Here’s the best, and really only, way to explain the impact of John Chavis at Texas A&M after all of four quarters: the Aggies’ defense — yes, the defense — is no longer the team’s critical question.
The quarterbacks are.
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That’s right, the one constant in three seasons under coach Kevin Sumlin is now full of controversy. And the Aggies’ offensive staff has no one to blame but themselves after a 38-17 victory over Arizona State.
While the defense had a fantastic debut in its first game with Chavis as coordinator, Sumlin pulled starting quarterback Kyle Allen for freshman Kyler Murray and officially kicked off the team’s quarterback controversy for the foreseeable future. It’s unavoidable now.
Instead of letting Allen work through early problems, the staff went with Murray, whose initial energy boost didn’t last and whose lack of experience recognizing defenses was quickly exposed.
Fortunately, Allen didn’t sulk on the bench and returned — only after Murray was injured — and led the Aggies to a strong second half on offense. Meanwhile, there was Chavis’ new defense: the ironic safety net.
They played aggressive and fast; they were athletic and made plays on the ball. They did everything they couldn’t do over the last two seasons when they were routinely embarrassed.
They’re quick and rangy off the edge with pass rushers Myles Garrett, Daeshon Hall and Qualen Cunningham, who contributed to eight sacks. The linebackers are quick and close quickly, and the secondary plays with much more confidence.
One of the Pac-12’s best offenses managed all of 291 yards, converted just 5-of-19 third downs and averaged 2.2 yards per carry. That’s championship defense; that’s a unit that can make up for flaws elsewhere.
Flaws, or controversies.
“We’re going to need both of those (quartebacks),” Sumlin said after the game. “We’re going to have a plan for both of them going forward.”
If the Aggies' defense plays like it did going forward, it might not matter who plays quarterback.