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Sneak peek: Texas A&M

Kellen Mond was sacked five times in Auburn's win last season.
Kellen Mond was sacked five times in Auburn's win last season. (John Reed/USA Today images)

AUBURN | Auburn’s 2019 football schedule begins with a big non-conference matchup, includes a long road trip in September, three more in October and ends with two huge rivalry games at home.

Today, we continue an early look at each opponent with the SEC opener on the road.

WHO: Texas A&M (9-4 last season, 5-3 SEC West)

WHEN: Sept. 21

WHERE: Kyle Field (102,733)

SERIES: Texas A&M leads 5-4 (Auburn is 3-0 in College Station)

WHAT’S NEW: Offensive line coach Josh Henson was hired away from Oklahoma State in the offseason. He was the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at LSU from 2005-08 when Jimbo Fisher was offensive coordinator.

WHO TO WATCH, OFFENSE: A lot of Texas A&M’s success or lack thereof will be determined by how much Kellen Mond has improved over his first two seasons as the starting quarterback. He completed 224 of 389 passes (57.6 percent) for 2,967 yards with 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a sophomore. He also rushed for 474 yards and seven touchdowns on 149 carries. But Mond's 134.98 passing rating ranked 10th in the SEC last season, his 7.5 yards per attempt ranked 11th and he was sacked 34 times.

WHO TO WATCH, DEFENSE: Defensive tackle Justin Madubuike had a strong sophomore season with 40 tackles, 10.5 tackles-for-loss, 5.5 sacks, two pass breakups and three forced fumbles. He was named the defensive MVP of spring practice and projects as a fairly high choice in next spring’s NFL Draft.

OUTLOOK: Year two under Fisher will be an interesting one. The Aggies signed the nation’s No. 6 overall class in February and have some exciting athletes returning on offense led by Mond and wide receiver Kendrick Rogers, who is projected by at least one publication as a potential first round pick in the 2020 draft despite not putting up huge numbers last fall. The pair is joined by five other returning starters including most of Mond’s top receiving targets.

The biggest hole to fill on offense is at running back after Trayveon Williams opted for the NFL and was selected in the sixth round. Several players are in the mix for the starting position including Jashaun Corbin, who was third on the team in rushing last season, UCF transfer Cordarrian Richardson and true freshman Isaiah Spiller.

TAMU must replace its center and both guards from last season, but five players return with at least seven starts so there’s experience upfront. Junior left tackle Dan Moore is the best of the bunch.

Defensively, TAMU returns just four starters. Talented defensive end Michael Clemons is back from injury and should pair with Madubuike to give the Aggies a nice one-two punch on the defensive front. TAMU also signed the nation’s No. 2 strongside end in DeMarvin Leal.

The linebacker corps has to be rebuilt but the secondary returns four of five starters and seven defensive backs with starting experience. Safety Leon O’Neal probably has the biggest upside of the bunch after starting for the first time in the bowl game as a true freshman last season and recording an interception against N.C. State.

AUBURN CONNECTION: Former Auburn player and assistant coach Dameyune Craig coaches the wide receivers at TAMU while long-time Auburn assistant Terry Price coaches the defensive line. Price, a former Aggie player, coached the DL for 10 years at AU from 1999-2008. He’s been with TAMU since 2012.

MORE SNEAK PEEKS:

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Kent State

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