are so many good freshman on this team, Coach Franchione has to find some time to get them in the game to get experience for the years ahead. This is a very deep unit that on paper looks just as good in pass protection that they do run blocking.

Defensive Line: This looks like an area of concern for the Aggies. It looked like Marcus Jasmin was poised to be the leader of the line and defense but his 2003 season was pitiful. Now it looks like Jasmin has lost his job to freshman Joseph Bryant and the freshman will be joined by Jason Jack at the end position, another freshman. Sometimes this is due to the fact that the freshman coming in are just too good to keep on the bench. In this case it looks like A&M is thin on the line and they are the best options by default.

Linebacker: Texas A&M is going to stick with their 4-3 alignment but you probably won’t see as much pressure from the linebackers as in years past. I like Justin Warren at the weakside linebacker spot, I feel he could make it as an NFL player in a few years. Warren played well when forced into action last year as a freshman. Look for Archie McDaniel and Nurahda Manning to be the other starting linebackers while senior Blake Kendrick plays the role of super sub at both outside linebacker spots. It will be important for the defensive tackle to play better because the Aggies are a little weak at middle linebacker. Bad play from the tackles and the middle linebacker could lead to some major problems stopping the run.

Secondary: While the front seven looks shaky the secondary is strong and Jaxson Appel is the biggest reason why. Appel was a monster last year and was the MVP of the team in my opinion. Appel logged 135 tackles, had four interceptions, and recovered three fumbles while forcing two of his own. While the numbers were good it defiantly showed just how overmatched the Aggies were up front. Ronald Jones is back at the strong safety spot while Byron Jones returns to play blanket corner. Jones is only 5-10 but one of the best man-to-man cover corners in the conference.

Special Teams: The punting and kicking game was way below usual Texas A&M standards but the kickoff return game from Terrence Murphy was exceptional. The coverage units took a lot of heat early in the season but settled in to post some good numbers during the second half of the year.

Final Thoughts: This is a hard team to figure out. Dennis Franchione had so many things go wrong last year it almost seems surreal to look at it in hindsight. There is some good young talent on this team and I think they are a year or two away from establishing themselves as a conference power once again. Texas A7M does get a lot of conference heavyweights (Kansas State, Oklahoma, Colorado and Texas tech) at home this season so that could make their record a little better.

-- DJ Boyer