The Aggies sought a reliable boot as the transfer portal delivers proven accuracy, potentially transforming a nagging weakness into a game-changing strength.
For Texas A&M fans, special teams have been a quiet source of anxiety over the past season, and nowhere was that more evident than in the kicking game.
Close games magnified every missed opportunity, and by year’s end, the Aggies found themselves searching for answers at one of football’s most unforgiving positions.
The 2025 season exposed just how fragile the situation had become.
What once felt like a reliable strength turned into a weekly question mark, forcing the coaching staff to shuffle options as confidence waned.
Missed kicks didn’t just cost points; they shifted momentum, tightened play-calling, and ultimately loomed large in the postseason. In a playoff environment where margins are non-existent, those moments mattered.
As the season drew to a close, it became clear that change was unavoidable.
With experience departing and long-term solutions still developing, head coach Mike Elko and his staff faced a familiar but urgent challenge: stabilize the position without sacrificing future development.
While highly touted young talent represents the program’s long-range plan, expecting immediate consistency from a freshman kicker is rarely realistic at the Power Four level.
That reality pushed Texas A&M toward the transfer portal, where proven production often trumps projection.
The Aggies landed exactly that in veteran kicker David Olano, a move that signals both urgency and intent. Olano arrives with a track record built on efficiency rather than flash, the type of profile that coaches crave after seasons defined by missed opportunities.
Accuracy has been the missing ingredient for A&M, particularly from medium and long range, and that’s where Olano’s resume stands out.
His ability to convert kicks from 30 and 40-plus yards provides a level of trust the Aggies simply didn’t have a year ago. For an offense that often operates between the 20s, knowing points are likely once drives stall is a massive psychological lift.
Early offseason work has already offered a glimpse of what Olano could bring to the table.
While practice reps don’t win games, they do shape confidence, and confidence is everything for a kicker stepping into a spotlight this bright. More importantly, his presence allows the staff to develop younger legs at the right pace rather than forcing them into pressure situations too soon.
College football is filled with examples of seasons altered by special teams stability, both good and bad.
Texas A&M has lived on the wrong side of that equation recently. If Olano delivers as expected, the Aggies may finally turn a lingering weakness into a quiet strength ... and in the SEC, that can be the difference between heartbreak and hardware.