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Texas A&M announces Sam Matthews will wear No. 12

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh•08/29/23•

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Texas A&M provided advance notice to both the NCAA and SEC that there would be a potentially landscape-shifting NIL-related announcement last week. (Juan DeLeon/Icon SMI/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

A program full of a ton of traditions, the 12th Man might be Texas A&M‘s best one. Kyle Field provides one of the best atmospheres in all of college football. But there is always a 12th Man representative on the roster, coming in the form of wearing No. 12.

On Tuesday, the next 12th Man was announced by the official Texas A&M Football Twitter account. Defensive back Sam Matthews will have the honor during the 2023 season. Finding the jersey at his locker, teammates came up to congratulate Matthews on the accomplishment.

“I can’t even put it into words,” Matthews said in a video posted while walking to practice in his new jersey number. “Unexplainable. Everything I worked for, finally paying off.”

Matthews is originally from League City, TX, and attended Clear Creek High School. He walked onto the Texas A&M team before the 2021 season after beginning his college football career at Division II Harding University. Now, he gets to close it all out by wearing the No. 12.

Before making the announcement, head coach Jimbo Fisher stressed how important of a decision the 12th Man is for Texas A&M. Everyone on the coaching staff takes the matter seriously on a yearly basis. A huge sign of how everyone in College Station thinks of Matthews.

“That’s a very, very tough choice and we take it very seriously,” Fisher recently said. “As a staff, we talk about it, as a team, with players. It’s, in our opinion, a thought out decision that we take very seriously.”

On the field, Matthews is technically a linebacker. However, he has not recorded too much time at the position. Matthews did step up when injuries derailed Texas A&M heading into the Florida game, recording six tackles (four solo).

Matthew’s on-field value comes on special teams. Texas A&M named him the Special Teams Most Improved Award at the end of the 2021 season and the same success carried into the following year. He was named the Special Teams MVP and earned the Strength & Conditioning Specialist Aggie Award.

The No. 12 jersey may have debuted at practice on Tuesday but reality will set in on Saturday when New Mexico rolls into town. Texas A&M will have the entire 12th Man in the stands, cheering on the Aggies to begin the 2023 season 1-0.

Matthews will run out of the tunnel representing them all with his new jersey number.