Texas A&M might have the best group of wide receivers in the SEC, but one of them will be absent in its season opener.
Speedy Noil has been suspended by the Aggies for the team’s game against UCLA, according to Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports and other various media outlets.
Noil was arrested last Friday and charged with driving without a license, which is the most recent of several run-ins with the law. He was also a passenger in a car with two Aggies teammates who were charged with marijuana possession and missed A&M’s bowl game against Louisville due to a violation of team rules.
Noil is one of three former 5-star prospects — also including Ricky Seals-Jones and Christian Kirk — on the Aggies’ active depth chart, and that also includes veteran Josh Reynolds. Playing with a stacked group hindered his individual numbers in his second season. After leading A&M in all-purpose yards and finishing third in both receiving yards and touchdowns in 2014, Noil was limited to 226 yards and two touchdowns on 21 receptions — which ranked fourth — and 484 all-purpose yards, which ranked fifth.
Kirk flourished as the team’s best receiver with 1,009 yards and seven touchdowns on 80 receptions as a freshman while Reynolds had another stellar season with 907 yards and five touchdowns on 51 catches. Even Seals-Jones, who was surprisingly less productive than Noil in 2014 after redshirting the previous season, recorded 560 yards and four touchdowns on 45 catches.
At this point, Noil is A&M’s No. 4 option in its passing attack. Given the Aggies’ pass-heavy scheme and surplus of talent, that might as well be considered a starter, but still doesn’t help him reach the lofty expectations of being the No. 1 receiver prospect from the 2014 national recruiting class.
Head coach Kevin Sumlin told Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle that he’s disappointed in the rising junior’s off-field antics on Thursday, which could hint at him seeing even less reps in the future.
“It’s a two-step forward, one-step back deal with him,” Sumlin said. “The consistency part has been an issue. This semester he had been moving forward. Just like in life, it takes one hiccup or miscue or wrongdoing to throw all of that off.”
Noil needs to be on his best behavior during spring and summer camp leading up to A&M’s season opener. Obviously, he won’t play, but he can prove that he deserves an expanded role the following week.
However, he’s already going through spring practice with a bad reputation and has proven to be untrustworthy of making off-field improvements. It’s a shame because he is one of the most talented receivers in college football and has the potential to be one of the game’s most exciting players, especially with the added two years of in-game experience.
Noil is good enough to be a guaranteed No. 1 or No. 2 option on any other SEC team but doesn’t have the clout at A&M to get away with off-field incidents. In most cases, a former 5-star prospect coming into his junior season would have more leniency and be limited to a “slap on the wrists” punishment.
But with Kirk, Reynolds and Seals-Jones outplaying him, there’s no reason to put up with Noil’s antics, which is why he is being disciplined so swiftly months before the Aggies’ season opener. Also, with Sumlin facing a hot seat coming off back-to-back mediocre seasons and having both of his starting quarterbacks transfer away, he needs to show he won’t give in to a player based on talent over morality.
Hopefully, Noil will show maturity in his junior season and compete for more reps in A&M’s passing attack. However, his suspension doesn’t do him any favors and he should remain behind Kirk, Reynolds and Seals-Jones for the time being.
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