AggieHuddle.com’s preview of the 2026 Texas A&M football team by position group continues with a look at the linebackers.

Linebacker room

Name	Class	Height/Weight
Daymion Sanford	Sr.	6-2/228
Ray Coney	Sr.-TR.	6-2/240
Jordan Lockhart	Jr.	6-1/233
Noah Mikhail	So.	6-2/230
Kelvion Riggins	RS-Fr.	5-11/210
Tamarion Watkins	Fr.	6-3/228
Qui Beck	Fr.	6/228
Tank King	Fr.	6/225
Storm Miller	Fr.	6-2/229

2025 stats

Coney (at Tulsa): 129 tackles (89 solo, most in the nation), 7.5 tackls for loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble

Sanford: 57 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 INT

Mikhail: 16 tackles, 2.5 TFL

Lockhart: 12 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1 sack

Camp storylines

When will Daymion Sanford return and who will fill in for him? This is a question that will probably linger well into the season. After suffering a tibia injury during the Maroon & White Game, there was concern Sanford might miss the entire season, but the injury wasn’t as serious as first feared. Still, the rehab process has been extensive and isn’t over yet. When asked whether he had an idea when Sanford might return, Coach Mike Elko said, “no.” There is a possibility that he’s ready to begin the season, but that seems unlikely. In the interim, Noah Mikhail is the likely starter in his place.

Can the backups fill in capably? Mikhail and Jordan Lockhart will be the first off the bench — obviously, in the case of Mikhail. But Elko said Lockhart will have to be prepared for a bigger role. Lockhart is frequently overlooked, but he plays with an aggression few can match. He’s out there looking to hit people and hit them hard.

Will any of the freshmen play? With Sanford unlikely to be ready for the start of the year, odds are very high that at least one of them does. The most likely one entering camp is former 4-star Tamarion Watkins, who gained 27 pounds in the offseason (he’s now 228) and has impressed veterans with his performance to date. Whether the other three — King, Beck and Miller — are ready or not remains a question, but Elko said one of the big goals of camp is to get them there.

Projected Depth Chart

MLB: Coney

Lockhart

King

WLB: Sanford

Mikhail

Watkins