With less than three weeks before Texas A&M faces UTSA in the 2025 season-opener on Saturday, August 30, the preseason award watch list and All-America preseason selections continue to make the rounds. On Monday afternoon, two Aggie stars were named to ESPN’s first and second team college football All-America team, featuring what many of us in the industry consider to be the top players with high NFL potential.
Texas A&M’s 2025 roster is stacked from top to bottom, as coach Mike Elko and his staff entered the offseason with the focus of retaining most of the 2024 roster and adding enough veteran talent from the transfer portal. With a 72% roster retention mark, combined with 14 portal additions, the primary goal to earn the program’s first bid to the 12-team College Football Playoff is realistically in sight.
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The Aggies’ core strengths begin in the trenches, led by all five returning offensive line starters with added depth from the 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes, with senior guard Ar’maj Reed-Adams considered the top run-blocking O-lineman in the country. On defense, the D-line features several new faces and will be led by senior edge Cashius Howell, junior defensive tackle DJ Hicks, and senior DL Albert Regis.
In the middle of the defense, junior linebacker Taurean York, who finished the 2024 season with a team-high 82 tackles, is also considered a top-tier NFL draft prospect due to his elite run-stopping skillset despite his average stature. To no surprise, Adams was named as one of ESPN’s first-team guards, while York made second-team linebacker behind Pitt LB Kyle Louis.
Here’s what ESPN’s Chris Low had to say about Ar’maj Reed-Adam’s first-team selection:
“After beginning his career at Kansas, Reed-Adams is back for his second season at Texas A&M after starting every game at right guard this past year. The Aggies should have one of the best offensive lines in the country, meaning he will have talented players on each side of him. The 6-5, 330-pound Reed-Adams is effective in the running game, and he also allowed just one sack last season.”
Per Pro Football Focus, Adams was the nation’s highest graded run blocker last season (85.9) and also finished with an impressive 75.9 pass blocking grade. York finished with a 71 run defense grade and 77.9 pass rushing mark, and was second on the team with 9.5 tackles for loss.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Two Texas A&M starters named to ESPN’s preseason All-American team