Aldo De La Garza’s Plan A was to stand on Kyle Field’s east sideline last season, uniformed in Notre Dame’s blue and gold, playing against the Aggies.

Some academic hurdles scrubbed Plan A, and a year later, the massive tackle from New Braunfels decided on another route. With new resolve in the classroom, De La Garza will join the Aggies in August to fill out a massive maroon jersey.

De La Garza was one of the nation’s top high school linemen for coach Rich Rhodes, and he was a significant signee for the Irish at 6-foot-4 and 315 pounds. He also holds the Texas high school record of 33 reps on a 225-pound bench press.

Notre Dame is part of De La Garza’s history, as he prepares for a future with the Aggies

"(The Aggies) were really patient and held a scholarship for me," he told the San Antonio Express-News upon giving his verbal pledge shortly before Christmas. "I’m really excited about getting a chance to go to school at A&M."

He’s not the only one. Aggie line coach J.B. Grimes clearly has been anticipating De La Garza’s arrival in Aggieland.

"He’s a guy you don’t have to develop physically," Grimes said. "He walks in here big enough, fast enough and strong enough to compete in the Big 12. And that’s saying a mouthful."

A&M coach R.C. Slocum counts De La Garza as a player who could contribute quickly, even though the Aggies return eight of the 10 players on last year’s offensive line two-deep chart.

"Aldo is a big physical lineman who came out of high school a year ago," Slocum said. "He’ll help us in the line."

De La Garza’s weight room numbers are more than impressive. He benches 460-plus and squats over 500.

"The key thing here is that he’s ready right now physically," Grimes said. "It’s just a question of getting him ready mentally to go out and play the game at the Big 12 level from an assignment and technique standpoint."

De La Garza played both ways for New Braunfels and is certainly a candidate to move to defensive tackle, if necessary. As a junior defensive lineman, he made 71 tackles and forced two fumbles. But as a pathfinder his senior season, he cleared the way for Unicorn tailback Tate Taylor to rush for more than 1,700 yards.

"We had a strong side and a weak side so we would

flip-flop our line," said Rhodes. "So Aldo played both left and right, but about 80 percent of our offense was run behind him."

Rhodes believes De La Garza is ready for Division I football, both on the field and in the classroom.

"He’s a very hard working kid and a really good football player," Rhodes said. "He has goals to play football for a living, and I’m sure he’ll do whatever it takes to reach those goals."

De La Garza’s year away from football certainly increased his appetite for the game. He told the Express-News that the hiatus helped him focus on becoming a more mature student-athlete.

"This was good for me," he said. "I know mentally I can’t wait to get back because I can’t wait to hit somebody out on the field. I’ll be ready to go in August.

"It was pretty rough because I had never sat out during the season like that. I had some expectations from my family and the community. But I think it worked out for the best."

Grimes is satisfied that De La Garza spent his year off tending to business and his conditioning.

"He’s a specimen, a great-looking kid," Grimes added. "And he’s a class act all the way. And we don’t have to wait for his bench to get bigger or for him to get bigger. That’s the reason I’m so excited about this kid."

– Tom B. Turbiville