Commentary: For Sumlin's Aggies, if not now, when?

Or perhaps falling off that edge -- if the Trevor Knight he got on the rebound from Oklahoma isn't the Trevor Knight who famously beat Alabama, and if the Aggies get SEC-ed again.

But it's pretty clear that Texas A&M's head football coach is on the brink of something big.

There's a chance Sumlin's seat is very warm, especially given off-the-field adventures such as tasteless sexual jokes by two of his assistants at a women's clinic of 700 or the simultaneous exit of his two disgruntled five-star quarterbacks -- the fifth and six quarterbacks to leave his program in his four years.

Sumlin has a history of being too lax in his discipline of his players -- hello, Johnny Famous -- and coaches, although his new athletic director stands behind him. For now. Sumlin's been too much about cool and swagcopters than mature and on point. You haven't spotted the "wrts" hashtag of late, although it's clear no one really runs this state.

But there's also a strong chance that Sumlin's just warming up. When asked if he's feeling any pressure about his job security after going 17-15 in the SEC, he said flatly, "No." And when I asked if his team is being overlooked, he said, "I don't know if people are sleeping on us at all or not. You can answer that."

The guess here is that they are. I think Sumlin finally turns the corner and gives the Aggies a realistic chance of contending for the SEC championship. No, not the West Division, which they haven't sniffed, even with Manziel. Since he left to become the male version of Kim Kardashian, A&M has gone 0-2 against Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss and 1-1 against Auburn.

Sumlin couldn't win the best league in college football with the best player in school history, and he might not with possibly the best defensive end that A&M has ever had, with apologies to Jacob Green.

However, his fifth season might pose his best opportunity to finally give Aggies something to crow about.

After back-to-back 8-5 years, it's time. Past time, actually. But A&M might be coming on. It is certainly a mystery team, one that's ranked fifth in the six-team SEC West by Phil Steele's magazine and 37th in a CBSSports poll.

"We haven't been as good as we should," star defensive end Myles Garrett said.

"We are kind of a mystery team," strong safety Armani Watts said. "People don't really expect very much from us, but we're ready to shock everybody."

So is the prickly Sumlin, who got himself into some hot water over the recent women's clinic fiasco. He also had to deal with another assistant who tweeted about the lack of loyalty when quarterback recruit Tate Martell decommitted from A&M.

Asked if Sumlin has a discipline problem, new athletic director Scott Woodward said, "I don't think so. Can we do things better? Always. It's one of those things we have to do better, but I don't worry about Coach Sumlin and his ability to discipline his staff and kids. The coaches made a mistake. It was stupid. That's not accepted here. But the actions Coach took were clear and swift and sent a message to the rest of the country that we take these matters very seriously."

Even hotshot receiver Christian Kirk said things have improved in the discipline department.

"I'd say at times it was (lax), but they've fixed it," Kirk said. "It was little things like guys not going to class or not showing up for meals. That all dwindled down to the field."

No more, they all say in unison.

"I've known Kevin, and I really like what I see," Woodward said. "Kevin is a great man with a good outlook, and he really cares about our athletes. He's very competitive and wants to get it done in a big way. He came in like gangbusters, and should we have maintained that or not is to be debated."

In Woodward's eyes, he understands the lengthy transition it takes for a new SEC program to "get big-body types and be able to run the ball and play really hard-nosed defense," and he seems willing to give Sumlin more time to do that.

A&M is clearly doing that up front defensively with Garrett -- possibly the No. 1 draft pick next spring -- and senior Daeshon Hall, but it needs more depth and is suspect at linebacker despite the return of promising Otaro Alaka. At the back end, the Aggies have stars in Watts and the versatile Donovan Wilson, who can line up at a lot of spots.

Sumlin's certainly not out of the fire, although it'd cost A&M a whopping $15 million if it fires Sumlin after this season. That would jump-start the race for Houston's Tom Herman or maybe an unappreciated Les Miles or hot name Jimbo Fisher. Heck, Woodward, who graduated from LSU, was in Baton Rouge when Nick Saban won his first national championship, and they still talk.

"We talked about a month ago," Woodward told me.

About what?

"Oh, we just chitchatted," he said. "About business."

And we all know Saban is Mr. Chitchat. Hey, might as well start those rumors because we know Miss Terry loves house-hunting in the Lone Star state.

More likely, Sumlin wins his usual eight games, but 10 or more and he might win the West. It could happen.

A&M won eight last year with below-average play from its run defense, offensive line and quarterback and might be better at all three, especially if Knight picks up the scheme under new offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone, who said, "If I can get 105 snaps in a game, I'll take 105 snaps."

Per usual, A&M has cupcakes on the schedule -- Prairie View, New Mexico State and UTSA -- so pencil in three automatic wins. UCLA has to break in new receivers and most of a new line for the opener, and the Aggies are already favored in the Texas-baked sunshine.

The SEC, with established quarterbacks only at Ole Miss and Tennessee, should be a tad down, and both those teams come to Kyle Field. The rest of the West has replacements under center, Auburn just kicked its best running back off the team, and Arkansas needs a new line and running back and better defensive backs. South Carolina, an East opponent for A&M, might be the worst team in the league.

And that doesn't even address A&M's strengths. Without question, it touts the best defensive end tandem in the country plus a brick wall in Daylon Mack and a sophomore tackle so good that Will Muschamp personally flew to Houston to try to recruit Kingsley Keke.

The secondary should be excellent, and few have the receiving corps A&M does in Kirk, Josh Reynolds and Speedy Noil. Woodward said he sees "an abundant amount of talent here, especially on the first team. Are we as deep as some other teams in the SEC West? Probably not, but I think we're well on our way. For me, the look test has been very nice, but we'll see when the bullets start to fly."

So the time might be right for an A&M run.

If not now, when? Of course, Woodward can always call Nick for a chat.

Kirk Bohls writes for the Austin American-Statesman. Email: kbohls(at)statesman.com.