Aggie Fans Hate Him... But I Think He Has The Makings of a Premium Pig in 2026
"I should have made those plays, and I’m going to make those plays this year.”
All things come to those who wait.
- Violet Fane, poet
The article won’t publish until a few days later, but I’m currently writing this one on August 7th, which is the anniversary of an article I did last year on San Diego State’s fourth year breakout Lucky Sutton.
Sutton had previously been a disappointment in C2C circles in particular, joining SDSU as a highly decorated high school runner from California. His prep career concluded with a major bang, punching in eight(!) TD scores in a state title game.
What followed over his next three seasons can only be described as uneventful. Injuries plagued his early years and subsequently slowed his development. This was particularly problematic for Sutton given that he’s a taller runner at six feet one inch tall, with a naturally upright running posture.
It took a few years, but SDSU’s staff eventually worked Sutton into a player who ran with a lower centre of gravity, and thus, following one of his first healthy offseasons of his collegiate career, the fourth year sledgehammer broke out for 1200+ rushing yards on just over 250 carries.
Son of Montezuma: It's Time for the World to Meet SDSU's Lucky Number Seven
A Man sat alone, drenched deep in sadness. And all the animals drew near to him and said, "We do not like to see you so sad. Ask us for whatever you wish and you shall have it."
I see a lot of similarities between Sutton and the topic of today’s article.
Texas A&M’s Rueben Owens was once one of the hottest high school prospects in the country. A former five star super-producer in Texas, he originally committed to Louisville before flipping back home to Aggieland.
As a follower of Georgia football, I became aware of the player when he began taking visits in Athens. It seemed like there was a keen interest on both sides for a minute, but alas, it was not meant to be.
And when the ballyhooed runner committed to A&M, there was a lot of fanfare. Unfortunately, many of those same fans have since soured on him. They are not entirely in the wrong for doing so.
Through Owens’ first three seasons, much like Sutton’s, the former five star’s development was hampered by injuries, and while he was playing behind a future NFL RB last season, the general consensus was that he was underwhelming with the (ample) opportunities he did receive.
Even the man himself acknowledged this in a recent fall camp interview:
He hits the nail on the head when he says “I need to stop stumbling”. His contact balance, or lack thereof, left a lot of yards on the table last season. Simply put, a program like A&M, with the aspirations that they have, can ill-afford to rely on a player who can’t stay upright at tailback, routinely leaving huge gains on the field.
Owens understands this, clearly, and seems to be attacking this issue head on. I respect his honesty. I will say, though, that I’m not exactly sure how much a player can improve on their contact balance in one offseason. My hope in writing this article is that the issue is more mental than anything; that Owens is—for whatever reason—expecting contact to be there where it isn’t.
In any event, I think fans often lose sight of just how crucial development time is with regard to prospects fulfilling their potential, and when a player loses entire seasons/offseasons, like Owens did his sophomore year, this can have devastating impacts on their career arc.
We can just think of SDSU’s Lucky Sutton. He was a bust until he wasn’t last year. He had problems with his running style that needed to be corrected, and injuries slowed his development, but he eventually got there in year four.
Owens has been considered a bust(ish) so far by both regular CFB fans and CFF/C2C degenerates. He has problems with his running style that need to be corrected. Injuries have slowed down his development. Will he eventually get there in year four?
This writer is feeling optimistic. Here’s what Owens said about what he can do better to avoid stumbling through the hole in 2026:
“It’s just picking my legs up, picking my knees up,” said Owens on how he can be better in that area. “(There’s) a lot going on when you’re coming through the hole. Picking my feet up, I (have been) tripping on people’s feet, all that. I got to pick my feet up and keep my eyes up, too. That’s really what goes into it. And then I got balance, it’s just my head down. So if your head is down, you’re going to go down and I just got to keep my head up.”
And for those out there who are perhaps doubting, or downplaying the role that injuries have played in Owens’ career thus far, here are some relevant quotes from the head coach himself in the spring:
“Getting Rueben Owens back healthy is a really, really big thing,” coach Mike Elko said during his speaking engagement at the Dallas A&M Club.
“One of the things that gets lost around the room sometimes is, when kids don’t have healthy offseasons, it makes it really challenging for them to be as successful as we want them to be in the fall. And coming off the foot injury two years ago, Rueben never really got right until the fall last year.
“So having an offseason, changing his body, really getting in with (strength and conditioning) coach (Tommy) Moffitt and working this offseason, we’re really excited about what Rueben is going to be able to bring to the table.”
And finally, here is Owens once again on proving what he can do this season now that he’s in full form:
“I (think) about that all the time,” Owens said. “I’m ready to play again and show that I can make those plays. It’s hard looking at them, but you got to go through it. You got to critique yourself. You got to take self-criticism, too.
“You can’t just try to blame it on something else. That’s me. I should have made those plays, and I’m going to make those plays this year.”
Technically, due to the injury to Moss, Owens actually finished as A&M’s RB1 statistically last season.
And what might surprise many is that he actually finished with a higher YPC average than Moss himself, despite almost 50 more carries, not to mention the fact that Owens had to play A&M’s toughest defensive opponents in Texas and Miami later in the year, which are both dragging his YPC average down.
I also mentioned when I did the recap video of the Golden Pig Invitational draft that something that surprised me a lot about Owens was the receiving work. Not the usage, but the quantity of long receptions he had last season. He has long receptions of 11, 24, 20, 19, and 24 in the 12 appearances he made.
That is alarming to me, and it makes me wonder whether we will see a lot more aerial utilization with him in 2026. It only seems logical in my mind given how efficient he was with the limited volume in 2025.
In terms of critiques or overall assessments of what Owens does and doesn’t do well at the current juncture, obviously, the contact balance, and I would also say lateral movement, are areas where he was lacking last season. He’s not a shifty RB.
What he is though is big and fast, and he can catch well out of the backfield. He’s very good running vertically and if the hole opens up (and he doesn’t stumble), he can take it to the house at a moment’s notice. This is also why it’s so alarming to me that he isn’t isolated in space as a receiver more.
Jamarion Morrow is nipping at Owens’ heels currently, and the staff has not publicly committed to Owens being their RB1. Instead, Elko has stated that Fall camp will determine the rotation.
Of course, it is always possible that even if Owens emerges as the RB1, there will be enough of a timeshare between him and Morrow to render both useless in most CFF formats. Only time will tell.
Personally, I am buying stock in Owens right now at his current ADP, which is anywhere between the 10th (P4 only) and 15th rounds depending on the CFF format.
The QB is going to continue to run, and A&M have a harder schedule this year. However, given the workload that Moss got when he was healthy as the RB1, I do think there is a path for Owens to be one of the top CFF RBs in 2026 when all is said and done. ◾
If you enjoyed this content and would like to read more, I recommend joining the Pigpen, a community of thousands of degenerate college football fans: