KELLEN MOND

Some Southeastern Conference defenses are flexing their muscles after 2020 being a defensive coordinator’s nightmare.

Leon O’Neal Jr. had two interceptions, returning the second one 85 yards for a touchdown, and Devon Achane added two scores to help No. 6 Texas A&M pull away in the third quarter and cruise to a 41-10 win over Kent State Saturday night.

The Minnesota Vikings have activated quarterback Kellen Mond from the COVID-19 reserve list.

Coach Jimbo Fisher enters the fourth season of his massive $75 million contract at Texas A&M having elevated the Aggies to among the top programs in the country.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has been activated from the COVID-19 reserve list.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has been absent from practice this week due to COVID-19 protocols.

Looking sharp from head to toe, Texas A&M defensive end DeMarvin Leal spoke with the media at 2021 SEC Media Days.

After posting his best season at the helm of the Aggies football program, Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher sits down with KSAT's Greg Simmons to discuss the self-described toughest season of his coaching career, Judson alumnus and defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal's growth, and his expectations for the future of the team as they prepare for the 2021 season.

History dictates that it’s likely at least a couple of the five first-round quarterbacks won’t fulfill the hopes of the teams that drafted them.

Though they were teammates for four seasons, Robert Griffin III had some sharp comments against Kirk Cousins, who is now the Vikings quarterback.

He might not have been one of the five quarterbacks selected in the first round, but Reagan alumnus and Texas A&M standout Kellen Mond finally heard his name called at the 2021 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.

American Team quarterback Kellen Mond of Texas A&M (12) has his throw tipped by National Team offensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa of UCLA (92) during the first half of the NCAA Senior Bowl college football game in Mobile, Ala., Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)MOBILE, Ala. – Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond was the Senior Bowl Most Valuable Player but two fellow Southeastern Conference Western Division products made the decisive big play. Fitzpatrick had six catches for 90 yards in the showcase game for senior and graduate NFL prospects, earning offensive player of the game honors. Obviously, kind of shaky at the beginning but it definitely shows a lot of poise to be able to bounce back.”North Carolina running back Michael Carter also had a big game. The game was played for the first time at South Alabama’s new Hancock Whitney Stadium, with Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores leading the National team and Carolina’s Matt Rhule coaching the American team.

The next game he plays is for his NFL draft stock, provided the Alabama quarterback's gimpy left ankle is good to go. Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy said the plan is for Jones to dress out and see how his ankle feels. “Just being in that room, I already learned so much about NFL football,” he said. Mond started 44 games for the Aggies, Ehlinger logged 43 starts for the Longhorns,Mond led the Aggies into College Football Playoffs contention in his final season. I just wanted to come and kind of learn more about NFL football and learn a new playbook, which I thought I did a good job with.

Newman is hardly alone among the players trying to shake off the rust after long layoffs leading up to Saturday's Senior Bowl for senior NFL prospects. A number of the Senior Bowl players had shortened seasons or none at all because of the coronavirus pandemic. He was the lone quarterback at the Senior Bowl not made available for post-practice media interviews. But I think he’s done a really good job.”AdThere are number of players at the Senior Bowl returning after a long absences from the field. Darby trained in Las Vegas for the Senior Bowl and the now-canceled combine.

Texas A&M head coach Jumbo Fisher raises his hands during the trophy presentation at the Orange Bowl NCAA college football game, Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Texas A&M defeated North Carolina 41-27. 14 North Carolina 41-27 on Saturday night — capping a winless bowl season for the Atlantic Coast Conference. North Carolina: The Tar Heels gave up 24 points in the fourth quarter, after allowing just 17 points in the first 45 minutes. North Carolina still could finish ranked for only the fourth time in the last 27 seasons. North Carolina: An ACC opponent likely awaits in Week 1 next season.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Andre Gordon scored 10 points including the game-winner with 0.9 seconds left as Texas A&M held off Auburn 68-66 on Saturday. Gordon drove the lane, pivoted and faked a shot before scoring off the glass. Emanuel Miller had 16 points and five rebounds for Texas A&M (6-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference), which bounced back from a 77-54 loss at LSU on Tuesday. Miller leads the Aggies in scoring and rebounds, and his 9.2 rebounds is first in the SEC. Auburn (6-4, 0-2) cut a nine-point deficit with 5:34 left and tied it 66-all with 14 seconds remaining.

13 CFP) in the 87th edition of the Orange Bowl. “I always say this: The Orange Bowl is as good as it gets,” Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said Friday. Thing is, neither of those running backs — Michael Carter and Javonte Williams — chose to play in the Orange Bowl. “That’s 4,000 yards worth of offense and our leading tackler on defense and two captains,” North Carolina coach Mack Brown said. With them gone, it means even more pressure will be on North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell.

