Texas A&M Aggies Defensive Lineman Was 'Built in a Lab' According to DC

The Texas A&M Aggies have recruited the defensive line at an extremely high level for many years now.

While some of the talent departed to the transfer portal with the regime change this offseason, new head coach Mike Elko was able to hold onto some of his best players. One of those players who decided to stay was pass rusher Shemar Stewart .

Stewart was rated as a top-ten overall player in the nation coming out Monsignor Pace in Opa Locka, Florida and chose the Aggies over offers from just about every school in the country. Elko's new defensive coordinator Jay Bateman spoke incredibly highly about Stewart and his potential during his Tuesday fall camp media availability .

"Shemar Stewart is a tremendous kid. You first meet him, you're like, Oh, my God, this guy looks like a million dollars. I told one of the NFL guys that was here during the offseason. I said, If you gave me and you two hours in a lab to build a defensive end, they would come out looking like Shemar Stewart," Bateman said . "I think Shemar has done a great job. But I think the defensive line, I think there's a lot of really good players, and I think we're going to be able to be really fresh and attacking, and I think it's going to be a huge plus to our defense."

After a freshman season in 2022 in which Stewart was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team , Stewart was on the field for all 13 games in 2023 but failed to really reach his full potential.

Players not reaching their full potential was commonplace under the previous head coach , and it will be up to both Bateman and Elko to help them do just that in 2024.