Texas A&M just snagged another transfer-portal difference maker, and this one shows up with a stat line that screams "problem solver."
After UTSA tight end Houston Thomas became the Aggies' latest portal pledge, Tulsa linebacker Ray Coney is now officially headed to College Station for the 2026 season, per 247Sports' Matt Zenitz.
Coney isn't coming in as a depth dart. He's coming in as a walking production package. In his lone season at Tulsa, Coney piled up 128 tackles with 97 solo, finishing fifth nationally in solo stops.
And for an A&M defense that watched the run game turn into a recurring nightmare late in 2025, the timing couldn't be better.
The Aggies got pushed around when it mattered most. Texas and Miami both leaned on A&M in the trenches, stretched the defense horizontally, and cashed in against a linebacker rotation that felt thin and undersized at the worst possible moment.
With veteran Scooby Williams off to the 2026 NFL Draft and Taurean York still weighing his next step, A&M needed a stabilizer. Coney checks that box.
At 6-2, 240 pounds, he looks the part of an SEC linebacker before the first whistle, and he plays even bigger. Coney’s calling card is disciplined, downhill run defense - trigger fast, fit clean, finish the tackle.
He also brings juice as a blitzer, logging 18 pressures last season, which matters in a league where quarterbacks feast if you can't affect the pocket.
The analytics back up what the tape suggests.
According to Pro Football Focus, Coney posted an 86.3 grade in run defense and a 74.5 mark as a pass rusher in 2025. That's exactly what A&M didn't have enough of when the season went sideways.
This pickup also reshapes the room. If the Aggies get York back, suddenly the linebacker floor rises dramatically. Even if York leaves, A&M can still build a functional, physical core around Coney with returning options like Daymion Sanford and Noah Mikhail trending toward bigger roles.
Portal season is all about fixing what broke. For Texas A&M, run defense was the loudest alarm. Ray Coney might be the first real fire extinguisher.