Texas A&M 2025 Season Preview: DE

AggieYell.com’s preview of the 2025 Texas A&M football team by position group continues with a look at the defensive ends.

Cast of characters (including players at JACK)

#9, Cashius Howell; Sr.; 6-2, 248

#50, Dayon Hayes; Gr.-TR.; 6-3, 254

#18, T.J. Searcy; Jr.; 6-5, 255

#15, Rylan Kennedy; Jr.; 6-3, 239

#92, Sam M’Pemba; RS-So.-TR.; 6-3, 252

#30, Solomon Williams; RS-Fr.; 6-1, 250

#42, Kendall Jackson; RS-Fr.; 6-3, 256

#10, Marco Jones; Fr.; 6-5, 258

2024 stats

Howell, 40 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 4 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 INT, 7 passes broken up, 9 QB hurries

Kennedy, 20 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 2 passes broken up, 4 QB hurries

Hayes, 16 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 sacks in four games at Colorado

Searcy, 34 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery in 12 games at Florida

Williams, 4 tackles, 1.5 TFL in three games

Jackson, 1 tackle in one game

Overview

Last year’s group of defensive ends had two draft picks in the first 51 selections of the 2025 NFL Draft. And what was the biggest disappointment on the 2024 Aggie football team? The defensive ends. Shemar Stewart and Nic Scourton are gone, as are Malick Sylla (Mississippi State), Enai White (Penn State) and Josh Celiscar (USF). In are Hayes, Searcy, M’Pemba and Jones, along with a very new look.

Last year’s defensive ends were huge; after disappointing results, the 2025 defensive ends are much lighter. They’re interested in speed more than size and brute force.

It’s a defensive end group that looks different, but it’s not inexperienced. Hayes played three seasons at Pitt, earning All-ACC honors in 2023 before transferring to Colorado. He was off to a quick start there before getting hurt in week 4, ending his season. Searcy was a prominent part of Florida’s defensive end rotation and would likely have seen even more time had he stayed for 2025. M’Pemba was a 5-star and one of the top 10 players in the country according to Rivals.com for the class of 2023, but couldn’t find a niche at Georgia. The Aggies hope that standing him up as a JACK will allow him to utilize his athleticism and get after the quarterback.

Howell leads the returning players and was, arguably, the best pass rusher A&M had in 2024. He certainly was down the stretch and Stewart and Scourton faded. He will get a chance to play defensive end full time this season, something he did not do last year. The starting JACK will likely be Kennedy, who the coaching staff believes could have a breakout season in 2024 as he gets fully comfortable playing in the SEC.

Williams and Jackson played very little last year, though Williams did look good when given an opportunity against USC. But he, and Jackson, find themselves behind veterans once again. Jones, on the other hand, may be too good to keep on the sideline. He already has SEC size, and his pass rush abilities have raised eyebrows since he arrived on campus in January.

The spotlight’s on…

Howell. He’s not just a new defensive end, he’s the player offensive lines will look to stop first. The Aggies need someone to set the tone for the position group, and if Howell picks up where he left off against USC in the Las Vegas Bowl, he has the potential to be an All-SEC player.

Projected two deep

DE:

Howell

Jones

DE:

Hayes

Searcy

JACK:

Kennedy

M’Pemba