Miami Hurricanes 2023 season preview: Game 2 Texas A&M
Just two games into their 2023 schedule, the Miami Hurricanes will be playing arguably one of their most important contests of the season as the Texas A&M Aggies roll into town. Last season the Hurricanes fell 17-9 on the road to the Aggies at Kyle Field, and now will look to return the favor inside Hard Rock Stadium on Sept. 9.
After finishing 2022 with a 5-7 record, the Aggies, just like the Hurricanes, made some changes within their staff as they brought in new offensive coordinator Bobby Pertino to take the reigns of the Texas A&M offense that averaged just 22.8 points per game, which placed them 100th nationally in scoring offense.
Heading into the year, former 2022 five-star quarterback Conner Weigman is the projected starter for the Aggies, but following closely behind is Max Johnson, who started a handful of games last season for Jimbo Fisher’s squad and previously at LSU.
At the skill positions, rising sophomore wide receiver Evan Stewart, who hauled in 649 yards and two touchdowns as a true freshman last season, looks to be the Aggies’ biggest offensive threat heading into 2023. Alongside Stewart, 6-foot-6 pass catcher Noah Thomas is projected to get the nod on the opposite side of Stewart in Pertino’s offense.
Alongside the offensive line, Texas A&M returns three starters from last season in Trey Zuhn III, Layden Robinson, and Reuben Fatheree, which should be extremely beneficial for true freshman running back Rueben Owens, who will likely be tasked with replacing former Aggie tailback Devon Achane as the primary workhorse in the backfield.
While offensively, Texas A&M may have struggled to find their footing throughout the season, second-year defensive coordinator DJ Durkin hopes to see his unit take another step in the right direction after a solid first season. Under Durkin’s guidance, the Aggies allowed an average of 21.2 points and 365.0 yards per game and are returning eight starters from that 2022 group.
Up front, DEs Fadil Diggs (5 TFL, 3 sacks in 8 games) and Shemar Stewart (23 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 4 QB hurries), along with DTs Shemar Turner (4.5 TFL) and Walter Nolan (2.5 TFL), will look to set the tone for Texas A&M in the trenches, which should be a great challenge for the Hurricanes revamped offensive line that saw the additions of Matt Lee, Javion Cohen, and former five-star true freshmen Francis Mauigoa and Samson Okunlola.
On the second and third levels of the Aggies’ defense, Durkin returns two linebackers in Chris Russell (66 tackles, 7 TFL) and Edgerrin Cooper (61 tackles, 8 TFL), who will look to anchor the middle of the defense.
In the secondary, the Aggies also bring back the team’s leading tackler, Demani Richardson at safety, who had 73 tackles but lacks some experience at the other defensive back spot after losing DBs Denver Harris (LSU), Smoke Bouie (Georgia), Marquis Groves-Killebrew (Louisville), Brian George (Houston), and Myles Jones (Duke) in the transfer portal.
Leading up to this contest last season, both teams were ranked inside the top 25, and now this time around, it will look much different. After both programs greatly underperformed in 2022, finishing below .500, this matchup could either help make or break each team’s season early on, so expect a dogfight come Sep. 9.
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