Texas A&M went 8-5 in its first season under new head coach Mike Elko in 2024, a year that started with promise but ended in disappointment. The Aggies dropped their opener to Notre Dame but rebounded impressively, ripping off seven straight wins and climbing into the SEC West conversation. Unfortunately, a late-season collapse — losing four of their final five games — left Aggie fans frustrated, especially as they watched archrival Texas make its second straight College Football Playoff semifinal and even SMU grab a first-round CFP berth.
In 2025, the Aggies hope to close that gap, and ESPN believes one of the keys could come from a player returning from injury — senior cornerback Tyreek Chappell.
Chappell, a fifth-year senior from Philadelphia, missed most of the 2024 season with a leg injury, appearing in just two games. But ESPN’s Dave Wilson recently identified Chappell as an under-the-radar player who could make a big impact this fall and emerge on a national level.
“The Aggies’ secondary play was particularly frustrating to Mike Elko as last year wore on,” Wilson wrote. “The return of Chappell, a former starter who was a three-star recruit and the team’s top defensive newcomer in 2021, is a key to the Aggies’ hopes of bolstering that unit. With the return of Will Lee III and the addition of Georgia transfer Julian Humphrey, Chappell might be overlooked by fans. But inside the program, he is expected to have a big year at the nickel spot.”
Chappell’s early career in College Station showed plenty of promise. Part of the 2021 recruiting class under then-head coach Jimbo Fisher, he enrolled early and impressed as a true freshman with 41 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 interception, and 9 passes defensed. He followed that with another strong year in 2022, posting 44 tackles, 8 pass breakups, and a forced fumble.
However, Chappell’s production dipped in 2023 as the Aggies stumbled through a tumultuous season that saw Fisher fired after 10 games. Chappell entered the transfer portal at the end of that season but chose to return for 2024 — only to have his campaign derailed by injury.
Now healthy and set to play in a revamped secondary that includes Will Lee and transfer Julian Humphrey, Chappell is expected to take on a big role at nickel, where his experience and ball skills could shine in Elko’s defensive scheme.
If Chappell delivers, Texas A&M’s secondary — and its College Football Playoff hopes — could take a major step forward in 2025.
