Despite teams around the country cancelling their spring games, nothing was getting in the way of Texas A&M’s annual Maroon & White Game. The Aggies held their yearly intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday, and it was the White team that prevailed with a 19-7 win.

Both squads were drafted earlier in the week, as junior linebacker Taurean York and senior offensive linemen Ar’maj Reed-Adams played general manager for the Maroon team, while graduate OL Trey Zuhn III and senior cornerback Will Lee III called the shots for the White team roster.

“I made sure I drafted some ballplayers,” Lee said. “So when I drafted my ball players, I knew we was gonna go out there and execute.”

The White team got out to an early 6-0 lead with redshirt freshman quarterback Miles O’Neill starting under center. The Massachusetts native had a good showing against New Mexico State in 2024 and managed to secure two separate scoring drives in the first half, both ending in field goals. 

Maroon team sophomore QB Marcel Reed had his eyes set on one target to begin the afternoon, finding NC State transfer junior wide receiver KC Concepcion early and often. After high praise in spring practice, the Wolfpack product looked ready for the No. 1 WR spot in Aggieland, totalling seven catches for 64 yards.

Not to be outmatched by Concepcion was Mississippi State transfer sophomore WR Mario Craver. The former Bulldog standout hauled in five catches for 78 yards including back-to-back catches in the second quarter, getting the Maroon team all the way down to the opponents 34 yard line.

“Both those kids were really productive college football players last year,” coach Mike Elko said. “I said it when we signed Mario. … He’s got tremendous quickness and tremendous twitch. And, you know, we had played KC when he was at NC State … the year I was at Duke, and so knew a lot about him. He’s been a really productive player for two years in college football. So I don’t think it should be surprising that those two kids are going to be productive for us.”

The Aggies’ starting QB failed to capitalize on the momentum though, as Reed threw a contested interception right into the hands of sophomore linebacker Jordan Lockhart. However O’Neill matched Reed immediately with his own interception when York made a heads up play to intercept the ball off a deflection.

Redshirt freshman QB Paxton Land also secured himself a scoring drive in the first half, as the White team carried a 9-0 lead into halftime. The Maroon team failed to produce anything offensively throughout the first half thanks to the pressure applied by freshman DL Marco Jones. 

“He’s extremely athletic,” Elko said. “I think he’s got tremendous ability to rush the passer. I don’t know if Aggies should expect him to have five sacks a game this fall. That might be a little bit of a high expectation, but … he’s gotten better every single practice.”

The dual-sport baseball star had five total sacks to combine for a team total of seven alongside Florida transfer junior defensive linemen T.J. Searcy. The White team wasn’t alone in bringing the pressure, as four different players on the Maroon team brought down the QB. 

First overall Maroon & White Game draft pick senior DL Cashius Howell brought the heat in the first half with 1.5 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss. Meanwhile, Iowa State transfer senior DL Tyler Onyedim also looked electric in the first half, bursting through gaps and holding the Maroon team running game dormant.

“It was great to see Cassius Howell take a next step in his development,” Elko said. “I think he’s going to be a very, very disruptive edge player and really have a productive season for us.”

The touchdown proceedings finally got under way in the second half after Reed found redshirt freshman WR Ashton Bethel-Roman on back-to-back plays, the latter for a toe-tap touchdown. The defender that got picked on was sophomore DB Dezz Ricks, who will need to perform better if he wants a bigger role in defensive coordinator Jay Bateman’s scheme.

After having its lead cut 9-7, the White team refused to settle, as O’Neill fired back with a 19-yard bomb to redshirt freshman WR Izaiah Williams, who hauled in a one-handed catch despite being draped by the DB.

After securing the 16-7 lead, it was smooth sailing for the White team, which eventually extended its lead to 19-7, as poor offensive line play held back both squads’ production.

“We had a lot of the young kids out there … so you don’t really have the full force of the offensive line right now, and so I think a big part of it was, just some young guys out there kind of going through it for the first time,” Elko said. “And it’d be good learning lessons for them to see what it takes to really do this at a high level.”

As the clock finally struck zero, it was the White team that came out on top 19-7. The team managed to dominate a majority of the game thanks to excellent play from underclassmen all over the field.

“They’re tough, gritty kids,” York said. “I liked them a lot in the offseason, liked them a lot when we were doing competitive agilities, I saw that resilience in them. So I’m proud of those guys to continue to go up and up, and that’s what we want.”