“Crownover talks O-line rebirth and LSU matchup”

After a second straight season of protecting the quarterback and declining results in the running game, offensive line coach Steve Addazio was quickly fired and new coach Mike Elko brought in Adam Cushing from Duke. But offensive lineman Dametrious Crownover believes the struggles of 2022 and 2023 helped pave the way for success this season.

“I think we’ve really grown up and we’ve grown up together,” he said of the offensive line. “We figured out what it meant to play offense. We haven’t had success the last two years, but it’s shown us what we need to do to get where we are.”

The change in performance was clear: In 2023, the Aggies ranked 90th nationally in rushing yards and 86th in sacks allowed. This season, the No. 14 Aggies rank 16th nationally in sacks allowed and 13th in rushing yards. These are the main reasons A&M sits atop the SEC standings at 4-0 while fellow unbeaten conference No. 8 LSU is eliminated on Saturday (6:30 p.m., ABC).

For Crownover, a redshirt junior, the road to Saturday night was long and arduous. He arrived on campus as a tight end but was moved to tackle before the start of his sophomore season. Last season he shared snaps with Chase Bisontis at right tackle as incumbent Deuce Fatheree recovered from knee surgery, and now he rotates with Fatheree at that position. But Crownover has started every game so far this season and played the most snaps against Mississippi State as the Aggies scored 34 points and didn't surrender a sack.

“I made a promise to myself before this year that I would do everything in my power to get a starting position, keep my starting position and do the best I could for my team,” he said. “It started in the spring when Coach Cush challenged me. He said, 'You can be that guy – but me.' need You're supposed to be that guy.' So I took this as a challenge to improve my game, watch film more and do whatever it takes to get to where I am.

Typically, an offensive line that has great success year after year brings back the same players from the previous season and stays healthy. That wasn’t the case with the Aggies. They've already gone through three centers, with starter Mark Nabou lost in the season opener against Notre Dame and TJ Shanahan missing several weeks with an injury. With Bisontis, now the left guard, out this weekend and likely longer, the line will be shuffled again.

“When you play on offense it's a battle every time and you know people are going to go down. They know that,” Crownover said. “Our goal was to ask ourselves, 'Oh, we're losing someone, who's next?' Someone has to be able to step up to that position and know the role they need to play and how we want them to play and meet our standards.”

Under Cushing's watch and offensive coordinator Collin Klein's new plan, the running game is now one of the best in the country. Crownover said there has been a solid relationship with the offensive line since training camp with defensive backs Le'Veon Moss, Amari Daniels and EJ Smith.

“It started before the season. It was like, 'Hey, we're going to do everything in our power to keep you updated, to keep you going, to keep you going for the long haul. But trust us,' and that's what they always do,” he said.

LSU will be the offensive line's biggest test since Notre Dame, as the Tigers rank seventh nationally in sacks per game. Crownover believes the Aggies are up to the challenge.

“Our thing is, ‘Empty the clip,’” he said. “Even if we start with the ball, the first drive, we have to go out there and make a statement and let them know that they have to play with us all four quarters.”