Texas A&M boss Mike Elko noted during SEC Media Days that the Aggies returned 15 starters from its 2024 team. However, the Aggies’ potential improvement in the 2025 campaign goes far beyond that number.
Phil Steele’s College Football Preview 25 magazine indicates that the Aggies are the second most experienced team in the Southeastern Conference (sixth nationally) based on his metrics which include returning starters, percentage of total yardage returning, percentage of total tackles returning, offensive line career starts, and the percentage of defensive big plays returning. It appears to be similar to the one that ESPN pundit Bill Connelly uses (who has the Aggies as a top ten team in returning production for 2025).
For example, A&M has the seventh best percentage of total tackles returning in the country and are sixth in total offensive starts coming back. The defense has its six top tacklers back including backers Taurean York and Scooby Williams and eight of the top ten overall.