True Freshmen Report: Snap Counts, Grades against Sam Houston State

Texas A&M opened the season with a 31-0 win over Sam Houston State and of Texas A&M’s top-ranked 2022 recruiting class, 18 of the 29 freshmen saw the field, including seven of the nine five-star recruits the Aggies signed.

Here, we break down the snap counts and grades for true freshmen from Pro Football Focus’ (PFF) initial grades (offense and defense only), where a single-game mark of about 64 is considered average.

Freshmen on Offense

Evan Stewart – 59 snaps

Stewart finished with five catches for 57 yards. His longest reception of the day was 23 yards. Outside of Ainias Smith, no wide receiver played more snaps than the former Five-Star Plus+ recruit.

Chris Marshall – 15 snaps

Marshall finished with four catches for 41 yards, with 20 yards after the catch.

PJ Williams – 3 snaps

What a surprise Williams has been. Needing to add significant weight to his frame when he enrolled, the freshman out of Dickinson (Tex.) High did just that and saw time in week one

Jake Johnson – 7 snaps

Johnson hauled in his first reception of his college career on a pass from his older brother, Max Johnson, for a 2-yard gain.

Kam Dewberry – 3 snaps

Dewberry, a freshman out of Humble (Tex.) Atascocita, saw time along the interior of the line

Noah Thomas – 9 snaps

Working with the second unit offense, Thomas, the third wide receiver the Aggies signed last season, was targeted one time in nine snaps.

Donovan Green – 24 snaps

Green primarily contributed as a blocker in the 24 snaps he earned.

Freshmen on Defense

Walter Nolen – 17 snaps

Nolen was the top-ranked defensive lineman in the country and the top-ranked member of Texas A&M’s 2022 class. He played in 17 snaps, primarily along the interior of the defensive line and finished with three tackles and a hit on the quarterback. He earned the second highest defensive grade on the team, 87.7, only behind Fadil Diggs.

Shemar Stewart – 18 snaps

Stewart, a former five-star recruit in the 2022 class out of South Florida, recorded one tackle, half a sack and half a tackle for loss in his debut. He finished with a 78.0 grade

Lebbeus Overton – 16 snaps

Overton enrolled at Texas A&M over the summer after reclassifying from the 2023 class. The former Five-Star Plus+ defensive lineman played primarily at defensive end. He recorded two tackles and a sack and finished with a 74.5 grade.

Denver Harris – 16 snaps

Harris played early and often at cornerback in the first half, and finished with two tackles on the day. He earned a grade of 71.2

Anthony Lucas – 17 snaps

Lucas saw the field a bit later than expected but still had an impact, earning a grade of 70.5.

Bryce Anderson – 7 snaps

Anderson saw time in the second half at safety and recorded two tackles.

Enai White – 13 snaps

White played all over the field in 13 snaps, lining up all over the line and at linebacker.

Smoke Bouie – 26 snaps

Surprisingly, the freshman defensive back out of Georgia played the most snaps of any freshman on the defense, and was hardly targeted.

Jacoby Mathews – 14 snaps

Mathews came up with a fumble recovery in his first drive of the game. He’s expected to be in the rotation at safety all season

Jarred Kerr – 7 snaps

The versatile defensive back earned seven snaps in the game, primarily in the second half, but recorded no stats.

Martrell Harris Jr. – 7 snaps.

The former four-star linebacker out of The Woodlands (Tex.) High finished with his first collegiate tackle after making his debut on the defense in the second half.