Red Flags Raised over Texas with Kyle Allen’s Transfer from Aggies

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

The promise of a bright future has been ongoing in College Station since the 2012 season when Texas A&M posted an 11-2 record finishing the season with an AP ranking of No. 5 after a 41-13 thumping of former Big 12 rival Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Trouble is head coach Kevin Sumlin has had difficulty replicating his tremendous first season with the Aggies over the last three years, and more trouble on the sidelines seems to be taking place behind the scenes raising a red flag in College Station.

The Aggies produced a 9-win season in 2013 with returning Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel under center. In 2014, A&M had another solid season going 8-5 but a three-game mid-season losing streak derailed a very promising 5-0 start. In the midst of the losing streak Sumlin and then starting quarterback Kenny Hill somehow got sideways with Hill finding a seat on the bench giving way to Kyle Allen.

In eight games played, Hill passed for 2,649 yards with 23 touchdowns against eight picks sitting out the final five games of the season including a 45-37 Autozone Liberty Bowl win over West Virginia. Allen threw for 1,322 yards with 16 touchdowns against seven interceptions down the backstretch of the year.

Heading into the 2015 season, Allen and the Aggies were once again poised for another high achieving season but once again had troubles in the middle of their SEC schedule losing to Alabama (41-23), Ole Miss (23-3), and Auburn (26-10) in a four-game stretch. After the Aggies loss to Ole Miss (Oct. 31), Allen was absent from the field of play for two games, South Carolina and Auburn, before going 6-for-6 against Western Carolina on Nov. 14. Allen started the final two games of the season tossing for 336 yards against Vanderbilt and 161 yards against LSU in a 19-7 loss.

Sumlin for the second year in a row turned to a freshman during a downturn expecting Kyler Murray to be a savior in the middle of the season the way Allen was called upon the previous year. Murray played in parts of eight games throughout the season but got three games to lead the Aggies offense; against, South Carolina, Auburn, and Western Carolina. Murray played well, especially for a true freshman, but did not overwhelm especially with the tremendous amount of talent A&M has at wide receiver.

Allen was benched after the Alabama game for throwing three pick-sixes. No other way to write it up, but he just had a bad game against one of the best defenses in the nation. It happens and is to be expected. Sumlin’s starting quarterback may have made incorrect reads and forced bad throws but he is also just a sophomore still trying to learn the nuances of the position in arguably the best conference in the nation.

Not helping any of the quarterbacks Sumlim may roll out onto the field is an underperforming running attack. The Aggies made strides in 2015 averaging 171 yards per game, up from 150 a year ago, but still a middle of the pack unit ranked No. 65 in the nation. Fans quickly wanting to point out that A&M is more of a passing team, same can be said about Baylor with the No. 4 rushing attack in the nation and Oregon with the No. 5 ground game. One aspect of the game feeds off the other and if everyone knows the Aggies are going to pass two out of three times, makes playing defense a little bit easier no matter how good the talent is on the field on offense for A&M.

News broke Thursday night that Allen has asked for and received a release from his scholarship. The parting of ways is another second consecutive year where Sumlin has ran off a starting quarterback for whatever reason. At the end of the 2014 season Hill left A&M for TCU. Where Allen may land is still unknown.

Sumlin is now in the middle of another rebuilding offseason for the third year in a row because of how he has handled his starting quarterbacks. The talent and offensive scheme is there but something is off in the relationship building and trust between player and coach and coach and player. The 12th Man expects to contend for SEC West titles and have every right to feel as such. Given the depth of talent in the Lone Star State and the Aggies playing in the SEC, A&M should win most recruiting battles every season. Talent is improving along with the coaching, especially with the addition of defensive coordinator John Chavis. The one glaring inconsistent is from the man in charge. How long will Aggie Nation remain patient with their offensive genius if he keeps running off talented quarterbacks proving their worth on the field year after year?

A&M is 8-4 on the season, 4-4 in conference play. The Aggies can added win No. 9 to the season if a Music City Bowl victory is to be had against Louisville.

If Murray throws two interceptions in the first half against the Cardinals, will Sumlin bench his new starter in favor of Jake Hubenak potentially risking losing yet another 5-star quarterback ranked recruit to an offseason transfer? Or will Sumlin find a better way to communicate with his quarterbacks on how to run the offense choosing a different kind of teaching lesson over a benching session that has not worked out in A&M’s favor thus far?

Photo credit: dallasnews.com; No. 10 Kyle Allen.