An Orange Bowl spot against North Carolina will be its consolation prize. It will be North Carolina’s first time in the Orange Bowl, and the first meeting between the schools. This will be just the seventh January bowl game for North Carolina. BOWL WINNERSThe Orange Bowl coaches certainly know how to end seasons with victories. WELCOME BACKFor Fisher, it’s a return to a stadium where he’s gone 6-0 — including a pair of Orange Bowl victories.

Notre Dame was picked Sunday over Texas A&M for the final spot, ending what little drama there had been. Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State have also held the first four spots in the AP Top 25 since Oct. 25. The Atlantic Coast Conference is the second league to have two teams in the playoff, joining the SEC in 2017. After sitting second in the CFP rankings for a month, Notre Dame was blown out 34-10 by Clemson in the ACC championship. Barta said the disparate number of games played by contenders — along with far fewer cross-conference games than usual —- was a challenge for the committee all season.

5 Texas A&M to close its case for a spot in the College Football Playoff with a 34-13 victory over Tennessee. 5 CFP) finished their regular season and hoped for an upset or two within the CFP’s top four. Texas A&M's advantage went to 17-7 when the Aggies turned a Bailey fumble into a 23-yard field goal by Seth Small. Tennessee: After the second game of the season, the Vols were tied with Notre Dame for the longest winning streak among FBS teams. A victory over winless Vanderbilt ended the skid, but the loss to Texas A&M ended the regular season on a sour note.

Kellen Mond passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third and the fifth-ranked Aggies scored 17 points in the fourth quarter of a come-from-behind 31-20 victory over Auburn on Saturday. Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher wasn't interested in speculating on how the win might affect his team's playoff chances. He completed 18 of 23 for 196 yards, highlighted by two TDs to Jalen Wydermyer, and ran for 60 yards. The Aggies ran for a season-high 313 yards and held a 16-minute advantage in time of possession. Auburn: Was outgained 168-21 in the fourth quarter.

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields throws a pass against Indiana during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020, in Columbus, Ohio. 3 Ohio State is playing as much as who will be play playing for the Buckeyes this weekend. Ohio State seems to be on track to play at Michigan State on Saturday after a spike in COVID-19 cases in the program forced a cancellation of last week's road trip to Illinois. If Ohio State has one more game canceled it would be unable to meet the Big Ten's minimum game played to be eligible for the conference title game. UNDER THE RADARNebraska at PurdueNeither team is in the Big West race, but the interesting thing is the Boilermakers (2-3) have won two straight against the Cornhuskers (1-4).

But Auburn has won the past three meetings and the last two have come by a total of 12 points. “More like pro football than any league in college football. That “we belong with the big dogs, and not just in the SEC but all of college football. But Auburn is the only team in the Aggies’ closing stretch that has a winning record, with Tennessee and Mississippi set to visit College Station in the coming weeks. “That’s something we love to do.”___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

The number of games across major college football scheduled for this weekend that have already been called off is up to six, after three went down Monday, including Mississippi at No. So we can complain about this and this and that but, listen, we’re still getting to play football,” Fisher said. Major college football conferences have been tweaking policies to provide their schools flexibility to schedule games on short notice. That probably won't work for LSU-Alabama, which was among four SEC games postponed last week. __Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

5 Texas A&M paused in-person activities on Monday after a player and a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from a win at South Carolina. Coach Jimbo Fisher said the Aggies (5-1) would not do anything on campus Monday and would instead conduct all work through Zoom sessions. He said the team was undergoing additional testing and contact tracing on Monday to see if the coronavirus had spread. “We’re doing everything from a safety issue with our players and our staff to keep them as safe as possible.”Fisher said he hoped his team could return to campus on Tuesday. He was also confident on Monday that his team would be able to play on Saturday at Tennessee (2-4), but said he wouldn’t know for sure until they had completed testing and contact tracing.

Kellen Mond threw four touchdown passes to become the school's career leader, Isaiah Spiller ran for 131 yards and the Aggies routed South Carolina 48-3 on Saturday night. Learning to win each play and, in turn, the bigger picture is coming together.”Especially when Mond, Spiller and the Aggies defense play like this. South Carolina has surrendered 1,071 yards and 100 points in losses to LSU and the Aggies its past two games. The offense gave Mond a safe, clean pocket to work from while the defense limited South Carolina to 50 yards rushing. "It was very tough going early, just kept pounding, pounding, pounding, and pounding.

