What Scares Me About East Texas A&M?

East Texas A&M is 1-4. Cool. That ain’t the part that scares me.

What scares me is the version that showed up against McNeese. Down 27-10, the Lions could’ve packed it up. Instead, Eric Rodriguez came off the bench throwing heat, East Texas A&M finished with 475 yards and suddenly McNeese was holding onto a 27-24 game. That right there is the team I’m scouting.

What scares me first? Micah Simpson in space.

Simpson has 29 catches for 391 yards and already put 168 on Mercer. But it’s bigger than the stat line. No. 4 changes the math.

He widens the field and makes UTRGV decide how much help it wants to spend outside. Lean a safety his way, widen a linebacker, start protecting space, and now the numbers inside can change before Simpson even touches the ball.

Travis Bush knows what time it is. “You’re not going to stop them,” Bush said when talking about Simpson and EJ Oakmon. “It’s a matter of limiting them.”

That’s the assignment. Locate Simpson, keep your leverage and get multiple hats there. Don’t let a seven-yard catch turn into a whole situation.

What scares me next? Rodriguez plays with zero fear.

Rodriguez went 13-of-22 for 232 yards and two touchdowns against McNeese, including shots of 49 and 46 yards.

He’ll push it.

That can hurt East Texas — he already has six interceptions — but it can hurt UTRGV too if the pass rush gets thirsty. Don’t chase sacks and open the back door. Keep him boxed in, make him reset his feet and force him to throw through traffic instead of escaping outside and turning backyard football into 40 yards.

He’ll give you a chance. Just don’t give him one first.

What scares me most? Their defense can make you play on their terms.

This is where Bush’s comments got my attention.

East Texas changes fronts. They bring pressure on early downs. Then when they get you into third-and-long, they start pulling out the funky stuff.

That’s the danger.

They don’t need to whip UTRGV up front every snap. They just need one bad first down. A false start. A two-yard loss. A protection bust. Now it’s third-and-eight and the Lions get to open the whole bag.

Tramar Gilbert is part of why that works. At 6-foot-2, 226 pounds, he gives them a hybrid body who can live around the box without telling you exactly what East Texas is doing. Is he fitting the run? Dropping? Adding pressure? That uncertainty is the whole sauce.

So UTRGV can’t make Saturday harder than it needs to be.

The Vaqueros just ran for 315 against McNeese. BC got downhill, TJ Dement found the right doors and the offensive line started climbing to the second level.

Keep that energy.

Not because UTRGV needs another 300, but because second-and-five is your friend and third-and-eight is theirs.

Make East Texas defend the run before they get cute. Make the linebackers fit. Make the safeties come downhill. Keep the offense out of those obvious passing downs where the Lions can start disguising everything.

And don’t overlook the setting: East Texas A&M has played four of its first five on the road, and now it gets UTRGV back in Commerce for Homecoming.

They’ve already shown they don’t disappear just because they fall behind.

So if UTRGV gets control Saturday, keep the foot down.

Find Simpson. Keep Rodriguez boxed in. Stay ahead of the pressure packages.

And whatever you do, don’t give East Texas A&M the one thing this team already knows how to use.

Don’t give them life. McNeese already showed you what happens when you do.

Because that’s the scary part about East Texas A&M: they don’t have to look dangerous for four quarters.

They just need you to let them believe they are.