The Aggies solidify the trenches as North Carolina interior defender CJ Mims joins Texas A&M, bringing crucial experience and pass-rushing prowess to the defensive line.
Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko has been consistent about one thing since arriving in College Station ... games are still won in the trenches, no matter how flashy college football becomes.
On Monday, the Aggies backed that philosophy up once again by adding a proven interior defender out of the transfer portal.
According to On3Sports, CJ Mims, a junior transfer from the North Carolina Tar Heels, has committed to the Aggies. He arrives with one year of eligibility remaining and immediately fills a void left behind by Albert Regis, who's heading to the NFL.
This isn’t a depth move. It’s a stabilization move.
Mims was expected to be a key part of North Carolina’s defensive line rotation in 2026, particularly as a pass-rushing interior presence. Instead, he’ll bring that production to Kyle Field.
Last season, he appeared in all 12 games and started nine, posting 42 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss, 14 quarterback pressures, and a forced fumble.
More importantly, Mims brings something Texas A&M desperately needed ... experience.
With more than 900 career snaps under his belt, he’s been through the weekly grind of Power Five football. He knows how offenses try to wear you down.
He knows when to push the pocket and when to anchor. And he knows how to survive Saturdays when the box score doesn’t love defensive tackles.
That matters for an Aggie defensive line room that is loaded with talent but light on veterans. The staff is high on the young players already in the pipeline, but youth plus SEC trench warfare is a dangerous equation.
Mims serves as the bridge while those younger linemen continue to develop.
This is how roster building is supposed to look in the portal era. Identify a specific need, target a player with proven snaps and production, and add him without blocking the long-term future.
Elko isn’t trying to win headlines in the portal. He’s trying to win November. And adding CJ Mims to the middle of the defensive line is exactly the kind of quiet, necessary move that helps make that happen.