“An SEC win is always going to be a big win for us but we’re never going to be satisfied," he said. Reed made a 34-yard field goal in the third quarter to cut the Aggies' lead to 28-17 after missing two longer tries in the first half. Mond’s second TD pass was on a 6-yard reception by Wydermyer, which extended the lead to 21-7 about seven minutes before halftime. Tyson Morris got the Razorbacks within seven with a 1-yard touchdown catch later in the second quarter. The last time Mond was sacked was in the second quarter of the team's season-opener against Vanderbilt.

Arkansas has won two Southeastern Conference games this season after going winless in the league the past two years. The Aggies have won eight straight meetings in the series with the last victory by Arkansas coming in 2011. Johnny Football led the Aggies to a 45-33 victory in 2013. Mond is already Texas A&M’s leader in career yards passing (8,363), completions (693) and attempts (1,191). Pittman has been impressed with Mond’s development this season and raved about his work behind Texas A&M’s experienced offensive line.

11 Aggies beat Mississippi State 28-14 on Saturday. Mississippi State (1-3) had little offensive rhythm for the third straight game. Mississippi State had minus-2 yards rushing and just 217 yards of total offense. THE TAKEAWAYThe Aggies continue to put points on the board, scoring 28 or more points for the second straight week. Meanwhile, Leach’s maiden voyage in Starkville continues to take on water in a second straight home loss.

“Now I want to see what do you follow up with?”Isaiah Spiller rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 21 Texas A&M beat fourth-ranked Florida 41-38 on Seth Small’s 26-yard field goal as time expired Saturday. Spiller helped get the Aggies get into position for Small’s decisive kick, sending A&M to its first win over a top-five team since a 41-38 victory over No. Florida led 28-24 early in the fourth when Spiller struck again, running 19 yards for a touchdown on a fourth-and-2 play. Spiller bounced off several defenders before waltzing into the end zone and then hitting the Florida fan section with a Gator chomp.

Briefly threatened early, Jones and the Crimson Tide (2-0) flexed their considerable big-play muscle in the passing game to put away the Aggies (1-1). “Our guys stayed the course and kept competing in the game,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “We won, so it's a good game,” Jones said, when asked if it was his best performance. Smith, a converted receiver, emerged as another needed threat in the passing game. Alabama: Any questions about production of the Tide's passing game after Tua Tagovailoa, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III have been answered.

Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, left, talks with quarterback Kellen Mond (11) during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

including the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry, highlights the fifth week of the college football season. 4 Georgia on Saturday night as the second month of the season starts, but only the second week of SEC play. The first of three games that decide the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy might have sneaked up on college football fans. The Falcons will play six conference games to go along with Navy and Army. ___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher admitted that he’d be mad all week after the way his 10th-ranked team played against Vanderbilt on Saturday night. Isaiah Spiller had 117 yards rushing, Ainias Smith ran for a touchdown Texas A&M overcame three turnovers in a mistake-filled game to beat Vanderbilt 17-12 in the season-opener for both teams. Spiller had 5 five yards rushing in the first half before getting going after halftime. But Vanderbilt had to punt it back to allow Texas A&M to hold on for the victory. Vanderbilt led 3-0 in the first quarter before Smith ran 25 yards for a touchdown to put A&M on top.

Spiller set season highs with 217 yards rushing and three touchdowns to lead the Aggies to their third straight victory and make them bowl eligible for the 11th straight season. The Aggies (6-3) were up by 14 when a 50-yard touchdown run by Spiller made it 28-7 early in the third quarter. Narcisse put UTSA (3-5) on top in the first with a 2-yard touchdown run that made it 7-0. The Aggies tied it when Spiller ran 60 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the next possession. Cordarrian Richardson put Texas A&M on top 14-7 later in the first quarter with a 19-yard touchdown run.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Freshman Isaiah Spiller set season highs with 217 yards rushing and three touchdowns to lead Texas A&M to a 45-14 win over UTSA on Saturday. The Aggies (6-3) were up by 14 when a 50-yard touchdown run by Spiller made it 28-7 early in the third quarter. It was his second long scoring run of the game after a 60-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Narcisse put UTSA (3-5) on top in the first with a 2-yard touchdown run that made it 7-0. The Aggies tied it when Spiller ran 60 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the next possession.

