COLLEGE STATION -- It took one play Saturday afternoon at Kyle Field for new Texas A&M defensive end Nic Scourton to put the SEC on notice.
On the opening drive for the white team's offense, quarterback Conner Weigman maneuvered outside the pocket, looking for a Cyrus Allen. Scourton wasn't going to let that happen. He quickly threw up his hands to swat the ball back to the line of scrimmage.
A play later, Scourton spun out of Reuben Fatheree's reach, to pick up what would be his first sack in an A&M uniform. Of course, the Marron and White Game is an inter-squad scrimmage, so hitting the quarterback was off the table.
It won't be come Week 1 when Notre Dame arrives at Kyle Field to officially begin the Mike Elko era. And Scourton, a native of Bryan, will encouraged not to hold back opposite Shemart Stewart and Shemar Turner.
"He led the Big Ten in sacks last year. That does not happen by accident," Elko said of Scourton following the Maroon team's 24-10 win over the White team. "He has played a lot of football. He knows how to go about his business. He has a really strong repertoire of pass-rush (moves)."
Scourton, who earned second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2023 after totaling 10 sacks, picked up 2.5 more amid a downpour outing to close out the spring. He also finished with a team-leading five tackles, including 3.5 for loss.
Ask anybody in attendance and they'll agree; it felt like more. Scourton, who finished with 15.5 tackles for loss during his final season with the Boilermakers, either stopped before the final whistle to give Weigman a chance or threw up his hands at the last second to bat down a pass.
"He is a troublemaker, that is for sure," said offensive lineman Mark Nabou. "He has high energy at practice, high energy during the scrimmage. We actually love going against him. He really gives us a good look and finds our weaknesses."
Scourton initially wasn't on A&M's radar during his first recruitment. He said there were conversations with Elko, but because of his lanky frame, the Aggies chose not to offer.
Two years later, the 6-foot-4, 280-pounder terrorized Big Ten passers as Purdue's best player. He might end up being the Aggies' top prospect come next offseason and even garner some first-round buzz depending on his production in the SEC.
The conversation with Elko was quite different the second time around once Scourton entered the portal in December.
“I think I went into our second conversation very confident because I knew, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I had options,” Scourton said. “It was more of my choice than them being like, ‘Oh, do we want to give him a scholarship or not?’ But it was a great conversation. Coach Elko kept it pretty vanilla with me. He was like, ‘Yeah, we missed out on [out of] high school and we’re hoping we get you [in] college.’”
The scary part is Scourton knows he's better than what was on the field. He's still getting used to playing the traditional defensive end position in a three-point stance after spending the last two years as an outside linebacker.
He's seen improvements to his game, but there's another level that still hasn't been untapped.
"I feel more explosive. I feel more violent," Scourton said on his improvement this offseason. " Coach (Defensive line coaches) Tony (Jerod-Eddie) and coach (Sean) Spencer are very in touch with the details. Obviously, transitioning to a three-point stance instead of a two-point stance is very different.
"They are just taking the time with me to help me fix my striking points and work other pass-rush moves that I had to fix on."
Defensive line play has always been a strength under Elko in College Station. During his four seasons as the Aggies' defensive coordinator, he sent countless names to the NFL, including Justin Madubuike, Michael Clemons, Bobby Brown III and DeMarvin Leal, among others.
His trench warfare factored into A&M's decision to hire him back from Duke after Jimbo Fisher's firing in mid-November. Defensively, A&M still was productive under D.J. Durkin, but nowhere near the level of top-three finishes like under Elko.
Scourton was one of several high-profile transfers to join the Aggies this spring. He might be the newcomer, but Elko already envisions him meshing with the veterans who trudged through back-to-back lowly campaigns in College Station to create one of the top pass-rushing duos in the SEC.
"I think we have the best defensive end combo that we have had here in a long time," said Elko of the Scourton-Stewart duo. "Then you start talking about some of the other pieces and whatCashius Howellbrings to the table, whatRylan Kennedy brings to the table and whatMalick Syllawill bring to the table, you have a lot of talent at that position right now."
Scourton didn't grow an A&M fan despite living in Bryan. He chose to root for Baylor for a little bit, but as he puts it, he's a fan of "good football."
"I'm just a hater maybe," Scourton joked.
Fans likely have forgiven the former Viking since he might be the x-factor as to A&M can envision a College Football Playoff berth next fall.
Right now, the focus internally is on building off the 15 practice as more players arrive this summer for workouts. They'll have a chance to impress the coaches and compete for starting reps.
Scourton has already caught the attention of the right people. On Saturday, he caught the nation's attention, though he was just playing for his family.
“Today, I just wanted to go out there, have a little fun, put on a show and show the fans what we’ve been doing these past practices and go out and enjoy it," said Scourton.
