Texas A&M Loses Starting Offensive Lineman for the Season

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The Texas A&M offensive line suffered a brutal blow on Sept. 2 as starting center Mark Nabou was ruled out for the season with a torn ACL sustained during Saturday's season-opening loss to Notre Dame.

Nabou was one of two Aggie offensive linemen injured during the first half against the Fighting Irish, along with guard Ar'maj Reed-Adams. Reed-Adams never returned, while Nabou continued to shuffle in and out.

Head coach Mike Elko announced the news as he met with the media to discuss the team's upcoming game against McNeese State.

Nabou's Impact

Nabou, a sophomore from Lynnwood, Wash., was beginning his second season as a starter for the Aggies, starting 12 games at guard and one at center as a redshirt freshman. He was also occasionally used as an extra lineman/fullback/tight end in goal line packages and even scored a rushing touchdown against LSU last season.

The sophomore excelled in pass protection, as Texas A&M had some of its best games through the air during his early starts including a 399-yard passing day against Louisiana-Monroe. For a former 3-star recruit, he had certainly started to make his mark and carve out a role for the foreseeable future.

Now, Texas A&M will have to turn to Utah transfer Kolinu'u Faaiu and redshirt freshman TJ Shanahan, both of whom played snaps at center on Saturday.

Texas A&M Replacements

Faaiu entered the game against Notre Dame for Nabou after the injury and will get the first shot to take his place when the Aggies take the field against McNeese State this weekend. He was part of back-to-back Pac-12 Conference championship teams at Utah, appearing in five games for the Utes in 2022 and starting eight games in 2023.

His experience should be able to help the offensive line handle the increased early-season adversity.

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"I think our plan originally was a little bit more of a rotation," Elko told reporters on Monday. "Koli will now, obviously, have to step up and play the majority of the games at center for us.

TJ Shanahan is the next option. The redshirt freshman had only appeared in three games before entering the Notre Dame game in relief. He was a highly touted recruit and the No. 1 high school offensive lineman in Texas in the 2023 recruiting cycle out of Austin Westlake High School.

Shanahan also has the versatility to play guard if injuries continue to mount.