The Aggies (5-3, 3-2 SEC) led by 18 points at halftime after taking advantage of two turnovers by Mississippi State (3-5, 1-4). Kylin Hill had a 39-yard run on Mississippi State's next drive and capped it with a 4-yard touchdown run to get the Bulldogs within 42-24 early in the fourth. A 2-yard touchdown run by Cordarrian Richardson came after that to make it 49-24 with five minutes to seal the victory. Two plays later Shrader connected with Guidry on a 32-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14-7. Three plays Kendrick Rogers caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Mond to make it 28-7.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - For the second time this season, Texas A&M squared off against the top-ranked team in the nation. 1 Alabama found their stride late in the first quarter and dominated the 24th-ranked Aggies at Kyle Field, 47-28. The loss sends Texas A&M back to .500 with a 3-3 overall record at the halfway point of the season. Despite five sacks and looking a little hobbled after the game, Mond was the A&Ms leading rusher, finishing with 16 carries for 90 yards. He was given great field position by the Alabama special teams, which produced 128 yards on punt returns.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Quartney Davis caught two of the three touchdowns thrown by Kellen Mond, including the go-ahead score for No. 23 Texas A&M, and the Aggies held on to beat Arkansas 31-27 on Saturday. They have lost eight in a row against Texas A&M since the Aggies left the Big 12. Arkansas: Hicks, who lost the starting job to Starkel after two games, helped lead the Razorbacks to the A&M 19 in the final minute. Arkansas: The Razorbacks play Oct. 12 at Kentucky after an open date.

16 Texas A&M to a 62-3 rout of Lamar on Saturday night. Spiller shined in the first game since Jashaun Corbin sustained a season-ending hamstring injury last week at Clemson, running for touchdowns of 1 and 34 yards. Ausbon dropped a would-be touchdown on third-and-5 on the next drive and the Aggies added a 31-yard field goal to lead 13-0 entering the second quarter. Lamar put together a nice drive after that but came away empty when Bobby Brown blocked a 22-yard field goal attempt early in the second quarter. Spiller had a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and Mond added a score on a 12-yard run later in the period to leave A&M up 27-0 at halftime.

16 Texas A&M (1-1), Saturday at 7 p.m. EDT (ESPNU). Spiller joined the Aggies after running for 1,493 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior last season. FACTS & FIGURESThe Aggies are 29-1 in their last 30 nonconference home games, with the only loss coming to Clemson last season. ... Texas A&M DB Elijah Blades made his first start last week and had four tackles and a sack for a 16-yard loss. ... DB Roney Elam has an interception in both of Texas A&M's games this season.

Joe Burrow #9 of the LSU Tigers looks to pass in the fourth quarter against the Texas Longhorns during a 45-38 LSU win.. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)Here are five takeaways from this past weekend's football action around the state. But as good as Ehlinger was, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow was that much better in a phenomenal performance. Burrow went 31-of-39 for 471 yards and four touchdowns, numbers that couldve been expected by anyone going in. During last years narrow defeat at home to Clemson, it was a coming-out party for Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond. UIW set a school record with 402 rushing yards and quarterback Jon Copeland tied a single-game record with five touchdown passes.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - With Texas A&M's date against No. Kellen Mond threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score in just more than three quarters, and Texas A&M had four interceptions in the 41-7 rout. Myles Jones had two of Texas A&M's four interceptions, and the Aggies had three sacks and nine tackles for losses. Vitt was 9 of 15 for 51 yards and Jensen had 160 yards passing and a fourth-quarter touchdown pass. Mond showed off his scrambling skills in the second quarter on a 5-yard touchdown run where he stiff-armed a defender.

The Texas college football season officially kicks off Thursday night with an in-state showdown between Texas A&M and Texas State. 12 in the country in the Associated Press poll, and enter the season with Southeastern Conference and College Football Playoff hopes. Jimbo Fisher enters his second season in College Station after a 9-4 campaign and Gator Bowl championship. On the other sideline will be Texas State head coach Jake Spavital, who enters his first season in San Marcos. Texas Tech vs. Montana State on Saturday in Lubbock.

Check out an expanded version of The Sports Guys, which takes you behind the scenes of the KSAT Sports department. This week, Greg, Larry, and Jake discuss the following topics:Ezekiel Elliott has threatened training camp holdout if Dallas Cowboys dont start new contract talks. The Houston Texans' inability to reach a long-term deal with Jadeveon Clowney. And the Texas A&M Aggies' Kellen Mond saying hes the best quarterback in the SEC. Copyright 2019 by KSAT - All rights reserved.

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) - Texas A&M's schedule looks pretty brutal this season. Coach Jimbo Fisher can't wait to get it started. According to Fisher, he expects to be right there with them by the end of the season. We want to take care of our own," Fisher said on Tuesday at SEC media days. The Aggies play Clemson, Alabama and Georgia this year and all three of those programs will likely be among the preseason top five.