The 2024 college football season presents an entirely new landscape. Texas is in the SEC. SMU is back in a power conference as ACC members. The College Football Playoff now includes 12 teams and an automatic bid for the best G5 team in the land. For most, the start of the season is in Week 1 on August 30, though SMU starts in Week 0 and TCU plays its first game on Aug. 29. 

To celebrate us making it through another off-season, we’re counting down the 50 most important players in Texas as we inch closer to kickoffs. This list isn’t necessarily about which players are the best in terms of NFL draft stock. It ranks players in order of importance to their team's success. 

NO. 15: TEXAS A&M LB Taurean York

The History: York was a three-time District Defensive MVP at Temple High School who notched 435 career tackles, and he nearly escaped the Lone Star State's borders. York was hours away from committing to Mike Elko at Duke while Texas A&M pondered whether or not to offer. A year later, York has the best of both worlds: playing for Elko in a Texas A&M jersey.

York was a 2023 ESPN Freshman All-American after compiling 74 tackles and 8.5 TFL in 2023. He was named the best linebacker in the state on Dave Campbell's Texas Football's All-Texas team in June. 

The Skillset: Texas A&M's creative department announced a social reband - 'Embrace the Grind.' No one embodies that ethos like York. In the 2024 Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine, senior writer Mike Craven detailed how York would stare at a poster in his room of Tom Brady with the caption, 'I'm the baddest motherf••••• on the planet' while cranking out 538 sit-ups, because that's the number he wore at a summer camp when a coach suggested he switch to defensive line because his core was soft. 

"I think he's a testament to what hard work produces. In every facet, he is ate up with becoming the best football player he can be," Texas A&M defensive coordinator Jay Bateman said.

While York's strongest attribute is his work ethic, that does not discount his ability as a football player. Thou shall not pass through the middle of the field while York is at linebacker. He diagnoses run plays quickly and is a sure tackler. 

The Impact: With linebacker Edgerrin Cooper's depature to the NFL, York is Texas A&M's de facto defensive captain. That means he'll use his football IQ pre-snap as much as he does post-snap.

“The scheme is a lot more sophisticated,” York said at SEC Media Days. “My sophomore year has been harder than my freshman year because of the level of difficulty of the defense and the amount of communication that it takes to run the defense."

York embodies the new culture that Elko wants to instill in College Station, and his impact will transcend 2024 because of it.