One of the lone bright spots for Texas A&M during Saturday's 27-6 road loss to Missouri was the play of former Colorado transfer defensive lineman Brandon Davis-Swain, who, after dealing with injuries during the first five games of the season, earned his first start vs. the Tigers and finished with three tackles and a tackle for loss.
Texas A&M's defense, despite giving up 27 points, wasn't the issue against the Tigers, as starting quarterback Marcel Reed continued to struggle, throwing 189 yards and two interceptions, while the Aggie offense failed to reach the end zone for the second time this season.
For coach Mike Elko, the pressure is on, and the Aggies' home matchup vs. The Citadel on Saturday will serve as the last "guaranteed win" on the schedule before facing Alabama and South Carolina on the road, Tennessee at home, Oklahoma on the road, and Texas at home to end the regular season.
Still, the Aggie defense has improved week to week since first-year defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill took over as the defensive play-caller, and with Brandon Davis-Swain now in the lineup, Texas A&M's interior pass rush and run defense are also expected to take another step.
On Tuesday, Davis-Swain discussed the team's "morale" after the loss and looked ahead to the final six regular-season games.
"We're definitely focused. We know our goal for this Saturday (is) to come out and win. Everybody's working on technique (and) finishing. I think we're in a great mindset to come out and just keep going," Davis-Swain said.
It's fair to question whether the offense, especially Marcel Reed, is playing with consistent effort or whether this is simply a coaching issue. Either way, sophomore running back Jamarion Morrow said the roster has held several player-only meetings, with Davis-Swain looking to take a leadership role after returning to the field.
"To stay focused. To come out and we still got to perform. (We) still got a game Saturday (and) still got to be prepared. We can't worry about the past anymore. The only thing we can do is just come out and play our game now," Davis-Swain said.
Texas A&M will host The Citadel on Saturday at noon CT. The game will stream on SEC Network+.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: 'We're definitely focused': transfer DL steps up for Texas A&M defense